Handel: Heroes from the Shadows Philippe Jaroussky

• 1 Poro, HWV 28, Act 3: Sinfonia 01:05
• 2 Ariodante, HWV 33, Act 3: Dover, giustizia, amor (Polinesso) 03:29
• 3 Orlando, HWV 31, Act 3: Sinfonia 01:01
• 4 Amadigi di Gaula, HWV 11, Act 2: Pena tiranna (Dardano) 05:35
• 5 Alessandro, HWV 21, Act 3: Sarò qual vento (Cleone) 02:22
• 6 Serse, HWV 40, Act 1: Non so se sia la speme (Arsamene) 05:20
• 7 Partenope, HWV 27, Act 3: Sinfonia 00:34
• 8 Radamisto, HWV 12, Act 1: Son contenta di morire (Zenobia) 04:20
• 9 Agrippina, HWV 6, Act 2: Voi che udite il mio lamento (Ottone) 05:39
• 10 Tamerlano, HWV 18, Act 2: Par che mi nasca in seno (Irene) 07:02
• 11 Scipione, HWV 20, Act 3: Sinfonia 01:24
• 12 Giulio Cesare, HWV 17, Act 2: L'aure che spira (Cornelia) 04:29
• 13 Serse, HWV 40, Act 3: Sinfonia 03:05
• 14 Giulio Cesare, HWV 17, Act 1: Son nata/nato a lagrimar (Cornelia, Sesto) 07:46
• 15 Arianna in Creta, HWV 32, Act 2: Son qual stanco pellegrino (Alceste) 09:43
• 16 Rodelinda, HWV 19, Act 3: Se fiera belva ha cinto (Bertarido) 04:41
• 17 Silla, HWV 10, Act 1: Senti, bell'idol mio (Claudio) 04:48
• 18 Partenope, HWV 27, Act 1: Io seguo sol fiero (Rosmira) 05:41
• 19 Amadigi di Gaula, HWV 11, Act 3: Ballo di pastori e pastorelle 01:25
• Total Runtime 01:19:29

Info for Handel: Heroes from the Shadows

Heroes from the Shadows makes stars of the unfairly overlooked roles – from Arsamene to Zenobia – who sing Handel’s hidden operatic jewels: Cornelia from Giulio Cesare (‘Son nata’ in duet with star countertenor Philippe Jaroussky as her guest), Dardano’s stately ‘Pena tiranna’ from Amadigi di Gaula, and the sublime, intimate ‘Senti, bell’idol mio’ sung by Claudio in Silla.

Stutzmann conducts her superb musicians playing on Baroque instruments, while singing some of Handel’s most virtuosic arias, all with a rare mastery of both arts – neither one in the shadow of the other. “From early on in my career, I’ve had the fortune of being invited to play the star roles for contralto in these great Handel operas – be it Caesar, Orlando, Radamisto or others,” she explains. “But I dreamed of the tantalising possibilities of immersing myself in the shadows of these works; shedding light on this repertoire of second or even third-tier background roles, often forgotten by audiences as they leave the theatre, but who captivated them for a few minutes from the edges of the main action. They’re a little like the actors that pop up in films, whose names we know and whose voices we recognise but we struggle to recall their names…”

In 2009, Nathalie Stutzmann founded her own chamber orchestra, Orfeo 55, playing on both baroque and modern instruments, with which she tours extensively and partners her on this new release. The orchestras’ repertoire reflects the breadth of Nathalie’s own, performing not only music from the Baroque period, but also works by composers in the 20th century such as Richard Strauss and Arnold Schoenberg. This album focuses on Handel’s contralto arias, wonderful music from some of his best-loved operas, but rarely heard independently of full performances. With this release Nathalie Stutzmann gives light to these heroes usually in the shadows, giving these characters and this wonderful music a new perspective – making them the stars of this album.

Orfeo 55
Nathalie Stutzmann, contralto & conductor
Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor

Recorded on 19-23 May 2014 at Église du Bon Secours, Paris
Engineered by Michel Pierre
Produced by Étienne Collard
Executive producer: Alain Lanceron

Philippe Jaroussky
born in 1978 has established himself as the most admired countertenor of his generation, as confirmed by the French 'Victoires de la Musique' awards (‘Revelation Artiste Lyrique’ in 2004, ‘Artiste lyrique de l'année’ in 2007 and in 2010, CD of the Year 2009 ) and the Echo Klassik Awards in Germany in 2008.

Jaroussky's technique allows him the most audacious nuances and impressive pyrotechnics. He has explored a vast Baroque repertoire, from the refinement of the Italian Seicento with Monteverdi, Sances and Rossi, to the staggering brilliance of Handel and Vivaldi arias (singing more music by the latter composer than any other over the last few years). He has worked with renowned period-instrument orchestras such as L'Arpeggiata, Les Arts florissants, Ensemble Matheus, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Le Concert d'Astrée, Le Cercle de l'Harmonie and Europa Galante with conductors including Christina Pluhar, William Christie, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Marc Minkowski, René Jacobs, Jérémie Rhorer, Emmanuelle Haïm, Jean-Claude Malgoire and Fabio Biondi. With pianist Jerôme Ducros, he has looked beyond the Baroque – to fin-de-siècle French song (the album Opium), as well as premiering contemporary vocal music composed for him by Marc-André Dalbavie (Sonnets de Louise Labé, which Jaroussky sang most recently at the 2014 Salzburg Festival).

He has been praised for performances in all the most prestigious concert halls in France (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Théâtre du Châtelet, Salle Pleyel, Salle Gaveau, Opéra de Lyon, Opéra de Montpellier, Opéra de Nancy, Arsenal de Metz, Théâtre de Caen) and abroad (The Barbican Centre and Southbank Cente in London, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Grand Théâtre du Luxembourg, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Staatsoper and Philharmonie in Berlin, Teatro Real in Madrid, Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York).

Philippe Jaroussky is signed exclusively to Erato and has received numerous awards for his recordings with the label. With Heroes (Vivaldi opera arias) and La Dolce Fiamma he achieved Gold disc status; his tribute to Carestini (with le Concert d'Astrée and Emmanuelle Haim) won CD of the year at the Victoires de la Musique and the Midem Classical Awards in 2009; his Stabat Mater with soprano Julia Lezhneva and I Barocchisti picked up the 2014 International Classical Music Awards for best Baroque Vocal Album and Best Opera Album. Of the 2013 release Farinelli: Porpora Arias, Gramophone wrote: “Jaroussky's rapid passagework in quick heroic arias is precise...but the outstanding moments are slow arias that could have been tailor-made for Jaroussky's sweetly graceful melodic singing”.

In recent years he has collaborated with singers including Cecilia Bartoli and Nathalie Stutzmann. With Ensemble Artaserse, which he founded in 2002, he gave the spectacular modern revival of Vinci’s opera Artaserse, as one of five exceptional countertenors in the cast.

Booklet for Handel: Heroes from the Shadows