Handel Giulio Cesare (2016)

Bartoli remains at her peak Not only is her coloratura flawless and her voice as colorful and ravishingly beautiful as ever but her ability to use her incomparable technique at the service of expression has also deepened with age As a seductress Bartoli was irresistible Teasing out her incomparably agile coloratura runs she softened high notes to tickle the senses with a mixture of sweetness and delight When in the second act she mounted a missile and diagonally ascended into the heavens it felt as though she were riding the ultimate pink Cadillac off to her honeymoon rendezvous And in her final aria Da tempeste il legno infranto when she danced around the stage and adorned herself with strings of lights while flashing the trademark Bartoli smile it was all one could do to resist running onstage and give her a huge hug