Given the glut of Handel compilation discs already available, cynics might dismiss Joyce DiDonato's latest recording of Handel's mad scenes, titled Furore , as an opportunistic marketing gimmick. This American mezzo-soprano has been rightly admired for her rich, well-rounded voice and bel canto flouncing on the opera stage, but how could anyone sustain interest through a whole programme of tempers and tantrums?

Yet as this London leg of her promotional tour confirmed, DiDonato's choice of repertoire offers a surprisingly varied range of emotion while highlighting her personal strengths. The concert wasn't an exact replication of the recording but she gave a generous programme, flipping schizophrenically between sexes and characters, from the arrogant Serse to the beautiful Dejanira, and was joined on stage by the period ensemble Les Talens Lyriques under Christophe Rousset.