Daniel Behle / L'Orfeo Barockorchester SCHUBERT Arias & Overtures

Of all the great composers, Schubert left by far the largest number of uncompleted works: symphonies, piano and chamber music, songs, choral music and operas. Six of the latter are represented on this disc—the early 'Adrast' written around the age of twenty and 'Fierebras' written in 1823, five years before the sudden end of his short life. Schubert made many attempts to achieve success on the Viennese operatic stage but was singularly unlucky in doing so. Consequently none of his operatic music ever entered the repertoire and today it remains the most unknown aspect of his work. Therefore this disc is an assembly of some very rare music indeed, most of which has never before been recorded. Indeed, most of these operas and singspiels have never been professionally staged since they were written. For this recording, German tenor Daniel Behle travelled to Linz/Austria and worked together with the L’Orfeo Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Michi Gaigg. German tenor and composer Daniel Behle is without question one of the leading lyric German tenors of the moment. He made his Royal Opera debut in the 2016/17 Season as Ferrando (Così fan tutte) and was highly-celebrated. Behle is possibly best-known for his adaption of Schubert’s Winterreise for tenor and piano trio, performed in 2015 at the Wigmore Hall and recorded for Sony Classical with Behle and the Oliver Schnyder Trio. (Presto Classical)

Nuria Rial / Margot Oitzinger HAYDN Arie per un'Amante

The title of this album comes from the fact that Haydn wrote most of these insertion arias (arias written to show off the special talents of a singer in a particular production, and substituted for the arias by the opera's composer) for his lover, Italian soprano Luigia Polzelli. Thank goodness these delightful arias have survived, although the operas into which they were originally inserted, by composers like Pasquale Anfossi, Alessandro Guglielmi, and Francesco Bianchi, are forgotten. Haydn's inventiveness and benevolence overflow in this charming music. If there is any criticism of this assortment of arias, it's that they are all relentlessly cheerful and sprightly, and all in major keys, even those with texts like, "Unhappy and unfortunate I am…." While not all these arias reveal Haydn at his most dramatically astute, they find him at his most genial. One of the arias, La moglie quando è buona, is in fact laugh-out-loud funny. Spanish soprano Núria Rial and Austrian mezzo-soprano Margot Oitzinger divide the arias. Their voices are well matched: exceptionally pure, supple, and focused, with an unmannered, effortless sounding delivery and immaculate technique. In only one aria, Infelice sventurata, in an unmercifully low passage, does Rial show any strain. Michi Gaigg leads L'Orfeo Barockorchester in a sparkling, beautifully blended accompaniment. The sound is warm and spacious, but always clear and clean. (Stephen Eddins)