Being Both – Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano), The English Concert, Harry Bicket (conductor)

Handel required much from his singers, male, female or castrato. ‘Being Both’ demanded the whole range from Alice Coote, and as a vocal goddess she delivered, blusteringly martial, grief-stricken, sublime. Her projection and diction are astonishingly clear, even when she was lying on her back in a bath! The gender confusions were sometimes baffling but never overwhelmed the beauty of the music or its performance. The vocal range, characterisation and stamina were phenomenal. Alice Coote can sing through anything. Harry Bicket and The English Concert collaborated in perfect style, whatever activity or distraction Susannah Waters’ complex and intriguing production presented.

Brighton Dome Studio Theatre, 14 May 2015

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