Julia Lezhneva’s bell-like soprano is one of the most exciting emerging voices around, and she doesn’t disappoint in this recital of early Handel. Surely no instrumentalist’s fingers can move faster than Lezhneva’s vocal cords; she is able to somersault with the violin, hold her tone straight like the oboe, and then out-trill both of them. So there is lots to admire here – but also lots to love. If Lascia la Spina is a little halting, the final number – an aria for Beauty from The Triumph of Time and Truth – is meltingly worthy of the character. She is serious and choirboyish in the church numbers, then brings a touch of sensuality to her aria from Apollo e Dafne, even though she is duetting with a flute that seems determined to upstage her. Giovanni Antonini lets his zingy, energised orchestra get away with a few more such self-consciously scene-hogging episodes than perhaps he should.
