Magdalena Kozená Mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozená captures the genius of Baroque composer George Frederick Handel in her album “'Ah! mio cor' Handel: Arias”
Album: 'Ah! mio cor' - Handel Arias
by Fred Cohn
Baroque opera has become so mainstream that the major labels are now more likely to release a Handel album than a Verdi-Puccini recital. Early music is no longer specialist territory; here, Magdalena Kozená brings the same technique to bear on Handel that she might on Rossini or even Janócek. She announces her method at the very first syllable of the CD's first selection, Alcina's "Ah! mio cor." The sustained note on the word "Ah" vibrates freely right from the moment of attack, without any of the artificial straightening that singers of a short while ago would use to establish their early-music bona fides.
The tone that emerges is fresh, clear and rounded. The hint of smokiness in its texture may explain why Kozená is labeled a mezzo, but I question the designation: the voice's basic color is unambiguously tilted toward the brighter end of the tonal spectrum. Arias typically entrusted to sopranos, such as the Alcina piece and "Oh! had I Jubal's lyre," sit without strain on this voice, and the embellishments Kozená adds to the da capo repeat of "Desterò dall'empia Dite" (Amadigi di Gaula) fly brilliantly above the staff. In fact, the lower reaches of her range seem to give her more trouble; a descent toward the end of "Scherza infida" calls forth a hollow sound that seems to belong to another voice entirely.
In its natural territory, though, it is a lovely sound, with enough complexity to make it still as pleasing to the ear at the end of this seventy-six-minute disc as it was on the first note. Perhaps it's that very beauty that occasionally leads Kozená to lay expression on a little thickly, as if in fear that she'll be considered merely a pretty voice. The small puff of air that punctuates the opening phrase of "Lascia ch'io pianga" spells out Almirena's distress - but then again, so would the musical line sung cleanly through. The recitative to "Where shall I fly?" is all but shouted. She negotiates "Ah! stigie larve!" - a low-lying scena from Orlando - in a hoarse Sprechstimme; the result verges on camp. In fairness, though, this is easily the least successful cut on the CD; for most of this recital Kozená's gratifying tone and solid technique let Handel's genius shine through. She is abetted by the spirited playing of the Venice Baroque Orchestra under Andrea Marcon, with special mention due to trumpet player Patrick Henrichs, who collaborates with Kozená to turn the Amadigi aria into a duet of virtuosos.
