I love a mezzo-soprano and over the years I've fallen under the spell of many, but I always come back to Janet Baker singing Handel arias. I need to be in a happy and expansive frame of mind in order to listen, otherwise I find them too strident, but when the time is right, they're a perfect fit and the gentle power of her voice, its depth and sensitivity, match my mood and fortify my spirit.
One particular aria, Dopo Notte from Ariodante, is my all-time favourite; it was made for me, it is me, and when I found the CD notes and read the English translation, my hair stood on end, it defined my very being and I understood everything.
"Dopo Notte"
Aria from Ariodante (1734)
After night, dark and mournful,
the sun shines more radiantly
and fills the earth with joy;
while in a frightful tempest
my boat almost capsizes
it arrives in port
and clings to the shore.
by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
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