Previous recordings devoted to the repertoire of superstar Italian sopranos Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni have been well-received, but this latest, featuring Lucy Crowe as the latter and Mary Bevan as the former, may be the best of the lot. As Bridget Cunningham notes in her extensive commentary, the 18th century delighted in binary oppositions. It was only natural that Cuzzoni and Faustina should be cast as opposites and rivals, one excelling in heart-rending pathos, the other in thrilling vocal...