David Daniels & Dorothea Röschmann Impress at Carnegie Hall

Soprano Röschmann and Countertenor Daniels in duet
(Photo: Hiroyuki Ito/The New York Times)

"The program focused on Handel’s sober, reflective side, featuring several arias and duets from his 1725 opera Rodelinda. Mr. Daniels had a few moments of high-spirited virtuosity, but for the most part the selections played to both singers’ strengths: purity of line and sincerity of feeling. The ornamentation was clean and stylish throughout, and at the best moments, as in Ms. Röschmann’s 'V’adoro pupille' from Giulio Cesare, it gave the crucial illusion of spontaneity....The recital moved into quite another sphere in the encores: Ms. Röschmann’s transcendent “Lascia ch’io pianga” from Rinaldo and Mr. Daniels’s deeply felt 'Ch’io parta' from Partenope. The final encore was the only selection by a composer other than Handel: 'Pur ti miro,' the love duet from the end of Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea. This is as expressive as music gets, and Ms. Röschmann and Mr. Daniels traded off the arching phrases with floating eloquence and poise over a steady bass line. It was simply flawless. In its beauty and restraint, its sense of tremendous energy and emotion held in just barely, the performance captured everything the Baroque can teach us." [Source]