This recording of Alcina had its genesis in the 1986 Handel tercentenary performances by Opera Stage at Christ Church Spitalfields in the City of London, and when it appeared, later that year, SS praised it as one of the best sung of all Handel opera recordings. He also commended the textual accuracy of what is the entire 1735 score, and it is a treat to receive it, neatly packaged on three CDs even if the three acts could not be matched exactly to their discs. What is more, the acoustic variability commented on by SS seems to have been adjusted; the three excellent essays, though, as well as the complete text, have been retained.
The period instruments of the City of London Baroque Sinfonia play sprucely under the baton of Richard Hickox, and although some tempos are a little extreme, much of the vivid colour and movement of the original Frank Corsaro production come alive again in their playing.
But, as SS suggested, this recording is, indeed primarily a vocal tour de force. Arleen Auger's meticulously controlled phrasing, liquid in its discreet ornamentation and its dying falls, delights consistently as Alcina, and is matched by the muscularity, in fioritura, of Della Jones's Ruggiero. Kathleen Kuhlmann is a deliciously fiery and purposeful Bradamante, Eiddwen Harrhy an energetic Morgana, and Patrizia Kwella an irresistible Oberto. Maldwyn Davies and John Tomlinson as Oronte and Melisso complete an impeccably balanced palette of voices in this most valuable addition to the Handel archive.'