GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL

 

Riccardo Primo

 

Lawrence Zazzo

Nuria Rial

Geraldine McGreevy

Tim Mead

David Wilson-Johnson

Curtis Streetman

 

Chamber Orchestra of Basel / Paul Goodwin

 

Riccardo Primo is one of Handel’s unjustly neglected operas, musically speaking it is undoubtedly one of his finest. The plot of the opera is based around the eponymous hero, King Richard Lionheart, who is on his way to Jerusalem to fight in the Crusades. The premiere of the opera took place on November 11, 1727 at the King's Theatre in London to celebrate the coronation of King George II, and then was not performed again until 1964. English conductor Paul Goodwin is responsible for bringing this operatic rarity back into the limelight, with his celebrated performance in 2007 during the Handel Festival in Halle with the Chamber Orchestra of Basel and outstanding soloists. The title role is taken by the American countertenor Lawrence Zazzo.

  

DHM 3cds 88697174212