HANDEL Alessandro

Max Emanuel Cencic, Julia Lezhneva, Karina Gauvin

Armonia Atenea / George Petrou

Handel’s ninth major opera for London, Alessandro, was written as a showcase for the “Rival Queens”, the two famous Italian sopranos – Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni – whose supposed enmity, both personal and professional, not only generated good publicity for Handel’s latest opera but also added extra dramatic frisson to the two divas’ jealous clashes on stage.

Still something of a rarity even in this heyday of the Handel revival, Alessandro has only ever been recorded twice before over the past 30 years, and never previously with such a starry trio of singers in the three lead roles.

Marking the start of an exciting new partnership with the sensational Croatian counter-tenor Max Emanuel Cenčić that will involve both solo and ensemble recordings, this new recording stars Cenčić himself as Alexander the Great (a role originally sung by the legendary castrato Senesino), with acclaimed French Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin as the Scythian princess Lisaura, and the sensational young Russian soprano Julia Lezhneva – making her debut appearance as Decca’s latest exciting solo signing – in the role of Roxana, the Persian princess who finally wins the conqueror’s heart.

Brilliant young Baroque specialist George Petrou has won numerous international awards for his previous recordings of Handel operas. For this recording, made at the Megaron concert hall in Athens, he conducts the period instruments of Armonia Atenea.

Decca 3cds 4784699