Alcina, Georg Friedrich Haendel

'Alcina' is not my favourite of Handel's operas (that's Giulio Cesare), which have become familiar to me overtime and they have many pleasures.

The story for 'Alcina' is somewhat static and a little daft in places, but there is an enchanting atmosphere too and it has some poignant moments. The music is also absolutely gorgeous, the most famous parts being "Ah Mio Cor" and particularly "Tornami A Vagheggiar".

'Alcina's' DVD competition is quite scant. The Alice Coote and Catherine Naglestad one is a controversial production and the staging is a very acquired taste but while it was a long way from perfect there was a huge amount to like, especially the singing. Just as that there is a lot to like about Adrian Noble's production, though it does suffer from some major debits, such as Noble's dull staging and Vesselina Kasarova's underwhelming Ruggiero. This one is the best of the three by quite some way.

Visually, even though it is not a traditional production it is a long way from trashy. Instead it is colourful and elegant, giving a sense of enchantment. Honestly was expecting Katie Mitchell's staging to be distracting, but actually she has done a great job here. It is difficult to make a potentially static opera entertaining yet also with emotional depth but Mitchell manages to do so without getting too overstuffed in the details (despite a lot going on), in stage directing that continually entertains and moves and has plenty of passion, wit and magic. Not everything works, with the slow motion getting rather extreme in places and "Ah Mio Cor", one of the most poignant arias in any of Handel's operas, is far too melodramatic and self-indulgent.

It's even better musically. The orchestra bring continuous energy and passion to their beautifully shaped and vivid playing, as well as delicate nuances, their playing is so good in fact that one wishes it was all matched on stage. Andrea Marcon conducts with a sympathetic and carefully pointed but also buoyant and energetically passionate quality, giving the music depth and space but also a rhythmic drive.

Particularly good in the performances, which are almost uniformly excellent, are Elias Mädler and Philippe Jaroussky. Mädler is in the same league as the unbelievably brilliant Oberto in the Adrian Noble production. He is so passionate and engaged, and has projection and musicality beyond his years. Jaroussky however is the best Ruggiero on DVD, and is certainly vastly superior to Kasarova, it is a powerful and sublimely sung performance. Along with Anna Prohaska's knockout "Tornami A Vagheggiar" and Anthony Gregory's impassioned and astonishingly energetic "È Un Folle, Un Vile Affetto", Jaroussky's "Verdi Prati" is one of the highlights of the production.

Katarina Bradić and Krzysztof Baczyk are suitably gallant, while Prohaska is outstandingly assured as Morgana and Gregory brings tremendous energy to Oronte. Only Patricia Petibon's Alcina disappoints, in a performance that is unusually vocally uneven, under-powered and shrill and dramatically falls into self-indulgent, sometimes impregnated melodrama. "Ah Mio Cor" should move and touch the soul deep, sad to say it left me stone cold. Just for the record, this reviewer has liked and even loved a lot of Petibon's performances, so she was expecting much more from her.

Overall, nontraditional but bewitching and unexpectedly entertaining. 8/10 Bethany Cox