Ron Chaplin asks:

>One thing I don't understand about the recording is having a contralto,
>Helen Watts, sing the role of Israelite Man.  Was this customary during
>Handel's time? Why not have a tenor sing the role? I find it hard to
>believe that Baroque tenors were hard to find.  If any members can clear
>this up for me, I would appreciate it.

I don't know this particular opera, but I assume that the contralto is
singing a part that would have been assigned to a castrato in Handel's
time.  This is the usual modern solution when performing baroque opera.
For obvious reasons there are no castratos now, but I must confess to a
sneaking regret that I have never had the opportunity to hear one!  The
sound must have been wonderful.  Of modern contraltos, my hunch is that
Marilyn Horne probably came closest to the contralto sound, with that
trumpeting quality she had.

Julia Werthimer
California USA          email: [log in to unmask]