The Baroque period covered 150 years, give or take a few, and programs covering much of the span are risky: few are the artists who can cover the multiplicity of styles with equal facility in each. German soprano Anna Prohaska comes to this release on the revived Archiv imprint with a very strong program: the enchanted forest is a realm of the supernatural that underlies many Baroque opera plots drawn from myth; it is an effective device for connecting arias across time, and it presents a refreshing change of pace from the ...
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The Baroque period covered 150 years, give or take a few, and programs covering much of the span are risky: few are the artists who can cover the multiplicity of styles with equal facility in each. German soprano Anna Prohaska comes to this release on the revived Archiv imprint with a very strong program: the enchanted forest is a realm of the supernatural that underlies many Baroque opera plots drawn from myth; it is an effective device for connecting arias across time, and it presents a refreshing change of pace from the usual heroic, romantic, or tragic fare. The orchestral accompaniment from the adequately sized historical-performance group Arcangelo is lively and clean. And in the lighter material from Italy and England in the 17th century, Prohaska succeeds in creating a charmed mood with a variety of vocal textures and timbres; the final Lamento della ninfa of Monteverdi is quiet and bewitching, and she is also an effective Purcell soprano. What stops one from recommending the release...
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