Vesselina Kasarova bases her recital of Handel arias on music sung by the brilliant castrato Giovanni Carestini (who was regarded by Hasse and others as the most perfect of singers). From her first few notes it is obvious that she does not have a natural or appealing Handel voice. She reins in her vibrato just about enough for that not to become an insurmountable problem, but other aspects of her singing are woeful: her performances are pervaded by poor intonation, swooping from underneath in the first notes of key phrases, inaccurate tuning on sustained notes and a lack of sensitive characterisation. Attempts at acting seem to be vaguely passionate rather than relevant to the context of each aria, and much of the singing is approximate, nasal, exaggerated and unsteady. Volatile or excitable dramatic situations suit Kasarova’s bulging mannerisms better than the slower, gentler arias, which are spoilt by excessive rubato and lumpy articulation (eg the ghastliest “Scherza, infida” on record). At least Alan Curtis and Il Complesso Barocco provide expert orchestral accompaniments, although they struggle to stay on course while Kasarova’s voice stamps over them in such a heavy-handed manner. The selection of arias that Carestini sang in Handel’s seasons between 1733 and 1735 is reasonably well chosen. It is a missed opportunity not to have included some of the splendid Italian insertions that the castrato sang in the 1735 revivals of Esther and Athalia, or arias from Parnasso in festa or Oreste, but perhaps this leaves the Carestini/Handel concept available open for a more suitable singer.