Hasse
Serpentes Ignei in Deserto
Philippe Jaroussky, Jakub Józef Orliński, Bruno de Sá et al; Les Accents/Thibault Noally
Erato 2173239904 87:10 mins
Clip: Hasse: Serpentes ignei in deserto – Aria: 'Aura beata, plaude jucunda'
Vocal stars align in this stunning world premiere. The most fashionable operatic composer of his day, Hasse was also maestro di cappellaat Venice’s female orphanage the Ospedale degli Incurabili, whose popular concerts he furnished with vehicles like this c1734 Serpentes ignei in in deserto (Fiery Serpents in the Desert).
In the story, God sends the serpents among the Israelites, killing many of them, because they had grumbled ‘against God and against Moses’. We hear of this in single airs of contrasting affect assigned one each to secondary dramatis personae whom director Thibault Noally shrewdly matches to the strengths of his soloists. The sweet clarity of sopranist Bruno de Sá distils the earnestness of the pious Josue, while the plangent vocalism of countertenor Carlo Vistoli is optimal for the intercessor Eleazar.
Where countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński’s dramatic flair communicates visceral horror at God’s chastisement, countertenor David Hansen’s gift for surprise in sequences and cadenzas evokes the chutzpah of Eliab. Of the two principals, Philippe Jaroussky is a majestic Moses, striding athletically through two arias, one blistering and anger-filled, the other lyric and reflective.
I might wish that Serpentes, written for female voices only, had been so cast. But it is in fact Julia Lezhneva, ‘the Angel’, who dazzles most brightly. In her second aria, she bends prestissimo passages to swoop and jump, executing more notes per second at more extreme intervals than seems humanly possible. Breathtaking. Berta Joncus
