The wealth of virtues in Coote's recital include her intuitive sense of apposite, well-proportioned ornamentation and a sure feeling for just tempo...Occasionally I found her vibrato and vocal portamentos a little intrusive. But expressive singing with eloquent instrumental partnership make for a rewarding encounter.

The bronze-coloured mezzo of Alice Coote is well-suited to the virtuosity and drama in some of Handel’s greatest operas

Coote and The English Concert remind us in no uncertain terms that these characters and scenes rank among Handel's supreme achievements as a dramatist...'Scherza infida' is sung with a breathtaking sincerity that puts Coote's interpretation right up there with Janet Baker and Lorraine Hunt for its emotional intelligence.

So vividly imagined are Coote and Bicket’s interpretations of the 11 arias in their recording that it is like hearing in colour after a lifetime of black and white.

Coote is certainly no wallower; the crisp, directional, exuberant yet controlled coloratura fireworks of Stà nell’Ircana belie the sheer vocal heft she possesses, and the deft and fleet-footed playing of the English Concert never feels overbalanced. In fact, the sheer size of voice is thrilling, and it’s very good to hear an increasingly rare full-blooded interpretation of these operatic works.

How spoiled we are for great mezzos, and Coote is one of the most treasurable. There is some perfect singing on this disc – and the rest isn’t bad too...There is no showy emoting: everything here...is done with art rather than histrionics.