Monteverdi: L'Orfeo

Celebrating their 40th anniversary, Andrew Parrott and his Taverner Consort & Players offer a magnificent recording of the world's first operatic masterpiece, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. Befitting such an outstanding recording, the 2-CD set is luxuriously packaged with extensive notes and the complete libretto with English translations in a 52-page booklet.

Andrew Parrott and the Taverner Consort & Players celebrate their 40th anniversary with a marvellous recording of the world's first operatic masterpiece, Monteverdi's L’Orfeo. As can be expected from Andrew Parrott, who has been at the centre of the early and baroque music scene for over four decades, his meticulous research results in a performance and stylistic approach that brings a fresh perspective to the myth of love lost and found through the art of music. His scholarship, combined with the collaborative nature of the Taverners, translates into a performance brought to life by the finest singers and instrumentalists in the early music world, including tenor Charles Daniels who is the superb Orfeo.

Recording Country: France

Recording Location: 15-22 January 2003. Eglise Notre Dame du Liban, Paris.

Mix Date: 22 Jan 2003

Executive Producer: Alain Lanceron

Producer & Editor: Daniel Zalay

Balance Engineer: Jean Chatauret (Musica Numeris)

"Imaginative, involving,and beautifully recorded." *** CD OF THE MONTH, OPERA NOW , JANUARY 1996

This recording was made in Vienna in 1954 conducted by Paul Hindemith, and represents the first recording with period instruments. Interestingly, Nikolaus Harnoncourt is playing in the orchestra!

This new recording of Monteverdi’s “Orfeo”, a work which is generally considered to be the first true opera in musical history, marks its 400th anniversary. It is performed in a new version developed by one of the world’s leading experts on the composer’s music, Rinaldo Alessandrini and his internationally acclaimed ensemble Concerto Italiano, and presented in a luxurious limited edition of 2 CDs within an illuminating book.

“Cavina’s wonderful account goes straight to the top of the list of recommended recordings. Do not miss it.” Editor’s Choice, Gramophone, November 2007

Reissue in the Brilliant Classics Opera Collection of this excellent “HIP” performance of Monteverdi’s ever popular L’Orfeo, history’s first real opera. Soloists include the crème of Baroque Voices: the great Sara Mingardo, Sylvia Pozzer, Gabriella Martellacci, Gianpaolo Fagotto and the inspiring and historically based direction of Sergio Vartolo.

All libretti are available on www.brilliantoperacollection.com.

Narrating the famous tale of the Thracian singer Orpheus and his quest to the underworld to bring his wife, Euridice, back to the land of the living, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo is one of the most enduringly popular of all operatic works.

Numerous performances continue to be staged to this day, and there are no signs of fading appreciation for the work, even four centuries after its first performance (in 1607). Sergio Vartolo’s fantastic, historically-informed interpretation presents an ideal opportunity for listeners to explore the reasons behind this opera’s vast and undiminishing popularity.

Monteverdi’s famed skill for giving full expression to a text’s meaning is particularly clear – shown, for example, in his careful deployment of dissonance for emotional impact, and in the immensely moving third-act aria. Beyond this, however, L’Orfeo’s ability to enthral audiences may lie in its celebration of the power and beauty of music; from the opening Prologue, where Music appears onstage to extol her virtues, to Orpheus’s ability to achieve the unthinkable and gain access to the underworld through his talent as a singer, music is the driving force of the opera’s action. This fantastic recording reveals the genius of Monteverdi’s work fully, featuring an exemplary and authentic interpretation that is the result of Sergio Vartolo’s thorough study of the score. Essential listening for any serious fans of opera, this set is also an excellent starting-point for exploring the music of Monteverdi, who has been dubbed the ‘creator of modern music’.

Monteverdi’s Orfeo was premiered in 1607 and is the oldest opera still in the repertoire today. It fell into oblivion and it was only in 1927 that the first printed score was reprinted in facsimile edition. This lacked specificity in the instrumental parts. In 1943 Hindemith published his thoroughly researched score. This public performance was recorded in 1954 in Vienna.