Amadigi di Gaula was recorded last week immediately before a concert performance at the Festival de Radio-France in Montpellier. Eduardo L‹pez Banzo led his period-instrument ensemble Al Ayre Espaê±ol; the cast includes mezzo Maria Riccarda Wesseling as Amadigi, soprano Elena de la Merced as Oriana, soprano Sharon Rostorf-Zamir as Melissa and Orgando and countertenor Jordi Domnech as Dardano.

Riccardo Primo will be performed and recorded next year by Paul Goodwin and the Kammerorchester Basel (on period instruments). Handel composed this opera in 1727 for a cast including the star castrato Il Senesino and the rival prima donnas Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni; Goodwin's cast will feature countertenor Lawrence Zazzo in the title role (written for Senesino), soprano Nuria Rial as Costanza (the Cuzzoni role), Geraldine McGreevy as Pulcheria (the Faustina role), countertenor Tim Mead as Oronte, bass Andrew Foster-Williams as Isacio and bass Curtis Streetman as Berardo. The scheduled performances next year include February 15 in Basel, February 17 in Paris (at the Th_ê¢tre des Champs-Elys_es), March 9, in Geneva, June 2 at the Halle Handel Festival in Germany and July 13 at the Festival de Radio-France in Montpellier; the recording sessions are planned for May 29-June 1.