There is no question that the 18th century was all about the vocal excellence of the great singing stars, both female and male, sopranos like Bordoni and Cuzzoni as well as castrati like Farinelli and Carestini. They were what we would call superstars today: Alter egos of "their" composers, with whom there was often enough an almost symbiotic relationship. In addition to their absolute virtuosity - the arias of the Baroque period are not among the most difficult in the operatic repertoire for nothing - these sometimes almost mythical figures also fascinated audiences with their phenomenal art of cantabile. They were often the unchallenged rulers of the European opera stage, audiences worshipped them like gods, their fees drove many a house to ruin and their vocal artistry was so spectacular that even today, when their voices are long gone, their names are still mentioned with admiration: the great vocal virtuosos of the Baroque era live on in the music that great composers wrote down their throats.

Georg Friedrich Händel and Johann Adolph Hasse were two of these famous composers, who were so successful not least because of their interaction with many famous singers. Hasse was one of the founders of pre-classicism, combining Neapolitan vocality with an orchestral density that undoubtedly reflects his German roots. The other German giant of opera seria was George Frideric Handel, as the composer spent most of his life in London and adopted English nationality. Like Hasse, Handel also went through the Hamburg Opera, where he wrote his first opera score, Almira (1705), at the age of nineteen.

The recording was made with one of the most important international baroque orchestras, the Vienna Academy Orchestra under the direction of Jeremy Joseph.