Handel - Rodelinda "Io t'abbraccio" M. Kožená & D. Daniels

G.F.Handel
"Io t'abbraccio"
Rodelinda, re de' Longobardi, HWV 19
Duetto di Rodelinda e Bertarido, end of act II
In this recording:
Magdalena Kozena (mezzo soprano) - David Daniels (contratenor)
Kammerorchester Basel Ensemble, Paul Goodwin
Live recital, Bruxelles 2005
"Rodelinda, regina de' Longobardi" (HWV 19) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was based on a libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, in turn based on an earlier libretto by Antonio Salvi. Salvi's libretto originated with Pierre Corneille's play "Pertharite, roi des Lombards".
It was first performed at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket, London, on 13 February 1725. It was produced with the same singers as Tamerlano. There were 14 performances and it was repeated on 18 December 1725, and again on 4 May 1731.
It was also performed in Hamburg. The first modern production was in Göttingen on 26 June 1920.
Premiere Cast, February 13, 1725
(Conductor: - )
Rodelinda, Queen of Longobardi: Francesca Cuzzoni (soprano)
Bertarido: Senesino (alto castrato)
Grimoaldo: Francesco Borosini (tenor)
Eduige: Anna Vicenza Dotti (alto)
Unulfo: Andrea Pacini (alto castrato)
Garibaldo: Giuseppe Maria Boschi (bass)
Synopsis:
Grimoaldo has usurped Bertarido in battle, who has fled. It is believed that Bertarido has died in exile, but he sends word to his friend Unulfo that he is alive and in hiding near the palace. Rodelinda and her son, Flavio, are being kept in the palace by Grimoaldo, who has fallen in love with her.
Original text:
RODELINDA-BERTARIDO
(Duet)
Io t'abbraccio
E più che morte, aspro e forte,
è pel cor mio questo addio,
che il tuo sen dal mio divide.
Ah mia vita,
ah mio tesoro, se non moro,
è più tiranno quell'affanno,
che dà morte, e non uccide.

[@chillisauce73]

Beautiful duets~ I'm also fan of David Daniels

[@mradaChris]

Yes wonderfully beautiful! c.

[@heavenlymilano]

I am with Daniels'n Kozena.

[@JohnSmith-io5zt]

Bloody brilliant.

[@zurnacia]

Beautiful!

[@ispiseco]

this is just divine

[@heavenlymilano]

I can't agree more.

[@civileso]

Yes, I have the recording of the whole recital.

[@sandrafailla3586]

meraviglioso !!! avrei preferito leggermente più "adagio"

[@eustazio]

thought i left a comment on that vid

[@spqrmor]

@serenaluce Agree with you that's beautiful but tempo is very fast and it spoiled the whole impression of the performance.

[@GregoryStec]

I love Kozena, but Nuria Rial and Lavrance Zazzo is much, much better performance. I agree tempo, tempo is the problem...

[@nelsigtermans9354]

n

[@moniquetruant6503]

Too fast. This should be a long goodbye

[@Allanfearn]

Not such a good idea to include the score when the conductor ignores the fortes and pianos. It does matter in this music. I'm not so worried about the tempo, though it sounds indecisive. But the accents are far too heavy.

[@MrAtomicPig]

Actually the score doesn't match to the music, cuz they're doing it half step down here

[@jamesbrennan6022]

@@MrAtomicPig Are you sure it's them? Quite often these days the poster posts at the wrong pitch

[@MrAtomicPig]

@@jamesbrennan6022 This scrore is in F#-minor: C# F# F F# B, G# C# B C# A, but the record goes in C-minor: C F E F A#, G C A# C G# - you can try it on a piano. I got mad a bit cuz I wanted exactly what they play/sing, and my fav version of 'Io t'abbraccio', performed by Jaroussky and Nuria Rial, is also as Kozena does. The "wrong pitch" comes from the difference between Standard and Baroque tune. If you wanna see that one matching this score, there's a version of Renee Fleming and A.Scholl on this channel. But anyway they all are beautiful! Happy New Year! 🐷(oo)

[@jamesbrennan6022]

@@MrAtomicPig I wondered if you were thinking about the baroque pitch - I used to be schizophrenic about it until I got used to baroque-style performances - and currently, folk's ideas of baroque performance style change every five years, even in Italianate music (though whatever they do they can't face the idea of playing the recitative accmpaniment the way it used to be played in the nineteenth century, where the main instrumental ideas came from the cello, not the keyboard. Conductors at the keyboard - bad idea.). Good New Year to yourself.

[@stublag4132]

Awful