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Home » Composers » German Composers » GF Handel » Handel Operas » Sosarme
Sosarme (Fernando) (1732)
By George Frideric Handel (Georg Friedrich Händel)
Recordings
 Handel.
Fernando, Rè di Castiglia - first draft of Sosarme, Rè
di Media. (HWV 30, London 1732). Virgin Veritas VCS 3654832
(2 CDs, January 2007).
Details. Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco. The recording is
of Handel's first draft version after Salvi's libretto for an
opera by Perti that Handel supposedly attended in Florence in
1707. Handel's Fernando included music that was cut
before the first performance of Sosarme. (The names had
to be changed for political reasons.) Fernando (Sosarme):
Lawrence Zazzo, countertenor; Elvida (Elmira): Verónica Cangemi,
soprano; Isabella (Erenice): Marianna Pizzolato, mezzo-soprano;
Sancio (Melo): Max Emanuel Cencic, countertenor; Dionisio (Haliate):
Filippo Adami, tenor; Altomaro: Antonio Abete, bass; Alfonso (Argone):
Neal Bannerjee, tenor. This recording is yet another shameful
example of EMI's greed at the expense of artistic integrity. 3
CDs were necessary for a complete performance, but EMI saved a
few cents per copy by limiting it to 2 CDs. They'll sell just as
many 2-CD sets as they would 3-CD sets, and none of the
despicable EMI suits know or care whether arias are cut or
missing. I hope that in the future improved technology will make
it possible to bypass the record companies entirely, as they're
good for nothing other than distribution. So there's still no
competent recording of Sosarme/Fernando.
US |
UK |
DE |
FR |
CA |
JP |
| Handel. Sosarme, Rè di Media. (HWV 30, London 1732). Newport Classics NPD 85575 (2 CDs 1994). Johannes Somary, Amor Artis Orchestra. Sosarme: D'Anna Fortunato, contralto; Elmira: Julianne Baird, soprano; Haliate: John Aler, tenor; Erenice: Jennifer Lane, contralto; Argone: Raymond Pellerin, countertenor; Melo: Drew Minter, countertenor; Altomaro: Nathaniel Watson, bass (shown in the only cast list as singing "Varo", a character not in the opera). [Commentary and synopsis by the Czech Handel Society for their 2003 performances.] US | UK | DE | FR | CA | JP |
Related Operas
G.A. Perti. Dionisio, rè di Portogallo. (Pratolino 1707). Libretto by Antonio Salvi.
References
Winton Dean. Handel's Operas, 1726-1741 (Boydell Press 2006).
R. Strohm, "Handel and his Italian opera texts." Essays on Handel and the Italian Opera. (Oxford University Press 1985).
Winton Dean, "Handel's Sosarme, a Puzzle Opera" (1975), reprinted in Winton Dean, Essays on Opera. Oxford University Press 1990. US | UK | DE | FR | CA | JP
Links
Le magazine de l'opera-baroque page on Sosarme