致敬发提斯那‧波多尼 　　This is an intelligently prepared programme of music written for one of the best-known Italian prima donnas of the 18th century. Faustina (in England she was always just "Faustina") already had a European reputation when Handel brought her to London in 1726, where she sang in the first runs of his "Alessandro", "Admeto", "Riccardo Primo", "Siroe", and "Tolomeo", as well as revivals of "Floridante", "Radamisto" and "Ottone". She left to marry a then even more famous composer, Hasse, and toured Europe with him for thirty years, until she was well into her 60s. She died aged 84 in 1781. 　　 　　The disc includes Handels "Parmi che giunta in porto", a rarity that Handelians may care to notice. The booklet says it comes from "Radamisto 1720", but Handel wrote it specially for Faustina in 1727 for a revival of "Floridante" and she clearly liked it, as she sang it again in the revivals of "Radamisto" in 1728 and "Ottone" in 1730. It is a very showy aria, but then so are most of the rest here, two more by Handel, and five by Hasse, including a beautiful work he wrote in 1781 after Faustinas death. 　　 　　Those who heard her said that Faustina had perfect breath control, secure intonation, and great agility in runs, interval leaps, and ornamentation. Quantz, for example, who saw her in Dresden, praised her immaculate articulation and excellent trills. The music Handel and Hasse wrote for her demands that, within a range (in Handel) of c – a. 　　 　　Faustina sounds a hard act to follow but Vivica Genaux manages pretty well.