we have accomplished singers here who negotiate the occasionally tricky music with fluency and poise. John Mark Ainsley (as Alexander the Great) is a commanding presence...It is a rare delight that real 'display' cadenzas are improvised by the singers at all appropriate points, and that the orchestra is directed with commendable style.

the complete work needs performances as well balanced, lively and affectionate as this one.

It is hard to imagine hearing another performance as convivial and life-affirming as this. The Orchestra of Classical Opera play supremely well...Page’s unobtrusive pacing of the pastoral mini-drama and sage weighting of orchestrally accompanied recitatives pull the listener along gently.

this piece is all about the music and the performance, and Ian Page puts his cards on the table straightaway in an overture that crackles with life … This is an excellent performance and a superbly produced recording … This is my first encounter with the Signum Classics Mozart series, and I am completely sold

the work can’t help being beautiful, and it’s performed with energy and spirit by Ian Page and his lively forces. The three sopranos, Sarah Fox (Aminta), Ailish Tynan (Elisa) and Anna Devin (Tamiri), vie with each other in graceful singing.

The whole thing – which, for completists, includes an extended, concert version of Aer Tranquillo as an appendix – sounds poised and elegant under Ian Page’s tasteful and slightly anonymous direction, with a neatly expressive orchestra and a strong cast headed by Sarah Fox’s gleaming, supple-sounding Aminta and John Mark Ainsley’s more self-consciously regal Alexander.

Mozart’s delightful early opera comes up fresh as new paint in this fleet, beautifully-recorded new set. Fox and Tynan are perfectly matched young lovers and Ainsley is achingly moving as the old king. Orchestral playing is sparkling and pristine. This modestly-priced set now leads the field on CD.