Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre return to Handel with a complete recording of his opera Alcina. The title role is interpreted by Magdalena Kožená, who reunites with Les Musiciens and maestro Minkowski after a series of acclaimed baroque recordings. She is joined by an excellent casts of soloists, consisting of Erin Morley (Morgana), Anna Bonitatibus (Ruggiero), Elzabeth DeShong (Bradamante), Alois Muhlbacher (Oberto), Valerio Contaldo (Oronte) and Alex Rosen (Melisso). This studio recording transports the listener to Alcina’s enchanted island, and shows Handel at the peak of his power: the score is dramatic, lush and colourful as well as introspective and profound where the story requires it. Since its foundation in 1982, and under the baton of its founder and musical director Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre have developed into one of the world’s best period-instrument ensembles, with a vast discography. The ensemble returns to Pentatone after having presented Mozart’s Mass in C Minor in 2020. Alcina is star mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožena’s fifth album as part of her exclusive collaboration with Pentatone, after having presented the baroque cantatas recital album Il giardino dei sospiri and the songs in chamber-musical setting project Soiree in 2019, as well as Nostalgia together with Yefim Bronfman (2021) and Folk Songs with the Czech Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle (2023). The other soloists all make their Pentatone debut.

REVIEW:

There are relatively few recordings of Alcina out there, even though Handel’s Tempest-like opera of infatuation, rescue and enchantment is one of his most popular on stage. This new one scores highly, partly for the dramatic relish with which the conductor Marc Minkowski and his Musiciens du Louvre dispatch the music, but principally for a tour de force performance in the title role from the mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená.

— Guardian (UK)

A New Yorker Notable Recording of 2022!

French grand-opéra specialist Marc Minkowski has at last recorded Robert le Diable, a jewel of the genre. A triumph at its premiere in November 1831, it captivated contemporaries, and its influence stretched as far as Verdi and Wagner. An imposing international cast brings this repertory cornerstone to life: John Osborn portrays a Robert at once valiant and tender, Amina Edris reveals her full resources in the perilous role of Alice, while idiomatic performances by Nicolas Courjal, Erin Morley and Nico Darmanin complete a line-up offering the most vivid contrasts of tessitura. Against the backdrop of a medieval legend, this fantastical work depicts a confrontation between Good and Evil, pitting against each other a group of protagonists torn between desire and duty. A foundational score of musical Romanticism – performed more than 750 times in the nineteenth century at the Paris Opéra alone – is now gradually emerging from oblivion.

REVIEWS:

In these days of cash-strapped opera houses and risk-averse labels, recordings of the grander grand operas are rarities. Flawless ones are even rarer, making this breathtaking and ground-breaking new Palazzetto Bru Zane recording of Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable a cause for celebration. In Marc Minkowski’s experienced hands, Meyerbeer’s gothic saga fairly flies off the page, every bar fizzing with energy and with set pieces that burst over our heads like fireworks. Add an outstandingly talented cast, headed by John Osborn as Robert and Erin Morley as Isabelle, and you have a set with award-winner written all over it.

-- Limelight