Tribute to Farinelli
Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, Monday May 9 2011 Conductor: Christophe Rousset. Ann Hallenberg, mezzo soprano. Les Talens Lyriques. Works by Broschi, Johann-Christian Bach, Porpora, Giacomelli, Hasse and Leo To avoid a single, solemn ceremony, we were told in a speech at the start of this concert, when celebrating their twentieth anniversary, Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques have chosen to tour a beautifully crafted concert of 18th-century gems, including a generous (the unfortunate singer might well say gruelling) selection of arias composed for Farinelli, who – because of the film - played an important part in the group’s performing history. I’m not usually a great recital fan, either on disc or in concert, as I find a whole evening of arias a bit like eating a box of chocolates in one sitting. But in this case, having, for one reason or another, recently been mightily impressed by clips of Swedish mezzo Ann Hallenberg on YouTube (after recently being mightily...