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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | 1714 version
Naïve are delighted to announce the world premiere recording of 'Orlando Furioso', the 1714 version. It scored a huge success at the Teatro San Angelo in Venice, where it was directed by none other than Vivaldi and his father. The manuscript, rediscovered 250 years later in Vivaldi’s personal library, now in Turin, was thought to be a revision of an existing 'Orlando' of 1713 by Bolognese composer Ristori. However, the musicologists in charge of the numbering of the works of Vivaldi, Peter Ryom and his successor Federico Maria Sardelli, wondered why Vivaldi should have kept this music in his personal corpus among all his other scores, and noticed that the manuscript featured many different hands and numerous pasted-in corrections of the parts. Sardelli observed obvious similarities between the arias of this 'Orlando' and those of the first two operas of which Vivaldi was the official composer. His intuition was confirmed by the analysis of Reinhard Strohm, a leading expert on 18th-century opera, and the entire musicological community: this music is definitely by Vivaldi! 'Orlando furioso' of 1714 now achieves a new lease of life under a catalogue number that has just been assigned to it: RV 819. Only two acts have survived and Orlando is sung by a baritone, unlike the 1727 version. The 47th Vivaldi Edition recording and 13th opera, this first recording is performed by an outstanding range of soloists: Riccardo Novaro, Romina Basso, Roberta Mameli, Delphine Galou and David DQ Lee - don’t miss his breathtaking aria “Piangero” [Act 2, Sc.5]. “It contains some extremely effective music, bracingly performed by Federico Maria Sardelli's lively Italian period-instrument group Modo Antiquo and soloists, among whom Roberta Mameli's lustrous soprano shines in one tiny, brilliant aria that steals the show.” The Observer, 2nd December 2012 “Foot-tapping and furiously enjoyable.” The Times, 21st December 2012 “Sardelli has done a remarkably convincing job...Galou has a golden depth of tone and is one of the few singers here who sometimes withholds her natural vibrato for expressive purposes. Soprano Teodora Gheorghiu brings some welcome dramatic excitement...Most importantly, though, there's some excellent music by Vivaldi which is complete and unique to this opera...All in all, a triumphant musical resurrection.” International Record Review, February 2013 “Only two of the opera's three acts have survived...Sardelli's reconstruction is thoroughly convincing and he has assembled a first-rate cast to prove it...Notwithstanding incompleteness, this is one of the most rewarding performances in the Naive Vivaldi opera survey.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2013 ***** “this recording presents Sardelli's editorial completion...Consequently, Modo Antiquo's spirited performance cannot be experienced as a coherent dramatic whole, but it is to the credit of the performers that they strive for dramatic convention...Sardelli's conscientious experiment opens up an intriguing new perspective into Vivaldi's encounter with a story to which he would return in 1727 for his famous masterpiece.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2013 “Novaro's voice is especially warm on high E and F, just where so many baritones have registral difficulty. He shines in a long scene of recitative when Orlando is trapped in a cavern...the continuo players are dramatically attuned without being showy...[Gheorghiu] is a heroine with real strength...Sardelli does a beautiful job, making it appear that the characters are running the show.” Opera News, April 2013 | | | (also available to download from $21.00) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Virgin Classics present the world-premiere recording of L’Oracolo in Messenia, an opera prepared by Vivaldi for Vienna and now reconstructed by Fabio Biondi. Biondi leads this triumphant performance, which opened the 2011 Resonanzen festival in the Austrian capital with a high-powered cast including Ann Hallenberg, Vivica Genaux and rising soprano Julia Lezhneva. Vivaldi revised L’Oracolo in Messenia for Vienna in 1740 after its premiere in 1738 in Venice and now Vivaldi expert Fabio Biondi has reconstructed the work from literary and musical sources – notably a libretto recently discovered at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. This musicological feat follows the example Biondi set with two other Vivaldi operas recorded for Virgin Classics, Bajazet and Ercole sul Termodonte. Vivaldi hoped for performances of the work in Vienna during Carnival in1741, but in October 1740 the Austrian Emperor, Charles VI, died suddenly and Austria’s theatres were closed for a year of mourning; so Vivaldi’s plans came to nothing and he himself died in Vienna in 1741, alone and poor. L’ Oracolo in Messenia was finally staged in the city in 1742 at the city’s Kärntnertor Theatre, starring Anna Girò, Vivaldi’s favourite prima donna, as Queen Merope. Appropriately enough, this recording was made in Vienna. It captures the opening performance of the 20th season of the prestigious Resonanzen festival of early music, which takes place at the city’s Konzerthaus. The impressive cast comprises soprano Julia Lezhneva, mezzo sopranos Ann Hallenberg (as Queen Merope), Vivica Genaux, Romina Basso and Franziska Gottwald, counter tenor Xavier Sabata and tenor Magnus Staveland. Fabio Biondi leads his own ensemble, Europa Galante, from the violin. The performance was greeted with a standing ovation and the media were lavish in their praise; indeed the Wiener Zeitung said that: “the festival could not have launched its 20th anniversary in more triumphant fashion”. “The performance...is an object lesson in how to do this type of work. Biondi's conducting is by turns witty, sexy and full of pathos...Fabulous, every second of it.” The Guardian, 11th October 2012 ***** “Biondi has assembled an impressive cast, with outstandingly fine contributions from [Hallenberg and Genaux]. It is Julia Lezhneva (Trasimede), though, who steals the show with dazzling coloratura and immense tonal precision...There is much to enjoy in the singing and playing alike.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2012 **** “The Sinfonia (from Griselda) typifies the vibrant elan which we have come to expect from Europa Galante: crackling fast music that packs a horn-fuelled punch...the opera's explosive dramatic climax is Ann Hallenberg's performance of Giacommelli's intense scene for Merope” Gramophone Magazine, December 2012 “the individual arias and the final chorus are uniformly attractive. The cast contains three of the world's finest Baroque mezzos, with contrasting, expressive individual timbres..Lezhneva's technically astounding Trasimede made me begin to understand the hype this very young singer has occasioned...Biondi and his Europa Galante forces flourish in this kind of music; there's much to enjoy in the way of instrumental detail.” Opera News, April 2013 “simply outstanding...Europa Galante give a spirited, vivacious interpretation, led magnificently by their founder...Gottwald makes a fabulous Etolian ambassador and young soprano Julia Lezhneva is simply outstanding as Trasimede...Genaux is usually exceptionally good but here, she achieves greatness. I have never heard her sing so well...I would give it ten out of ten and I intend to listen to it over and over again.” MusicWeb International, 16th May 2013 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | L'Olimpiade: The Opera
Caldara: | Grandi, è ver, son le tue pene | Cherubini: | Se cerca, se dice: 'L'amico dov'è?' | Cimarosa: | Non sò donde viene | Galuppi: | Quel destrier, che all'albergo è vicino Gemo in un punto, e fremo | Gassmann: | Ne’ giorni tuoi felici | Hasse, J A: | Superbo di me stesso Siam navi all'onde algenti Son qual per mare ignoto I tuoi strali terror de' mortali Viva il figlio delinquente | Jommelli: | So ch'è fanciullo Amore Lo seguitai felice | Leo: | Tu me da me dividi | Myslivecek: | Del destin non vi lagnate | Paisiello: | Tu di saper procura | Perez, D: | Più non si trovano Fiamma ignota nell'alma mi scende | Pergolesi: | No, la speranza più non mi alletta | Piccinini: | Caro, son tua così | Sarti: | Oh care selve, oh cara felice libertà! | Traetta: | Che non mi disse un dì! Del forte Licida | Vivaldi: | Mentre dormi amor fomenti from L’Olimpiade |
In the eighteenth century, 1,300 years after the last Olympic Games in ancient times, the Olympic theme was highly fashionable. Many composers based operas on the libretto L'Olimpiade by Metastasio. This recording has been structured to contain all of Metastasio’s original arias; it is a pasticcio in the sense that the music is by 16 different composers amongst the many that set the libretto between 1733 and the end of the century. This new release includes 16 arias in world-premiere recording. “Sung and played with freshness and spirit by the Venice Baroque and six youthful soloists, this disc – full of showpiece da capo arias and gleeful coloratura – may up your game on the obscure opera front.” The Observer, 20th May 2012 “The plot concerns the usual opera seria conflicts of loyalty, love and power, all set off by a deception. It amounts to a sequence of seemingly disconnected arias, but there’s not a dud among them.” Sunday Times, 27th May 2012 “Vivaldi's sole contribution, 'Mentre dormi', stands head and shoulders above the rest...The playing of the Venice Baroque Orcehstra under Chryssicos is extremely fine, full-blooded and alert string-playing with characterful wind contributions. This is a useful exploration of the compositional history of L'Olimpiade in attractive performances and I hope that complete versions by some of these composers are forthcoming once the Olympic frenzy is over.” International Record Review, June 2012 “if you treat the discs as a succession of concert arias there is much to enjoy here...the Venice Baroque Orchestra play with their trademark zest and colour...If the soloists can be word-shy, all sing with skill and stylistic understanding...Romina Basso impresses with her fiery temperament and scintillating coloratura...Nicholas Phan fields a compact, mellifluous tenor...The palm, though, goes to Karina Gauvin's Argene” Gramophone Magazine, September 2012 “There are no obvious duds, though the best items do come from the few composers whose names are still remembered – a glorious Cherubini aria sung by Romina Basso’s Megacle in Act II and Cimarosa’s Non sò donde viene at the close of Act III...Comprehensively annotated, very well recorded and beautifully played” The Arts Desk, 18th August 2012 “Within individual numbers the performances can be thrilling...the band nimbly negotiates the huge range of effects demanded by this composite score...Franziska Gottwald is spellbinding in Vivaldi's 'Mentre dormi', combining tenderness, warm timbres and awesome pianissimos. Sprightly and silver-toned, Ruth Rosique tosses off Tommaso Traetta's fioritura with courtly ease.” BBC Music Magazine | | | (also available to download from $21.00) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Baldassarre Galuppi: Sacred Music
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Hercules reborn! Rolando Villazón and Joyce DiDonato lead a dazzling cast in Vivaldi’s opera Ercole sul’Termodonte, first heard in Rome in 1723 and reconstructed by conductor Fabio Biondi from the original libretto, historical scores and his intimate knowledge of the composer. Like the mythical Hercules, hero of this opera by Vivaldi, dynamic tenor Rolando Villazón has triumphed over some huge challenges, including an operation in 2009 on his vocal cords. In this, his first complete studio recording of an opera for Virgin Classics, he takes on the title role of Hercules (Ercole), whose mission is to obtain the belt of the Amazon queen Hippolyta (Ippolita). She is portrayed by Joyce DiDonato, whose Virgin Classics album of Handel, ‘Furore’, gave ample evidence of both her seductive powers and her intrepid spirit in Baroque music. Completing the cast is a dazzling line-up of virtuoso star singers: Diana Damrau, Vivica Genaux, Philippe Jaroussky, Patrizia Ciofi, Romina Basso and Topi Lehtipuu. The conductor is Italian Baroque specialist Fabio Biondi, directing his group Europa Galante. His Virgin Classics recording of Vivaldi’s opera Bajazet, nominated for a Grammy, won multiple awards including the Grand Prix de l'Académie du Disque Lyrique in France, an ECHO Award in Germany and a Midem Classical Award. It also received the highest praise from publications such as Le Monde de la Musique, Diapason, Classica-Répertoire, Opéra International, Pizzicato, Opera News and Gramophone, which said: “Fabio Biondi and his players bring out countless nuances in the score with their usual array of interpretative devices ranging from gentle cello chords in recitative to sparky off-beat accents and pizzicati, and even some acid sul ponticello. There could hardly be a better way to bring this opera to life.” Biondi himself brought the score back to life, reconstructing it for performance in Venice in 2007, and subsequently in Paris in 2009. No autograph score or contemporary copy of the opera was in existence, but Biondi worked from the libretto printed for the first performances in Rome in 1723. He was then able to identify various arias from other Vivaldi scores kept in libraries around Europe, principally in France and Germany. In many cases, he also orchestrated the arias, extrapolating from their musical substance and his intimate knowledge of Vivaldi’s practice. Where no source existed for an aria or chorus, he reconstructed the music by adapting and borrowing from other works by Vivaldi. He also composed all the recitatives. As Biondi explains: “This opera occupies a special and emblematic position in Vivaldi’s life. At the age of 45, he took the risk of presenting an opera in Rome for the first time … Ercole proved a resounding success … The city was full of talk about this opera which, by introducing a new musical style, seemed to revolutionise a genre much loved in the Eternal City. His melodic invention, his bel canto lyricism, rhythmic impulse and colourful instrumentation captured the imagination of music lovers.” “Villazón looms large in the title role of the Vivaldi opera here so vividly captured on disc...In vocal colour and style [he] always stands apart from his vocal colleagues. He’s louder and broader, less bothered about immaculate pitch...[yet] a jolting mix of vocal styles at least fits the score...the absence of weighty matter in no way diminishes the music’s brilliance” The Times, 6th December 2010 **** “The secret here is Vivaldi's score, given a wonderfully energised performance by a cast of megastars...The Venetian composer is ubiquitously popular for his Four Seasons but his operas, making a gradual comeback, so far remain specialist territory.” The Observer, 19th December 2010 “Joyce DiDonato is compelling as the passionate Hippolyta, her 'Onde chiare' especially beguiling. Vivica Genaux is splendid in the role of the warrior-queen Antiope, presenting her credentials with confrontational fervour...Lively, incisive and stylish instrumental playing by Europa Galante provide sympathetic rapport with the voices.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ***** “Amongst several strong vocal performances, Joyce DiDonato's is the one to cherish, especially her exquisite 'Onde chiare che sussurrate'. Rolando Villazón as Hercules is on dramatically good form...Biondi's orchestral interpretation is a flowing one...but the rhythmic vitality is still most present...it's worth the money for DiDonato's fabulous performance alone.” Classic FM Magazine, February 2011 **** “it is exciting to hear a Baroque opera sung by an almost entirely high-class cast (only the threadbare Patrizia Ciofi is below par)...Villazón is suitably larger than life as Hercules; he gets around tricky coloratura passages and embellishes with unbridled bravado...spirited gusto is certainly the order of the day from Europa Galante.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2011 “As the first stage work that Vivaldi wrote in Rome, scholars find the score of exceptional musicological interest; the rest of us will find it an entertaining parade of shortish arias contrasting in mood, rich in melody and full of energy, in a performance that could hardly be bettered.” The Telegraph, 4th February 2011 **** “DiDonato is first among equals in this star-studded recording: Vivica Genaux's dazzlingly sung, resinous Antiope is well contrasted with the plush, voluptuous alto of Romina Basso's Teseo, whilst Patrizia Ciofi and Diana Damrau's gleaming bright sopranos are easily distinguishable as Orizia and Martesia...Biondi and his Europa Galante are, as ever, live wires 'in the pit'” International Record Review, March 2011  BBC Music Magazine
Opera Choice - January 2011 |
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| |  | Handel - Italian Cantatas Volume 6Olinto, pastore arcade (1708)
The Accademia degli Arcadi - that thought-provoking and innovative literary circle set up by a group of poets, composers, aristocrats and churchmen, which championed a return to classical (and pastoral) ideals and one of whose keenest members was the Marquis Francesco Maria Ruspoli, Handel's patron in Rome - forms the aesthetic background for this sixth and penultimate release in the series of Italian cantatas by the Saxon composer which Fabio Bonizzoni and La Risonanza are making for Glossa. In an engrossing essay written by Carlo Vitali, which benefits from the counsels of Michael Talbot, the reader is introduced to the social and political references contained within the pastoral texts of Olinto, pastore arcade, Duello amoroso and Alpestre monte, the three Handel cantatas which make up this CD. Bonizzoni turns again to three of his regular singers as well as counting upon the services of his exceptional first violinist, the young Swiss Leila Schayegh, an up-and-coming player whose talent is undisputed. The spring of 2010 is anticipated as seeing the conclusion of this Handel collection, the grand finale being the marvellous cantata Apollo e Dafne. Volume five is a Gramophone Critics Choice 2009. Recorded in Saint-Michel en Thiérache, France, June 2008 “It is one of the special pleasures of the Glossa series to encounter much-loved arias in their original formats...Bonizzoni’s direction and the superb playing of La Risonanza are state-of-the-art Handel.” Sunday Times, 7th February 2010 **** “Passionate as well as poetic, Fabio Bonizzoni's interpretation draws us irresistibly into Handel's affective states. The vocalists and the band are of the same high standard. …Roberta Invernizzi commands a dazzling upper range and tosses off demanding coloratura passages with careless ease, Romina Basso's rich range of colours reminds us why Baroque audiences preferred the castrato alto over the tenor voice... Solo instrumentalists stand out as much as do solo vocalists, and their ensemble is flawless.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 ***** “Best of all, La Risonanza's subtle and cultivated style produces a revelatory performance of Alpestre monte. Its conclusion, "Almen dopo il fato mio", is the gorgeous final testament of a suicidal lover; Fernández, Bonizzoni and his band combine to produce an exquisite melancholy. ...La Risonanza deserve to win many friends for yet another absorbing treasure-trove.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2010 “All three singers are seductive, especially Roberta Invernizzi, effortlessly impressive no matter what’s thrown at her ...In all three works the instrumental playing and intimate, luminous recording, approaches perfection.” Andrew McGregor, bbc.co.uk, 16th February 2010 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Vivaldi: New Discoveries I
Last year, Federico Maria Sardelli, who has made several contributions to the Vivaldi Edition, was appointed to take charge of the Vivaldi catalogue. It is now his job to authenticate any further manuscripts that turn up in what may be Vivaldi’s hand. Over the past ten years, thanks in part to the stimulus of the Vivaldi Edition project, several manuscripts by Vivaldi have surfaced in different countries. Federico Maria Sardelli has decided to record the finest of them. So this recording does indeed present new works by Vivaldi. The content is very diverse, ranging from a motet, which is performed by the mezzo-soprano Romina Basso, to an Oboe Concerto, a Recorder Concerto, arias and other gems. There is a clear pattern to these discoveries. Almost all come from peripheral sources, and most appear to originate from special commissions at the margin of the composer’s activity. The most imposing of the new works introduced here is a solo motet for contralto and strings, Vos invito, barbarae faces, RV811, only recently unearthed by Valerio Losito and Renato Criscuolo in the library of the basilica of S. Francesco, Assisi. The work is anonymous but is attributed to Vivaldi persuasively by Federico Maria Sardelli on the basis of several passages recurring in authenticated Vivaldi works. “This disc has some attractive novelties: an oboe concerto found among the big Berlin Sing-Akademie library; a violin sonata, lurking in an online catalogue, which is a real addition to the recital repertory; and a couple of isolated opera arias plus a motet, sung by Romina Basso.” The Observer, 12th July 2009 “Sardelli's band Modo Antiquo deliver turbulent music with vigorous refinement and successfully convey the fizzy excitement and fantasy of Vivaldi's writing. "se lento ancora il fulmine"… is magnificently sung by Romina Basso, whose masterful technique, clear delivery of text and expression of vocal phrases is also showcased in the motet Vos invito, barbarae faces (RV811... ) Basso's ornamentation is spellbinding here...” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2009 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Handel - Italian Cantatas Volume 5 - Rome, (1707)Recorded in Saint-Michel en Thiérache, France, in June 2008
In May 1707 George Frideric Handel entered into the service of the Marquis Francesco Maria Ruspoli, and under his protection, embarked upon a tremendous career.As well as making a name for himself as a spectacular virtuoso on the harpsichord and organ, through his plentiful concerts in the Roman academies, Handel lost no time in also becoming a highly sought-after composer through his felicitous and apparently inexhaustible inspiration. In addition to a significant number of cantatas for solo voice and basso continuo, Handel also involved himself in composing cantatas for larger numbers of voices, combining these with a large supporting orchestral group. The score of Clori,Tirsi e Fileno is certainly a complex one, as much for its dramatic plotline as for its individually-chosen musical options: the result is a genuine opera in miniature, equipped with real refinement and lightness. Consequently, Clori,Tirsi e Fileno turns into an authentic laboratory in which Handel experiments with the most diverse musical and dramatic forms, obtaining by this method a capacity to elaborate that special language which was to locate it firmly within the glories of the theatre, from the past and the present. Extended interview with Fabio Bonizzoni on Glossa’s new website: glossamusic.com “Fabio Bonizzoni ensures that the performances crackle with dramatic tension or plumb the depths of desolate melodic melancholy according to what Handel’s music demands, but the most impressive aspect of these performances is the conductor’s awareness of story-telling and judicious moulding of the musical flow. ..further testament to the marvellous subtlety and richness of Handel’s Roman music and contains Handel-singing, playing and direction of the absolute highest order…This lovingly prepared series promises to be of the utmost importance to Handel lovers.” Gramophone “This recording would have benefited from having three female voices more sharply differentiated in character, but the performance keeps the slender plot buoyed up.” The Telegraph, 4th March 2009 “The performance here is one of smouldering sensuality. The verve of the director's gestures generates huge excitement, while the sharp contrast of colours between each singer's voice - the translucence of Roberta Invernezzi, lustre of Yetzabel Fernández, and darkness of Romina Basso - enriches the tapestry of sound. Vocalists match passion with gorgeous ornamentation...” BBC Music Magazine, May 2009 ***** “…Bonizzoni has the admirable knack of conveying the strong rhetorical elements in Handel's vivacious music, and the entire performance is beautifully executed with subtlety and charm.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2009 “Probably composed for his principal Roman patron Marquis Francesco Maria Ruspoli in autumn 1707, Handel's pastoral drama, Cor fedele,in vano speri (usually called by its nickname 'Clori, Tirsi e Fileno') tells the story of the fickle serial seductress Clori and her two rival shepherd lovers Tirsi and Fileno. Despite taking oaths of fidelity to each, her intrigue is eventually exposed, and the three members of the love triangle agree to coexist peacefully as long as all concerned get some satisfaction from the arrangement.
Fabio Bonizzoni seems keen to emphasise the operatic atmosphere of this music, and the three singers are ideally cast. Roberta Invernizzi's virtuoso coloratura in Tirsi's furious denouncing of Clori in 'Tra le fere' is magnificent (the oboe solo passagework by Andrea Mion is also impressive). Yetzabel Arias Fernández is a fruitier and deeper soprano than Invernizzi but still perfectly in proportion with the articulate music-making. Leila Schayegh's solo fiddling in 'Barbaro, tu non credi' is by turns brilliant and beguiling, as the minx Clori uses contrasting passionate fast music and mock-sorrowful slower passages to wangle her way back into Tirsi's favour. Fileno's “Sai perchè l'onda” is plaintively sung by Romina Basso.
Recitatives are performed with perfect poetic clarity and dramatic timing. Bonizzoni's Italian ensemble astutely diagnoses and communicates the affect of each movement in some of the youthful Handel's most freely imaginative music. The balance between instruments is consistently fine, warm and lyrical. In particular, Bonizzoni has the admirable knack of conveying the strong rhetorical elements in Handel's vivacious music, and the entire performance is beautifully executed with subtlety and charm. This is another essential disc from La Risonanza, whose project is shaping up to become the most rewarding Handelian discographic undertaking of the decade.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Following the much-loved 'Streams of pleasure' album, this is the second recording resulting from the collaboration between Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Karina Gauvin and Alan Curtis' Complesso Barocco. This studio recording followed a successful tour in Europe in Autumn 2011 of France, Germany and Austria. Headed by Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Karina Gauvin in the principal roles, the full vocal cast is amazing: Emöke Barath, Romina Basso, Johannes Weiser... Once again, Alan Curtis shows why he is considered one of the finest exponents of Handel's music. “if all ears were once on the Egyptian seductress Cleopatra, now they are focused on the grieving Roman widow Cornelia...Curtis presents a Giulio Cesare that is as volatile and ambiguous as Mozart's Don Giovanni. Il Complesso Barocco's articulation is vigorous and incisive...Lemieux plays Cesare as a man made foolish by love...This is not the definitive Giulio Cesare - but it does advance the debate around a much loved, little understood masterpiece.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2013 **** “Judiciously paced recitatives are accompanied unobtrusively and always permit the poetry to flow with the utmost clarity...Curtis wisely pays attention to Handel's tempo markings...There are no weak links vocally. Marie-Nicole Lemieux is a dependable Cesare and Karina Gauvin is an eloquent, steely Cleopatra. Emoke Barath's Sesto is ideally fresh-voiced and Romina Basso is a perfect fit for Cornelia” Gramophone Magazine, March 2013 “excellent singers, without a weak link … this Giulio Cesare is a welcome addition to this wonderful opera’s now substantial discography” International Record Review, March 2013 “Lemieux uses her exciting coloratura with psychological insight and, importantly, accuracy...However, the voice is wonderfully sensual for the love music...Gauvin is all feminine sensuality...As always, though, it is Curtis that holds the whole show together. He approaches this, as with his other Handel recordings, with fresh eyes and ears so as to reawaken us to how effective this opera can be for our own time” MusicWeb International, 22nd April 2013 | | | (also available to download from $25.00) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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As part of the successful Vivaldi Edition, Naïve releases the first ever recorded version of Vivaldi’s Armida, one of his notable operas, featuring an exceptional cast of singers including Sara Mingardo and Furio Zanasi, conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini. Armida was a decisive work in Vivaldi’s life as it marked the moment when the Venetian composer became the link in musical history between Monteverdi and Rossini. Armida is the tenth opera released within the Vivaldi Edition and the second Vivaldi opera recorded by Rinaldo Alessandrini. The title role is remarkably interpreted by the contralto Sara Mingardo who is a regular performer within the Vivaldi Edition. Armida represents another successful collaboration between Sara Mingardo and Rinaldo Alessandrini following the release of Vivaldi’s Gloria last year. The exceptional cast on this release also features Furio Zanasi who sang with Sara Mingardo on the latest Vivaldi’s Farnace release in 2009. “Sara Mingardo gives a towering performance, and there are wonderful contributions from Martín Oro and Romina Basso.” The Guardian, 8th July 2010 *** “Sara Mingardo's dark-coloured voice suits the character of the title role. Her Act 1 exit aria 'Armata di furore' comes off splendidly, with the emphasis placed on musicality rather than distracting histrionics...It is Romina Basso's proud warrior Adrasto, though, who steals the show with her mellifluous agility and graceful articulation.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2010 **** “The opera is full of brilliant, inventive music...The singing is excellent; the playing crisp and exciting.” Sunday Times, 25th July 2010 *** “the title-role is taken - no, grabbed by the scruff of the neck - by Sara Mingardo. Her emotionally intense performance cuts a swathe through the opera, making sense of the curious plot...[she] dominates this performance with her rich, treacly contralto which can switch with alarming speed from purring malevolence one moment to panting passion the next.” International Record Review, September 2010 “Raffaella Milanesi, Marina Comparato and Romina Basso are all on fine form as the disputing participants in a complex network of quarrelling lovers...Alessandrini's direction is unfailingly astute and he conveys playfulness in elegant ways. Concerto Italiano's violinists play with alert finesse.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2010 | | | (also available to download from $25.00) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Gramophone Magazine