A major contribution to the `Handel Year": countertenor star Andreas Scholl returns to the Decca label in a new highdefinition film of Handel"s comedy Partenope, presented in Francisco Negrin"s stylish with a modern-dress staging from the Royal Danish Opera. Scholl gives an outstanding performance, with several contrasting arias that collectively display his unique purity of tone, his virtuosic technique, and his sensuous lyricism. Concerto Copenhagen and conductor Lars Ulrik Mortensen are unsung heroes of period-instrument performance, and they make a wonderfully spirited and polished contribution to the production.