Recently released on Linn Records, Joshua Ellicott sings the role of Grimoaldo in The English Concert's stunning recording of Handel's Rodelinda, which 'underpins the intricate twists and turns of his characters and their complex relationships.' You can read more about the disc here.
“Joshua Ellicott’s […] sensitively sung scene of remorse … Highly recommended.”
Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times (Album of the Week April 25)
“…a first-rate lineup.”
Fiona Maddocks, The Guardian
“Joshua Ellicott eliciting a surprising amount of sympathy for the usurper Grimoaldo (particularly in his beguiling Act Three aria ‘Pastorello d’un povero armento’)”
Katherine Cooper, Presto Classical (Recording of the Week)
“Vestiges of unfeigned affection are audible in tenor Joshua Ellicott’s complex, conflicted portrayal of Grimoaldo. Without neglecting the ferocity at the core of Grimoaldo’s subterfuges, his singing conveys unexpected fragility. The first of his arias in Act One, ‘Io già t’amai, ritrosa,’ is voiced with bemused vehemence.
He sings first ‘Prigioniera hò l’alma in pena’ and, later in the act [2], ‘Tuo drudo è mio rivale, tu sposo’ with close attention to the ways in which Händel’s vocal writing advances the character’s psychological development. Vividly intelligible in every scene in which he appears, Ellicott’s diction galvanizes this Rodelinda’s dramatic electricity in Act Three, baring Grimoaldo’s competing emotions in ‘Trà sospetti, affetti, e timori.’ Moreover, the tenor’s enunciation of the accompagnato ‘Fatto inferno è il mio petto’…”
Joseph Newsome, Voix des Arts
Image credit: The English Concert / Linn
