In his setting of Orlando (drawn from Tasso’s Orlando furioso), Handel offers a score of a remarkable dramatic power, diversity and originality. Everything in the opera arouses admiration: the extremely varied scoring, the exuberant vocal writing, the rhythmic invention, the subtle melodies. With a fantastic vocal setup and his always excellent ensemble, Jean-Claude Malgoire has produced a recording that will permanently stay among the very best readings of the score. In words of The Daily Telegraph, “the playing of La Grande ecurie is excellent... Christophe Dumaux gives a fruity account of the tremendous mad scene”. French Countertenor Christophe Dumaux made his spectacular professional debut at 22 singing Eustazio in Handel’s Rinaldo at the Festival de Radio France, co-produced by the Innsbruck Festival and the Berlin Staatsoper, and released by Harmonia Mundi. He has since been regularly invited by the most prestigious opera houses and festivals including the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opera, the Salzburg Festival, Glyndebourne, the Proms, and the Berlin Staatsoper.
