Gramophone Magazine
March 2021
Editor's Choice

Nathalie Stutzmann (contralto/director), Orfeo 55

Handel: Tamerlano, HWV 18, Act I: "Dal crudel che m'ha tradita" (Irene)
Porpora: Meride e Selinunte, Act II: "Torbido intorno al core" (Ericlea)
Handel: Ariodante, HWV 33: Overture to Act II
Handel: Rinaldo, HWV 7b, Act II: "Mio cor, che mi sai dir?" (Goffredo)
Vivaldi: Tito Manlio, RV 738, Act I: "Di verde ulivo" (Vitellia)
Vivaldi: Farnace, RV 711, Act II: "Gelido in ogni vena" (Farnace)
Handel: Berenice, HWV 38: Sinfonia to Act III
Porpora: Semiramide riconosciuta, Act II: "Tradita, sprezzata" (Semiramide)
Bononcini, G B: Griselda, Act II: "Caro addio, dal labbro amato" (Griselda)
Lotti: Alessandro Severo: Sinfonia to Act III
Handel: Arminio, HWV 36, Act I: "Sento il cor per ogni lato" (Ramise)
Caldara: Euristeo, Act III: "Sotto un faggio o lungo un rio" (Erginda)
Vivaldi: Bajazet, RV 703, Act III
Porpora: Statira, Act I: "Mira d'entrambi il ciglio" (Statira)
Handel: Amadigi di Gaula, HWV 11: Overture - II. Gavotta
Gasparini: La fede tradita e vendicata, Act II: "Empia mano" (Ernelinda)
Handel: Sosarme, re di Media, HWV 30, Act II: "Vado, vado al campo" (Erenice)
Vivaldi: L'incoronazione di Dario, RV 719, Sinfonia
Vivaldi: Ginevra principessa di Scozia, RV 716, Act II: "Degli Elisi dal soggiorno" (Lurcanio)
Lotti: Alessandro Severo, Sinfonia: I. Allegro
Lotti: Alessandro Severo
Handel: Berenice, HWV 38: Overture - III. Andante larghetto
Handel: Rinaldo, HWV 7b, Act III: "Sorge nel petto" (Goffredo)

Contralto Nathalie Stutzmann shines a light on the deep-voiced female singers of the Baroque era, often overshadowed by the extravagant talents and reputations of castrato singers like Farinelli and Caffarelli. Her programme of Handel, Vivaldi, Porpora, Bononcini, Caldara and Gasparini displays the variety of operatic roles – both female and male – assumed by contraltos like Vittoria Tesi and Anna Marchesini. “We must remember that the opera composers of the early 18th century saw the female contralto and the male castrato as vocally interchangeable,” says Stutzmann, “and that the voice most closely resembling a castrato is not the countertenor – produced using a falsetto technique – but the contralto, which is a natural voice.” Stutzmann both sings and conducts Orfeo 55, the instrumental ensemble she founded a decade ago.

"Stutzmann’s deep burgundy contralto, like a freakishly rich, wide-ranging countertenor, is the perfect fit for this repertoire...[Her] characterisation and vocal colouring are always true and specific. She also dares emotional extremes. You’ll look far to find a more powerful characterisation of ‘Gelido in ogni vena’, voice and ice-cold strings challenging each other to new heights of anguish." - Gramophone Magazine, March 2021.