Joyce DiDonato, Patrizia Ciofi, Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis - Handel: Radamisto, HWV 12a (2005)

An ambitious German composer newly arrived in England in 1710, it took Handel a decade to suss out what would best tickle English musical tastes, finally settling on Italian serious opera with a dash of English semi-opera. He finally hit the bullseye in 1720 with Radamisto. Played 10 times in its first run, Radamisto was revised for a new cast and premiered again within months, then revived in its revised version for a third run the following season. Unfortunately, Radamisto has not fared as well on recordings with only two more than adequate but less than inspired performances in print prior to the release of this recording -- Horst-Tanu Margraf's stately 1962 recording with the Händel-Festspielorchester Halle and Nicholas McGegan's sprightly 1993 recording with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra -- and this superlative 2003 recording with the experienced Alan Curtis leading Il Complesso Barocco is a distinct improvement on both of them. There's the singing, which ranges from the way more than competent Zachary Stains to the absolutely thrilling Patrizia Ciofi. There's the playing, which is unfailingly passionate and invariably polished. There's the conducting, which is both highly dramatic and magnificently structural. And finally there's the sound, which is clear and deep and honest. While not perhaps the greatest of Handel's English operas, this recording makes a compelling case for checking the work out.