Mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg continues a run of outstanding form on disc with this recital, recorded live in Bergen in 2011. Carlo Broschi – nicknamed Farinelli, after the Farina family who first funded him – was the most celebrated castrato of the 18th century, and the arias Hallenberg has chosen are tailor-made showcases for his voice: usually either fast and furious or slow and languid with lots of room for embellishment. A riproaring Son Qual Nave, by Farinelli’s composer brother Riccardo Broschi, is immediately followed by a low-lying aria by Giacomelli, which Hallenberg spins into gorgeously long, mellow lines; Cervo in Bosco from Catone’s Arbace seems designed to show there’s nothing she can’t do. There’s no audience noise, and little indication we’re live other than that, by the encores, the brass tuning has slid a bit. Those encores include two imposters – Handel crowd-pleasers that Farinelli probably never sang – but nobody’s complaining.
