Recital: Philip Cutlip
Heroic Arias for Handel's Bass Antonio Montagnana
Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen
27 May 2007

Bass recitals are not all that frequent, so it is good to be able to report that this one, with American Philip Cutlip accompanied by Michael Schneider and his Le Stagione Frankfurt, was excellent. It is a little surprising to see Cutlip described as a baritone, as, on this occasion at least, he fearlessly plumbed the depths of Montagnana's tessitura.

The concert began with a lively account of Telemann's Orchestral Suite in E-flat major; even if the work is somewhat interminable, it sounded pleasant in the nice acoustics of the venue. Cutlip opened the vocal side of the program, looking somewhat nervous, with Sorge infausta from Orlando. This flowed well, with a rousing cadenza, and the warm audience reception seemed to settle his nerves and he appeared increasingly relaxed as the recital progressed. Piangi pur from Tolomeo showed a good robust attack but nice legato, with excellent support from Le Stagione. More bravura opera arias followed, Nell mondo e nell'abisso from Tamerlano and Gia risonar from Ezio, with trumpet and oboe contributing to the colourful palette, and culminating in another spectacular cadenza.

After an interval, the orchestra returned with the overture from Hercules, followed by less heroic oratorio arias. The first, Turn not, O queen from Esther featured great vocal control, as well as profound emotion. Ah canst thou but prove me from Athalia featured great cadenzas in the B section. Cutlip's encore consisted of a jolly rendition of Ruddier than the cherry from Acis and Galatea, sung with a lascivious gleam, and the concert concluded with the Concerto grosso opus 3 number 2.

This recital was a much better showcase for Cutlip's strong resonant voice than his role as Gobrias in Belshazzar in the current festival, and a successful career should lie ahead of him.