For the past four years Andrew Jones ... has been editing, translating and conducting rarely performed Handel operas in Cambridge: first Rodelinda, then Flavio and now Floridante of 1721. The boldness of the venture is indicated by the fact that this is only the third production of the work since the eighteenth century. ... Overall the performance was on a very high level of professionalism. The principals, Jenevora Williams, Nicholas Clapton, Rosemary Joshua, Katy Tansey and Guy Harbottle, all excelled, and in the first two we have really exciting young singing actors. Andrew Jones conducted with attack and efficiency. He must be congratulated on bringing this hazardous venture to a resoundingly successful conclusion.
The Independent, 6 May 1989
...in the second act the score bursts into life with a trio of frenzied arias, the most brilliant inevitably for Floridante himself. If Senesino ever sang the triplets in this solo with more clarity than they had here, I would be surprised. The countertenor Nicholas Clapton was at his finest in this showpiece and he also gave a moving account of his prison aria “Questi ceppi”...
Financial Times, 9 May 1989
...This taxing role [Floridante] is well taken here by a countertenor, Nicholas Clapton, who can range in tone from a feathery softness to a full, almost mezzo-ish ripeness, and can also pull off bravura cadenzas in the top register. As Elmira, Jenevora Williams sings with poise and musical acccomplishment, and Rosemary Joshua combines polish with high spirits and bright vocal agility as Rossane. The second castrato role, Timante, is sung with inviting vigour and an often clear, almost vibrato-free tone by Katy Tansey, and Guy Harbottle is the emphatic bad guy Oronte.
The Times, 9 May 1989
The Cambridge production was only the third since Handel’s lifetime, and unquestionably the best. It was also the only one to give the opera complete. ... Jean Chothia, the Cambridge producer, made skilful use of the West Road Concert Hall’s restricted stage space ... the scenery was changed rapidly without interrupting the action, and movements and gesture...conformed to the style of the period. So did the performance of the music, including the vocal ornamentation. The principal virtue in fact was the stylish approach on the part of both producer and conductor (Andrew Jones). There was a refreshing absence of anachronism and misplaced cleverness. ... This was the third Handel opera mounted by this group, and it did them credit. It established a firmer basis for reviving Handel in the theatre than the perversities too often considered appropriate elsewhere.
Opera magazine, July 1989
Cambridge alone, it seems, now wears the mantle long shared by Abingdon, Birmingham and the Handel Opera Society: it is there that the Handelian has now to resort for his annual operatic fix. ... This revival was in fact the first to represent the opera as Handel composed it. ... Jean Chothia’s production had its priorities right: economical movement, with the arias sung firmly from the front of the stage, a sensible stylisation, involving the use of gesture, and period costumes. ... Nicholas Clapton, in the title role, written for Senesino, showed a countertenor of considerable fullness and warmth, which he could use both boldly and with pathetic expression... Guy Harbottle showed a good forceful baritone as the villainous Oronte; Timante was sung by a quite promising student, Katy Tansey. The real discovery of the evening was Rosemary Joshua, in the soprano seconda donna role of Rossane: a singer with a natural grace and shapeliness of phrase, a true musician, expressive and communicative in all she does - we will, I am sure, see and hear much more of her. ... Andrew Jones conducted with style... he has developed a sure feeling for Handelian line and rhythm and timing, and it is good to be able to report that the tradition is in good hands.
The Musical Times, August 1989
