Handel - Catone

The Guardian 60

Prina, Invernizzi, Hammarström, Novaro, Cirillo, Auser Musici/Ipata
(Glossa) (2 CDs)

A lost Handel opera? Not quite: during his London years, Handel quite often arranged the music of other composers and compiled them into pasticcio operas. In this case, arias from Leonardo Leo’s Catone are woven with Vivaldi, Porpora and Hasse numbers and short bursts of recitative to create a lively two-act drama. What this shows vividly is how baroque opera really worked: the choices are determined by the star singers, and the adaptations are to suit their talents. Here, Sonia Prina seems to struggle with the arias written for the celebrated castrato Senesino, but Riccardo Novaro is an impressive bass as Cesare, and the drama moves at a cracking pace under Carlo Ipata.