CD Review: Mirrors (Jeanine De Bique, soprano; Concerto Köln / Luca Quintavalle) Berlin Classics 0302017BC

The Trinidadian soprano Jeanine De Bique has in recent years been making quite a name for herself, garnering appreciation in the international music press. Her slender discography to date indicates but a fraction of her eclectic repertoire – Rameau’s Platée, Handel’s Rodelinda (title role) and Mahler’s Symphony no 8. The present recording is De Bique’s first solo release and comprises of opera arias from the baroque period. Yannis François, musicologist and concept creator for the album explains: “The listeners can experience different reflections of the same character as if they were looking at themselves through a broken mirror.” The arias tell of key moments in the psychological development of the protagonists, illuminate the diversity of the female experience and the relatable perspectives of their lives.

Thus, there are portraits of Cleopatra from Handel’s eponymous opera and Carl Heinrich Graun’s Cesare e Cleopatra, from 1742. Agrippina appears in Handel’s opera of 1709 and Georg Philipp Telemann’s lesser-known Germanicus of five years earlier. Rodelinda, from Handel’s 1725 opera of the same name, is contrasted with that of Graun’s eponymous opera from 1741. Alcina, from Handel’s 1728 opera, has a counterpart in the character of Morgana in Riccardo Broschi’s neglected L’Isola D’Alcina from 1735. Deidamia in Handel’s under-rated eponymous 1741 opera is paired with the forgotten 1745 opera Achille in Sciro by Gennaro Manna. Overtures to the opera Partenope by Handel and Leonardo Vinci provide interludes at junctures in this interesting programme.

Many exponents of baroque opera fall down in my experience often fall down on two counts: their enunciation of the text and ability to maintain the desired emotion convincingly throughout the aria. Not so, with Jeanine De Bique. On the evidence of this recording, she’s a singer equally at home in faster, more dramatic repertoire (Handel's 'L'alma mia fra le tempeste' from Agrippina), where her voice flashes with rapier accuracy, as the more contemplative arias (Handel’s ‘Se pietà di me non senti’ from Giulio Cesare), which find her gleaming tones lingering seductively on every note. There’s more though, and it is best summed up in the word feeling. In Jeanine De Bique’s assumptions, these are not dry renditions, but characters inhabited, lived and brought to life through the arias.

The Concerto Köln under Luca Quintavalle’s direction provide appositely discrete yet characterful accompaniment. The recording is first rate, the three booklet notes on the recording concept are informative and the texts and translations are available via a QR code.

If you feel in need of a New Year’s gift – and who does not after the past years – Jeanine De Bique stylish and up-to-date take on the baroque is sure to brighten your life for some time to come.