Orlando Paladino
(Deutsche Harmonia Mundi)
Haydn’s funniest opera? So claims the booklet. The composer shows wit and dexterity whizzing through slapstick and sentiment in the parody plot derived from the comic epic Orlando Furioso. But you get tired of the singers’ posturing caricatures, despite sterling voices such as Werner Güra, Michael Schade and Patricia Petibon. Harnoncourt’s over-spirited account with the Concentus Musicus Wien is no doubt funnier in the flesh.
GEOFF BROWN