Handel: RINALDO - Augelletti, che cantate, Houston 1975

THE SONGBIRD: Evelyn Mandac was born 1940 in Malaybalay, Philippines and studied voice there. She received a Fulbright scholarship to attend Oberlin College and a scholarship to The Juilliard School. In 1966, she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and made her professional debut in 1968 in Mobile, Alabama performing Orff’s "Carmina Burana" (which she recorded commercially under Seiji Ozawa the following year). She was the first Filipino artist to sing at The Met (her debut was Lauretta in 1975). She earned acclaim in major opera houses and festivals including in the U.S. (San Francisco, Washington, Houston, Santa Fe, Seattle, Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia) and internationally (Geneva, Netherlands, Rome, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Lyon, Salzburg, London, and Glyndebourne). Though never considered a coloratura soprano, her repertoire included roles with florid components such as Gilda, Juliette, Norina, Ines, and Manon.

THE MUSIC: "Rinaldo" was the most frequently performed of his many operas during his lifetime. It was the first he composed for London (premiering there in 1711). It was written with haste and has borrowed material from earlier works. It was revived many times and revised by Handel in 1717 and 1731. It quickly fell into obscurity, though now is produced fairly often and considered one of Handel's best operatic works. It is one of his magical operas with lots of theatrical flair: fiery chariots descending from the sky, singing mermaids, shape shifting, monsters, magic wands, disappearing castles and gardens, spirits, and a happy ending when the sorceress Armida renounces her evil powers and converts to Christianity! Almirena is the heroine of the piece and has lovely lyric music, including this "bird song" where she hums along to the sweet twittering of garden birds, portrayed in the score by flutes and a trilling recorder.

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