Disc 1

1 	Sinfonia, Part 1	01:14 	
2 	Prologue. Questo è il giorno prefisso	06:32 	
3 	Sinfonia, Part 2	01:16 	
4 	Act 1. Dall'oriente porge	04:36 	
5 	Act 1. Delizie, contenti	07:52 	
6 	Act 1. Se darbe pungente	03:10 	
7 	Act 1. Ferma, Medea, deh ferma	05:32 	
8 	Act 1. Fiero amor l'alma tormenta	01:40 	
9 	Act 1. Son vago, grazioso	05:52 	
10 	Act 1. Voli il tempo, se sa		02:02 	
11 	Act 1. O dio Giasone	01:32 	
12 	Act 1. Regina, in questo giorno		04:04 	
13 	Act 1. I mei segreti amori	01:17 	
14 	Act 1. Giasone, è qui la sposa	06:08 	
15 	Act 1. Godi, godi, bella coppia	01:39 	
16 	Act 1. Isifile infelice		02:58 	
17 	Act 1. Dell'antro magico	05:28 	

Disc 2

1 	Act 2. Oreste ancor non giunge	04:05 	
2 	Act 2. Io pur ti tocco	11:29 	
3 	Act 2. Ecco il fatal castello	01:51 	
4 	Act 2. Effetti singolari	02:11 	
5 	Act 2. Combattimento	01:02 	
6 	Act 2. Sei ferito, mio bene?	01:57 	
7 	Act 2. Alla nave, alla nave?	05:26 	
8 	Act 2. La regina di lenno	03:12 	
9 	Act 2. Per ritrovar suo onore	03:19 	
10 	Act 2. Soccorso, soccorso	06:52 	
11 	Act 2. Scendi, o bella	05:08 	
12 	Act 2. O dio ecco Giasone	06:27 	
13 	Act 2. Gradite tempeste	04:36 	

Disc 3

1 	Act 3. Sinfonia	00:45 	
2 	Act 3. Nel boschetto ove odor	02:45 	
3 	Act 3. Sotto il tremulo ciel	03:50 	
4 	Act 3. Adoriamoci in sogno	03:38 	
5 	Act 3. Il porto il lido	11:05 	
6 	Act 3. Giason / Besso	01:05 	
7 	Act 3. Perch'io torni a languir	04:27 	
8 	Act 3. Giotte, giotte	01:05 	
9 	Act 3. Fra i notturni perigli	01:38 	
10 	Act 3. Perché sospiri	02:49 	
11 	Act 3. Di guerriero drappello	02:12 	
12 	Act 3. Besso, Besso! Chi mi chiama?	02:31 	
13 	Act 3. Tormento, ove mi guidi?	03:11 	
14 	Act 3. Non m'affligger così	03:53 	
15 	Act 3. Ovunque il piè rivolgo	02:23 	
16 	Act 3. Giason qui parla	09:08 	
17 	Act 3. Regina, Egeo, amici	04:55 	
18 	Act 3. Non ho più core in petto	02:20 	
19 	Act 3. Quante son le mie gioie	03:51 	
20 	Act 3. Ciaccona	02:44 

Christophe Dumaux - countertenor (Giasone)
Katarina Bradic - soprano (Medea)
Robin Johannsen, soprano (Isifile)
Josef Wagner - bass-baritone (Giove / Besso)
Filippo Adami - tenor (Demo)
Yaniv D'Or - countertenor (Delfa / Eolo)
Angelique Noldus - mezzo-soprano (Amore / Alinda)
Andrew Ashwin - bass (Ercole / Oreste)
Emilio Pons - tenor (Egeo / Sole)

Symphony Orchestra of Vlaamse Opera Antwerp/Ghent
Federico Maria Sardelli - conductor

Cavalli’s operas still remain tricky to bring off. Though nowadays few people would think of performing an edition as luxuriant and interventionist as Raymond Leppard’s for the Glyndebourne Festival, there is still plenty of scope for an editorial hand.

For a start, the operas are generally long, far longer than we nowadays would consider. An urtext can be difficult to establish. So there is a lot of scope for being creative when creating the edition actually being performed. This new recording of Cavalli’s Il Giasone from Vlaamse Opera is frustratingly silent about what we are actually hearing. The score revision is credited to Alexander Krampe but his article in the CD booklet tells us little about his editorial methods even if there is a lot about his admiration for early copyists.

The recording comes in at 190 minutes. That’s rather less than René Jacobs 234 minutes on his 1989 Harmonia Mundi recording. Jacobs recorded a cut edition, so that we are inevitably hearing a version which misses things out. It would be nice to be told what and why.

The other problem is the balance between comedy and tragedy. Venetian opera of this period revelled in the juxtaposition of comic and serious characters. On this disc we do get a good mix of comedy and pathos. Il Giasone is itself rather difficult to take, because even the serious characters get mixed up in a plot which could come from a Carry On film. Both Giasone (Christoph Dumaux) and Medea (Katarina Bradic) are provided with exes, Isfile (Robin Johannsen) and Egeo (Emilio Pons). Their comings and goings render Medea’s vengeance and Giasone’s heroics mere side-shows to the main event, something approaching a four-door Whitehall farce.

To the credit of the original theatre director, the production seems to have kept a balance. On this set there is a nice mix between both fun and pain.

Dumaux makes an excellent lover, creating a nicely erotic atmosphere. As a hero Giasone is hopeless; he is completely interested in his latest woman, unreliable and certainly not heroic. Dumaux makes the most of this. That said, I have to admit that the role seems to sit a little oddly for him in terms of tessitura and there are moments when he seems uncomfortable.

As Medea, Katarina Bradic successfully moves from infatuated lover to vengeful sorceress. Her duets with Dumaux are notable, particularly their tryst Act 3. She is tremendous in invocation to the spirits at the end of Act 1.

The most consistent character is Isfile; she is the lover spurned and Robin Johannsen is superb in her tragic scenes such as the opening to Act 2. Filippo Adami makes a lovely Demo, the largest comic character, a stammering dwarf. Adami stammers hilariously but sings Demo’s songs like Con arte con lusinghe quite delightfully. The rest of the cast, all playing double roles, are well cast though not all sound like period specialists and a little too much vibrato does creep in. The vocal doubling - and the large cast of characters, 14 in all - means that you do need to be on the ball about who is who.

The Symphony Orchestra of Vlaamse Opera accompanies with a small string band (11 players), recorders, cornett and timpani plus a continuo group of viol, two lutes and two harpsichords. Conductor Federico Maria Sardelli keeps things moving and lively yet lets the melodic moments flower.

The advantage, and disadvantage, of this recording is that it is taken from live performances in an opera house. You are not hearing a specialist period performance troupe; these are cast and players of Vlaamse Opera and in that sense, what they achieve here is very impressive. More so, in that the performance has a credible dramatic feel. The scenes tumble over each other, vividly and you can get drawn in.

The track-list on the booklet is not terribly helpful and the plot summary rather short so if you want to enjoy this set to its full then you need to download the libretto (in Italian and English) from the Dynamic website (www.dynamic.it). It takes a little finding, but it is there and is well worth acquiring to be able to follow the set properly.

The set is also available on DVD and frankly, if you can afford it, then I would buy the DVD to get the full benefit of the stage production and actually see what is going on. The CD booklet includes a few photographs of what appears to be an attractive, modern dress production.

At the moment René Jacobs’ recording is still the prime recording of this work. This new one, being from a live non-specialist opera house is a little rougher around the edges, but manages to be dramatic and engaging. I would be entirely happy to listen to it, but do consider the DVD. ---Robert Hugill, musicweb-international.com

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Disc: 1
  1. Sinfonia
  2. Prologo. Recitativo
  3. Act 1. Scene 1. Aria. Notte ascondi i tesari, Statira
  4. Act 1. Scene 1. Recitativo
  5. Act 1. Scene 1. Duetto. Tenebre tentatrici
  6. Act 1. Scene 2. Aria. Amor che mascherasti
  7. Act 1. Scene 3. Recitativo
  8. Act 1. Scene 4. Recitativo
  9. Act 1. Scene 5. Recitativo
  10. Act 1. Scene 6. Recitativo
  11. Act 1. Scene 7. Recitativo
  12. Act 1. Scene 8. Recitativo
  13. Act 1. Scene 9. Recitativo
  14. Act 1. Scene 10. Recitativo
  15. Act 1. Scene 10. Aria. All'idol del mio core, Nicarco
  16. Act 1. Scene 11. Recitativo
  17. Act 1. Scene 12. Aria. Gioventù, non è più
  18. Act 1. Scene 13. Aria. Son vil serva, et amo un Re: Deità che movete
  19. Act 1. Scene 14. Recitativo
  20. Act 1. Scene 15. Duetto. Amiamci, e non divida, Statira, Cloridaspe
  21. Act 1. Scene 16. Recitativo
  22. Act 2. Scene 1. Recitativo
  23. Act 2. Scene 2. Recitativo
  24. Act 2. Scene 3. Aria. Fra l'armi, mio core
  25. Act 2. Scene 4. Recitativo
  26. Act 2. Scene 5. Recitativo
  27. Act 2. Scene 5. Recitativo
  28. Act 2. Scene 6. Aria. Non parto io no

Disc: 2
  1. Act 2. Scene 7. Recitativo 
  2. Act 2. Scene 8. Recitativo
  3. Act 2. Scene 9. Aria. La tromba orgogliosa
  4. Act 2. Scene 10. Aria. All'armi mio core
  5. Act 2. Scene 11. Recitativo
  6. Act 2. Scene 12. Recitativo
  7. Act 2. Scene 12. Aria. Merfi, mia Patria, Regno
  8. Act 2. Scene 13. Recitativo. Aria. Amanti semplicetti, Vaffrino
  9. Act 2. Scene 14. Aria. Io per me ragione havrei, Elissena
  10. Act 3. Scene 1. Recitativo
  11. Act 3. Scene 3. Aria. Era pur la bella cosa
  12. Act 3. Scene 4. Recitativo
  13. Act 3. Scene 5. Aria. Lassa che fo, che veggio
  14. Act 3. Scene 6. Recitativo
  15. Act 3. Scene 7. Recitativo
  16. Act 3. Scene 8. Recitativo
  17. Act 3. Scene 9. Recitativo
  18. Act 3. Scene 10. Aria. Lontananza, Statira
  19. Act 3. Scene 10. Aria. Quante son le donzelle
  20. Act 3. Scene 11. Aria. Su dunque, a che tardate
  21. Act 3. Scene 12. Recitativo
  22. Act 3. Scene 13. Recitativo
  23. Act 3. Scene 14. Recitativo
  24. Act 3. Scenes 15 & 16. Recitativo
  25. Act 3. Scene 17. Recitativo
  26. Act 3. Scene ultima. Tutti. Mio bene, idolo mio; Alle nozze, alle nozze

Plutone – Giuseppe Naviglio (bass)
Maga – Roberta Andalo (soprano)
Mercurio – Stefano di Fraia (tenor)
Statira – Roberta Invernizzi (soprano)
Cloridaspe – Dionisia di Vico (mezzo-soprano)
Ermosilla/Usimano – Maria Ercolano (soprano)
Elisenna – Giuseppe de Vittorio (tenor)
Nicarco – Giuseppe Naviglio (bass)
Dario– Giuseppe Naviglio (bass)
Floralba – Maria Grazia Schiavo (soprano)
Brimonte – Daniela del Monaco (contralto)
Vaffrino – Rosario Totaro (tenor)
Eurillo – Roberta Andalo (soprano)
Brisante – Stefano di Fraia (tenor)
Messo – Valentina Varriale (soprano)
Cappella de’ turchini
Antonio Florio - conductor

Cavalli’s ‘Statira, Principessa di Persia’ was first performed in Venice in 1656 to a libretto by Busannello, who had provided the libretti for Cavalli’s ‘Gli Amori di Apollo e di Dafne’ and ‘Didone’. Quite a number of Cavalli’s operas received performances in Naples soon after their premieres in Venice. This was probably planned for ‘Statira’ but plague in Naples put paid to this plan. The opera was in fact revived in Naples in 1666 as part of the celebrations for the coronation of Philip 4th of Spain, its last performances until modern times.

The surviving manuscripts of the opera shed some interesting light on the operatic practices of the period. A manuscript, connected with the 1666 Naples performances gives us a pretty complete musical picture of the work as performed there. Also surviving is an incomplete manuscript relating to the Venice performances which has no mythological prologue or finale but what makes it fascinating is that it is substantially in Cavalli’s own hand. In his notes Dinko Fabris argues that this score was a notebook, containing material from various versions and corresponding to no particular performance.

For this disc, Antonio Florio and his Cappella di Turchini give us a complete performance of the Naples version, complete with comic scenes and other items which may have been added specially for Naples by hands other than Cavalli’s.

The story turns on the amatory adventures of Statira, princess of Persia (in real life a daughter of Darius, she became Alexander the Great’s second wife). Having nursed Cloridaspe, King of Arabia, after he was wounded in battle, the two have fallen in love. This love is hindered by Statira’s two hand-maidens. One, Floralba, is in love with Cloridaspe herself. The other, Ermosilla, is actually a man (Usimano) who is masquerading as Statira’s serving woman as he is in love with Statira. To complicate matters Nicarco has fallen in love with Ermosilla. The plot gradually works itself out, with many complications along the way. There are further battles, Cloridaspe is captured and rescued by Ermosilla/Usimano (initially pretending to be a woman dressed as a man). Ermosilla/Usimano kills Nicarco because he refuses to kill Cloridaspe. The action is aided (or hindered) by a group of servants. Vaffrino, Nicarco’s black servant; Elissena, Statira’s old nurse and played by a man; Eurillo, Statira’s page. The principal comic element in the opera comes from the play that is made on the fact that Elissena is sung by a man; this especially when Eurillo pretends to woo her. Of course, all ends happily with Statira married to Cloridaspe, Floralba (revealed to be Cloridaspe’s sister) married to Usimano.

There is a great deal of recitative, interspersed with some lovely arias in Cavalli’s typical style with charming melodies over dance rhythms. But if you do not speak Italian, you do have to spend a lot of time following the opera with the libretto to come to understand the opera. But for those that do understand Italian, and for those who simply love the language, this set is a dream as it is performed by an all Italian speaking cast who bring the work’s language to the fore, making really dramatic play with the text.

Antonio Flori’s Capella de Turchini are a small group who give a crisp flexible performance of the work. Cavalli does not give them many moments to really shine, but they provide just the capable and discreet accompaniment needed in opera of this period and type.

Regarding the singers, things are rather more mixed when it comes to their voices. In the title role, soprano Roberta Invernizzi is simply lovely. She sings with a rich voice, providing good, flexible ornaments. In her aria in Scene 9 of Act 2, she shows herself perfectly capable of delivering a brilliant vocal part when needed.

Mezzo-soprano Dionisia di Vico, sings Cloridaspe with lovely firm tones, though the part sounds a little too low for her and I did wonder what sort of voice it was originally written for. Still, she sings Cavalli’s music with a fine sense of shape and style and her duets with Statira are quite lovely.

As Ermosilla/Usimano, soprano Maria Ercolano has some of the most dramatic action. The scene where she/he kills Nicarco is brilliantly dramatic, but Ercolano also hauntingly sings Usimano’s lament for his native land.

Tenor Giuseppe de Vittorio is the travesty Elissena, making much play with her comic by play. His is not the most subtle of performances, but in this sort of part who can really complain.

As Floralba, soprano Maria Grazia Schiavo displays some lovely bright tones. Her aria in Scene XIII of Act 1 is a charming, dance-like number, but here and in other places her performance is marred by a tendency to lose focus in the upper register.

Bass Giuseppe Naviglio plays three roles; Pluto in the prologue and then the small role of Darius and Nicarco. As Darius he displays a pleasant, firm baritone register, but in the longer role of Nicarco he is apt to bluster and his ornamentation can be a little sketchy.

As the councillor, Brimonte, contralto Daniela del Monaco displays rather counter-tenor-like tones which unfortunately sometimes lack focus. The part sometimes sounded a little low for her and this rather marred her delivery of ornamentation in her aria.

As the black servant, Vaffrino, tenor Rosario Totaro provides a voice which is rich in character, but rather over-heavy on vibrato. His performance is vivid, but not always easy on the ear.

Roberta Andalo sings the small role of Eurillo, but has the advantage of having the funniest part in the opera when Eurillo ‘woos’ Elisenna in an amusing scene full of lovely verbal conceits.

Despite their occasional vocal uncertainties, the cast have a pretty good grasp of the style and mood of Cavalli’s piece and combined with their wonderful projection of the text, makes for an enthralling listen. A more international cast might give us a more musically perfect performance, but they are unlikely to give us such a vivid one. ---Robert Hugill, www.musicweb-international.com

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CD1
Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo
1 Atto II, Scena 11: Mira questi duo lumi 05:44
2 Atto II, Scena 6: Sinfonia di viole a 5 01:40
3 Atto I, Scena 3: Hor con pania e con esca 01:26
Gli amori di Apollo e di Dafne
4 Atto I, Scena 8: Volgli, deh volgi il piede 07:57
Didone
5 Atto II, Scena 2: Didone, ohimè, non mi riceve amante 01:29
6 Atto II, Scena 2: Re de' Getuli altero 02:45
La virtù dei strali d'Amore
7 Atto I, Scena 3: Occhi per pianger nati 03:53
Egisto
8 Atto III, Scena 10: Amanti, se credete 01:31
L'Ormindo
9 Atto I, Scena 3: Aprite, aprite gl'occhi 00:45
La Doriclea
10 Atto I, Scena 6: Udite amanti 00:54
Giasone
11 Atto I, Scena 15: Dell'antro magico 05:14
12 Atto II, Scena 1: Lamento «Lassa, che far degg'io 06:46
Orimonte
13 Atto III, Scena 12: Caro Ernesto / Mia Cleanta (Instrumental version) 01:42
Oristeo
14 Atto I, Scena 4: Dimmi amor, che farò? 03:32
La Rosinda
15 Atto I, Scena 7: Non col ramo di Cuma 02:26
La Calisto
16 Atto III, Scena 1: Restino imbalsamate 02:18
17 Atto III, Scena 1: T'aspetto, e tu non vieni 02:46
L'Eritrea
18 Prólogo: Ne le grotte arimaspe 02:24
La Veremonda,
19 Atto III, Scena 6: Tardano molto? - Qui si fa il ballo de' tori 02:27
20 Atto III, Scena 6: Che rumori, che voci - Qui se replica il ballo de' tori 02:50

CD2
L'Orione
1 Prologo: Sinfonia a 3 01:36
Il Ciro
2 Atto III, Scena ultima: Mia vita / Moi bene 01:51
Xerse
3 Atto II, Scena 18: Ed è pur vero, o core 01:45
4 Atto II, Scena 18: Luci mie che miraste 04:01
Erismena
5 Atto I, Scena 4: Speranze voi che siete 02:41
6 Atto I, Scena 5: O stelle, a che mi sforzate 01:43
7 Atto I, Scena 5: A me il veleno 00:52
La Statira
8 Atto II, Scena 9: Menfi, mi patria, regno 03:28
Artemisia
9 Atto II, Scena 6: Regina, udiste mai 03:48
Hipermestra
10 Atto III, Scena 14:Quest'è un gran caso al certo 03:04
Elena
11 Atto II, Scena 14: Amazone non son 02:52
Xerse
12 Atto II, Scena 1: Speranze, fermate 04:08
Ercole amante
13 Atto IV, Scena 7: Una stila di speme 01:57
14 Atto I, Scena 3: E vuol dunque Ciprigna 03:14
15 Atto I, Scena 3: Ma in amor ciò ch'altri fura 03:02
Scipione affricano
16 Atto III, Scena 3: A tuo dispetto amor 01:41
Mutio Scevola
17 Atto I, Scena 7: Né fastosa allor che ride / Né dolente allor che freme 01:38
Pompeo Magno
18 Atto I, Scena 17: Come al mar corrono i fiumi 02:07
Eliogabalo
19 Atto III, Scena 2: Giuliano al tuo ferro 01:38
20 Atto III, Scena 15: Pur ti stringo, pur t'annodo 02:16

Mariana Flores - soprano
Anna Reinhold – mezzo-soprano
Cappella Mediterranea 
Leonardo García Alarcón - conductor

The opening of Venices first opera house, the Teatro di San Cassiano, in 1637, was one of the major events in the history of opera. The protagonists of these new operas henceforth represented all the social categories making up this public and who, in fact, had to be able to find themselves onstage. The gods were no longer the only ones to lay down the law, challenged by the Vices and Virtues who preached in the Prologues. The new heroes are kings, emperors, dictators, courtesans, as well as nurses, valets, soldiers, philosopher, and, above all, lovers. Whoever they might be, we find them sympathetic or antipathetic; all are glorified, all are ridiculed. With his 27 existing operas, Francesco Cavalli gives us a fascinating version of this theatre of life. A single main thread runs through the excerpts drawn from each of them by Leonardo García Alarcón: the expression of human passions. They are all there, from ingenuousness to ecstasy, joy to anger, passionate love (and its erotic, sensual expression) to despair. This fascinating programme represents a new contribution to the knowledge of Cavallis operas and allows for unveiling part of the mystery still surrounding his works. ---mdt.co.uk

Cavalli composed more than 30 operas for five different Venetian theatres, and most of the scores survive. Recordings of complete stage works are not exactly rare but constitute a drop in a very large ocean. Leonardo García Alarcón’s double album ‘Heroines of the Venetian Baroque’ is a clever chronological narrative that draws diverse extracts (often very short) from 27 different operas dating between 1639 and 1667, most of them sung by Mariana Flores. Proci’s impassioned ‘Volgi, deh volgi il piede’ from Gli amori di Apollo e Dafne has melodic leaps, moments of tormented dissonance and reiterated refrains that are reminiscent of Monteverdi’s famous lament from Arianna (revived during the same 1640 Carnival season). Interspersed among doleful scenes are lowbrow comic complaints about Cupid from Egisto (1643), L’Ormindo (1644) and La Doriclea (1645). Flores’s softer languid singing aptly conveys a nymph’s erotic longing for the return of her lover Jupiter (La Calisto, 1651). Isifile’s lament ‘Lassa, che far degg’io?’ in Giasone (1649) is sequenced next to a vividly dramatic account of her rival Medea’s incantation scene – the latter sung ardently by mezzo-soprano Anna Reinhold.

The two singers join together in a few dissimilar scenes such as the flamenco-infused depiction of a Spanish battle in La Veremonda (1653). Flores’s depiction of the enraged Juno in Ercole amante (Paris, 1662) is a potent tour de force, whereas the simile imagery of waves is realised beautifully in the gently rolling and overlapping string ritornellos that accompany Giulia’s ‘Come al mar corrono i fiumi’ from Pompeo Magno (1666). The recital’s multi-layered trajectory concludes with a quartet sung by two pairs of reunited lovers at the end of Eliogabalo (1667).

Christina Pluhar and L’Arpeggiata take their recital’s title ‘L’amore innamorato’ from an early lost opera (1642). Up to 10 vivacious continuo pluckers generate lilting energy that transports listeners on an imaginative whistle-stop tour of Cavalli’s operas. Hana Blažíková’s nimble diminutions beguile in Harmony’s prologue to L’Ormindo (addressed to the good citizens of La Serenissima), and her plaintive chromatic lines in ‘Affliggetemi, guai dolenti’ from Artemisia (1657) combine superb technique and harmonic intelligence. Calisto’s enraptured ‘Restino imbalsamate’ (the only selection duplicated in both recitals) is charged with erotic languor by Nuria Rial, who elsewhere delivers gleeful humour in Nerillo’s thinly disguised paean to the craziness of Venice (L’Ormindo) and evokes tragic despair in Cassandra’s lament from La Didone (1641).

Almost every number is credited transparently as having been ‘arranged’ by Pluhar, which probably tells the wary purist something about improvisational flights of fancy (Alarcón is not immune to some interventionist touching-up either). Not everyone will relish the fusion cuisine served up by Pluhar’s realisations – ‘Ninfa bella’ from La Calisto turns into an instrumental jam session not far removed from the Latin-jazz-rock of the early 1970s band Santana – but the singing is frequently sensational and L’Arpeggiata’s colourful playing conjures alluring fantasy. ---David Vickers, gramophone.co.uk

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1 L'Ormindo - L'Armonia (Prologo)
2 Il Giasone - Sinfonia
3 La Calisto - Act 1 - Piante ombrose (feat. Nuria Rial)
4 La Calisto - Act 3 - Restino imbalsamate (feat. Nuria Rial)
5 La Rosinda - Act 3 - Vieni, vieni in questo seno (feat. Hana Blazikova)
6 La Calisto - Act 1 - Verginella io morir vo (feat. Nuria Rial)
7 La Calisto - Act 1 - Ninfa bella (feat. Hana Blazikova)
8 La Calisto - Act 1 - Non è maggior piacere (feat. Nuria Rial)
9 L'Artemisia - Act 3 - Dammi morte (feat. Hana Blazikova)
10 L'Eliogabalo - Sinfonia
11 L'Artemisia - Act 2 - Affliggetemi, guai dolenti (feat. Hana Blazikova)
12 L'Ormindo - Act 2 - Che città (feat. Nuria Rial)
13 Libro quarto d'intavolatura di chitarrone - Toccata prima
14 La Didone - Act 1 - Alle ruine del mio regno (feat. Nuria Rial)
15 La Didone - Act 1 - L'alma fiacca svanì (feat. Nuria Rial)
16 Il primo libro di canzone - Sinfonie - La suave melodia

Nuria Rial - soprano
Hana Blažíková - soprano
L'Arpeggiata (Ensemble):
 Cello [Baroque] – Josextu Obregon 
 Cornett – Doron David Sherwin 
 Double Bass – Boris Schmidt
 Guitar [Baroque] – Marcello Vitale
 Harp [Baroque] – Sarah Ridy
 Harpsichord, Organ – Haru Kitamika 
 Percussion – David Mayoral 
 Psaltery – Elisabeth Seitz, Margrit Übellacker
 Viola da Gamba – Lixsania Fernández, Rodney Prada
 Viola da Gamba [Lirone] – Paulina Van Laarhoven
 Violin [Baroque] – Judith Steenbrink, Veronika Skuplik
 Violone – Rüdiger Kurz 
 
Christina Pluhar – conductor

Amidst the splendors of Venice in the middle 17th century, no composer would have been better known than Francesco Cavalli, not even the great Monteverdi, Cavalli's teacher. Yet he is rarely heard these days, partly because his operas were massive spectacles that are extremely difficult to mount in an era of budget-cutting. The ideal solution is a collection of arias, and that's what you get here. The title, roughly "Love in Love," comes from a Cavalli opera that's not represented on the album, but it's close enough in spirit to the content of most of the arias; sex might have been mentioned too. The pair of sopranos involved are wonderful: the powerhouse Nuria Rial predominates, but the precise tones of Hana Blaziková, welcome at a time when Masaaki Suzuki's Bach cantata series is winding down, offer an attractive contrast. But the real stars of the show are the players of L'Arpeggiata and their director, Christina Pluhar. She assembles a large group of strings and keyboard instruments (a small organ is an especially nice touch) that can deliver an astonishing range of colors. These are paired with aria types that give an idea of the content of Cavalli's operas: tragic ground bass pieces, little comic tunes, virtuoso declamation that picks up where Monteverdi's late operas left off, and more. There are also purely instrumental pieces that might have been interpolated into a recital in Cavalli's own time. The Erato/Warner Classics engineering team nails the ambiance in the Salle Byzantine at the Palais de Béhague in Paris, an ideal venue. Richly sensual, and strongly recommended for anyone with the slightest interest in the crucial music of Venice or in the early Baroque in general. ---James Manheim, AllMusic Review

In L’Amore innamorato Christina Pluhar's ensemble L'Arpeggiata and sweet-voiced sopranos Nuria Rial and Hana Blažíková offer us a gem, a rarity that cleverly borrows the title of a mysterious opera by Cavalli, thought to have been lost or perhaps never premiered. Programmes of arias by Cavalli remain rare, for musicians find themselves confronted with an oeuvre that still requires rediscovery and demands more time and work than the manuscript of an opera seria. ---warnerclassics.com

Złota era włoskiej opery według wielu melomanów przypadła na XVII a nie XVIII wiek. To wtedy tworzyli Claudio Monteverdi czy też Francesco Cavalli.

Christina Pluhar i zespół L’Arpeggiata na swojej najnowszej płycie wracają do swojej pierwszej wielkiej miłości – twórczości Francesco Cavalli'ego.

Cavalli był protegowanym Claudia Monteverdiego – kompozytora, który zainspirował tę formację w 2009 roku do wydania albumu „Il Teatro d’amore”. „Muzyka Cavalli'ego pasjonuje mnie” – przyznaje Christina Pluhar. Włoski kompozytor działający w Wenecji stworzył blisko 40 oper, z których wiele jest dziełami o najwyższej wartości. Do światowego repertuaru weszły bardzo późno – dopiero w latach 60. XX wieku swoją premierę miały takie pozycje, jak „La Calisto”, „Il Giasone”, „L’Egisto” „L’Ormindo” i „La Didone”.

Na najnowszej płycie L’Arpeggiata znalazły się arie i fragmenty instrumentalne z sześciu oper Wenecjanina. Repertuar albumu uzupełniają utwory dwóch współczesnych Cavalli'emu twórców – Girolamo Kapspergera i Andrei Falconieriego. ---multikulti.com

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Messa Concertata[38'04]
1	Kyrie[5'05]
2	Gloria[13'53]

3	Canzona a 6[4'30]
4	O quam suavis et decora[3'32]

Messa Concertata[38'04]
5	Credo[12'36]

6	Canzona a 4[4'00]

Messa Concertata[38'04]
7	Sanctus and Benedictus[3'08]

8	O bone Jesu, O Jesu amabilis[4'54]
9	Canzona a 3[5'10]

Messa Concertata[38'04]
10	Agnus Dei[3'22]

11	Canzona a 8[3'55]

Seicento
The Parley of Instruments
Philippa Hyde, Carys Lane - soprano
Rodrigo del Pozo - tenor
Timothy Roberts - organ/regal/harmonium
Peter Holman - conductor

We do not know for sure when the Messa Concertata was written, but one possibility is that it was composed for the Solemn Mass that was sung in St Mark’s on 1 May 1644 to celebrate the reconciliation between the Vatican and the Duchy of Parma, who had been in dispute for the previous four years; Venice had supported Parma. Such a date certainly makes sense, for the work takes its starting point from Monteverdi’s late church music. The scoring, using two four-part vocal choirs accompanied by two violins and three trombones with continuo, is virtually the same as that of Monteverdi’s great setting of the Magnificat printed in his Selva morale of 1641. The colourful polychoral ensembles of Giovanni Gabrieli and his contemporaries, with a majority of wind instruments, have given way to more modest groups of solo voices and violins; there are no cornetts, and the trombones simply double the lower parts of the second choir. On the other hand, although most of the solos come from the first choir, there is still eight-part vocal writing with antiphonal exchanges. In the second half of the seventeenth century antiphonal writing tended to be replaced by contrasts between a solo group and a chorus.

The musical language of the Messa Concertata is also characteristic of the 1640s. Cavalli still uses Monteverdi’s methods of organizing large-scale structures, using short, contrasted sections linked like a patchwork quilt, with instrumental ritornelli punctuating the major vocal sections and articulating the structure. Cavalli, like Monteverdi, frequently uses the graceful triple-time rhythm associated with Venetian opera arias. But he does not use the aria as a structural model, as the next generation did, concerned as they were with replacing patchwork structures with fewer, larger sections organized by purely musical means. Nevertheless, Cavalli is not just a talented follower of Monteverdi. His individual voice is heard most clearly in the more reflective moments such as the striking ‘et in terra pax’ section of the Gloria, with its falling figure illustrating the word ‘terra’ (‘earth’), or the beautiful ‘Crucifixus’ section of the Credo, with its chains of gently descending dissonances. In the Agnus Dei Cavalli shows that he can write as rapt and concentrated polyphony as sixteenth-century composers such as Lassus or Palestrina.

Cavalli’s instrumental pieces (they are collectively described as ‘sonatas’ in the index of Musiche sacre but are individually labelled more precisely as ‘canzonas’) also look backwards to the sixteenth century. As we might expect, the most old-fashioned ones are those in six and eight parts. In these cases the performer is left to choose some of the instruments, the music is in a neutral contrapuntal style equally suitable for winds and strings, and the contrasts are made between high and low groups of instruments, between duple time and triple time, or between two choirs, as in Giovanni Gabrieli. The four-part canzona is an odd mixture of rather old-fashioned music scored specifically for the modern ‘string quartet’ layout. The three-part canzona is the most modern. It effectively falls into five distinct movements, has some idiomatic writing for the two violins and violoncino (a small bass violin), and ends with a soulful passage based on the four descending notes of the passacaglia, the most potent emblem of love and death in Venetian opera. The solo motets are typical of the period in their free mixture of declamation, virtuoso passage-work, and expressive triple time.

We have tried in this recording to reproduce the effect of performance under Cavalli’s direction, using a building – St Jude’s, Hampstead Garden Suburb, in London – similar in size and acoustic to St Mark’s. We have used solo voices throughout, since Italian church ensembles at the time normally sang one to a part and the Venetian concerted style was particularly focused on the interplay between soloists and instruments. The organ is a new instrument by Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn modelled on a type frequently used in Italian Baroque churches for continuo playing. As will be obvious to the listener, it is capable of making a much more positive and characterful contribution to the ensemble than the small chest organs with wooden pipes usually used in modern performances and recordings. ---hyperion-records.co.uk

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01. Prologue
02. Act I
03. Act II
04. Act III

Artemisia - Francesca Lombardi-Marzulli (soprano)
Artemia - Sakiko Abe (soprano) 
Oronta - Valentina Coladonato (soprano)
Meraspe -  Maarten Engeltjes (countertenor)
Alindo - Roberto Balconi (countertenor)
Ramiro - Marina Bartoli (soprano)
Eurillo - Silvia Frigato (soprano)
Indamoro - Salvo Vitale (bass)

La Venexiana
Claudio Cavina – conductor

It's not necessary to make extravagant claims for Francesco Cavalli's originality to recognize his absolute mastery of the style of mid-17th century Venetian opera perfected by Monteverdi in L'incoronazione di Poppea. The fact that he was able to keep the operatic form so fresh and vital (and most importantly, hugely entertaining) for more than a generation after Monteverdi's death is achievement enough. The modern revivals of more and more unknown Cavalli operas continue to add luster to his legacy. Artemisia overflows with examples of the first-rate inventiveness of Cavalli's imagination; examples include the magical triple echoes of Eurillo's second-act "Regina, udiste mai"; the ravishing lyricism of the aria "Ardo, sospiro, e piango"; and the expressive intensity of his slithering Gesualdo-like harmonic digressions. Like Monteverdi (and all great opera composers), Cavalli had a consummate gift for using music to drive the drama forward, and Claudio Cavina knows how to exploit that gift; he and his ensemble La Venexiana make this obscure opera spring to startling life. His singers throw themselves into their roles with unguarded passion, and even though the details of the plots may be impenetrable, the characters' emotions are urgently immediate. All of the soloists are superb. Sopranos Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli, Sakiko Abe (replaced Roberta Mameli), Valentina Coladonato, and Silvia Frigato stand out; they are simply remarkable for the piercing purity and fullness of their voices, the extravagant agility of their coloratura, and the transparent honesty of their characterizations. The instrumental ensemble plays with wonderful fluidity and Cavina draws a maximum of timbral variety from his group of 12 bowed and plucked strings. The upper strings have a somewhat nasal quality that may require a period of adjustment for modern listeners. Like Cavina's exemplary 2010 recording of L'incoronazione di Poppea with La Venexiana, his world-premiere recording of Artemisia raises the bar very high for performances of Baroque opera, or any opera, for that matter. Glossa's sound is characteristically natural, absolutely clean, and warmly enveloping. Highly recommended. --- Stephen Eddins, Rovi

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1. Introductions
2. Act I
3. Interval
4. Act II
5. Curtain Calls

Cast:
Nature/Satirino/Second Fury - Dominique Visse
Eternity/Giunone - Véronique Gens
Destiny/Diana/First Fury - Monica Bacelli
Giove - Joäd Fernandes
Mercurio - Markus Werba
Calisto - Sally Matthews
Endimione - Lawrence Zazzo
Linfea - Guy de Mey
Pane - Ed Lyon
Silvano	 - Clive Bayley

The Monteverdi Continuo Ensemble
Members of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Ivor Bolton – conductor

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE, COVENT GARDEN, 3 October 2008

La Calisto is, I think, the first 17th century Italian opera to be performed at the Royal Opera House. So far, not even Monteverdi's masterpieces have made it here. La Calisto was the last of Cavalli's collaborations with librettist Giovanni Faustini; Faustini died shortly after the work's première. Between them Cavalli and Faustini effectively created the genre of Venetian commercial opera, as opposed to the operas presented in the courtly opera houses elsewhere in Europe. It was to be an influential genre: Handel's Serse is based on a libretto written for Cavalli.

Essentially the works were comedies mixed with an element of pathos and tragedy; serious plots were interwoven with comic sub plots and the main element was entertainment. For its new production the Royal Opera House borrowed a production created for the Bavarian State Opera in 2005 by David Alden. Alden was on hand to rehearse the revival and many of the cast appeared in the original production. The accompanying band was based on the group The Monteverdi Continuo Ensemble, founded by conductor Ivor Bolton for Monteverdi performances in Munich. The ensemble consisted of some twenty players, including three harpsichords, which is a little small for a theatre the size of the opera house but quite large for a work originating in the Venetian commercial theatres of the 17th century. Under Bolton's lively direction, however, the group easily filled the opera house without ever sounding overblown.

David Alden's production opened with the prologue, where three crazily dressed characters (Nature, Eternity and Destiny) discuss Calisto's proposed immortality as a new star. In support of this Nature (Dominque Visse in grotesque drag but with a beard), starts to play a film which we must believe is what we are seeing for the rest of the opera. Alden and his designers (sets: Paul Steinberg, costumes: Buki Shiff) set the opera in a glitzy modern hotel with a stunning interior complete with a lift, which goes up to Olympus. Shiff's costumes were truly striking and the element of amazing spectacle was strong throughout the production.

The first act was relatively long as there were rather a large number of characters to introduce. Essentially there are three different strands to the plot. Giove (Umberto Chiummo), aided and abetted by Mercurio (Markus Werba) attempts (successfully) to seduce Calisto (Sally Matthews). Calisto is a nymph of Diana (Monica Bacelli) and Giove turns himself into Diana to seduce Calisto.

Diana herself is loved by the shepherd Endimione (Lawrence Zazzo), much to the disapproval of her nymph Linfea (Guy de Mey in drag). But Linfea herself is in love with Endimione and does not want to die an old maid. Satirino (Dominique Visse as half man half goat complete with prosthetic penis) offers to help Linfea but is rejected. Satirino sees Diana and Endimione meeting and tells Pane (Ed Lyon) who is also in love with Diana. He captures Endimione and threatens to do away with him.

What you will have noticed is that the opera introduces two opportunities of some sort of same sex action. Linfea is wooed by Satirino, but Linfea is a comic figure so is obviously a man in drag. And 'Giove in Diana' woos Calisto. The original singer playing Giove could sing in both baritone and soprano ranges and probably played Giove and 'Giove in Diana'. Here Umberto Chiummo had a wonderful time wearing a copy of Diana's stylish costume whilst sometimes singing the role, sometimes miming to Monica Bacelli's singing; quite a successful solution.

The costumes almost stole the show, with Diana in stylish black with a head-dress of lights in the shape of a moon. Giunone (Veronique Gens), who found out about Giove's antics and was furious, was in smart modern designer dress with an extraordinary hat with a fountain of feathers coming out of it. She was accompanied by two dancers dressed as peacocks. The fauns and satyrs surrounding Pane were in a mixture of animal and human dress. Pane was on stilts rendering Ed Lyon towering over everyone else.

With so many characters it is difficult for any one person to stand out; instead we heard a wonderfully integrated cast. By the end of Act 1, things seemed to drag a little, perhaps due to the amount of plot to get through, but I also felt that Alden had tended to throw too much at the production.

But with Acts 2 and 3, things started to come together. Alden seemed to be supporting Cavalli and Faustino's plot; details of the drama became more touching and the comedy seemed a little less laboured. In fact, what was so impressive about this was the way the cast managed to combine a feeling for Cavalli's music with the bigness of scale needed in this sort of opera house. The last time I saw La Calisto was at the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, a far smaller venue and one much closer to the small venue Cavalli used in Venice. It is pointless complaining that Alden's production coarsened detail and made the comedy simpler and cruder; Alden was simply finding a way to make the piece work in a much larger theatre on a large stage. Alden has described the piece as a sex comedy and this is what we got.

But there were touching moments. Lawrence Zazzo was profoundly moving as the shepherd in love with a Goddess, even though Monica Bacelli's Diana tended to mug a little too much. And Sally Matthews was a revelation as La Calisto, the innocent, put upon human. By turns touching and sexy, she managed to combine a lovely warmth of tone with the pin-point accuracy needed in this music. Veronique Gens was impressive as Giunone. The part is not excessively large, but is quite meaty as Giunone spends most of her stage time being bad tempered. I would love to see this fine singer back at Covent Garden in a bigger role.

For the ending Calisto is shown what heaven will be like and then sent back to expiate her punishment from Juno by being a bear for a period. (Fifteen years in Ovid.) I suspect that Alden could have made much more of Calisto's suffering. Similarly in Act 2 when Calisto is bewailing her plight, describing Diana's hot and cold behaviour, Alden has Calisto being a cabaret singer so that her distress is portrayed to us at one remove. But then the cause of her distress is pure Whitehall farce, as Diana is in fact two people: the real Diana and Giove in Diana. It must be obvious by now that the opera contains a delicate balance of pathos, comedy and pure farce. Alden rather skewed the production in favour of comedy; and the spectacular setting and costumes meant that we could not quite take the characters to our hearts. But Alden's avowed intent was to entertain and this he did in a spectacular fashion. --- Robert Hugill

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CD1
1. Orontea: Prologue
2. Orontea: Act I, scenes 1 & 2
3. Orontea: Act I, scenes 3 à 6
4. Orontea: Act I, scenes 6 à 9
5. Orontea: Act I, scenes 10 & 11
6. Orontea: Act I, scenes 12 à 14

CD2
1. Orontea: Act I, scenes 15 & 16
2. Orontea: Act I, scene 17
3. Orontea: Act I, scenes 18 à 20 
4. Orontea: Act II, scenes 1 à 4
5. Orontea: Act II, scenes 4 & 5
6. Orontea: Act II, scene 6
7. Orontea: Act II, scene 7
8. Orontea: Act II, scenes 8 à 10
9. Orontea: Act II, scene 11

CD3
1. Orontea: Act II, scenes 12 à 14
2. Orontea: Act II, scene 15
3. Orontea: Act II, scene 15a	
4. Orontea: Act II, scenes 16 à 18
5. Orontea: Act II, scenes 19 & 20
6. Orontea: Act III, scenes 1 à 4

CD4
1. Orontea: Act III, scenes 5 & 6
2. Orontea: Act III, scenes 7 & 8
3. Orontea: Act III, scenes 9 & 10
4. Orontea: Act III, scenes 11 à 13
5. Orontea: Act III, scenes 14 à 17
6. Orontea: Act III, scene 18	
7. Orontea: Act III, scenes 19 & 20

Performer:
Judith Nelson, Jeffrey Gall, Guy de Mey, Jill Feldman

Concerto Vocale
Rene Jacobs – conductor

Written on the libretto that Handel also used 84 years afterwards, Xerse is a later work of Cavalli's than any of his other operas recorded complete and issued in this country, except for Ercole amante (his only one not composed for an Italian audience). The text adopted here is that of its premiere in Venice in 1654 (or its image revival three years later in Bologna), but two numbers have been included from the Paris version of 1660, which failed because of Lully's malicious intrigues and the French courtiers' inability to understand the Italian libretto, which is unusually colloquial and often amusing. The present performance is a spinoff from the presentation at the Bordeaux Festival in May 1985, for which Rene Jacobs felt it necessary to incorporate a few sinfonie from other works and slightly to augment the instrumentation (all scrupulously documented in the notes): this, however, one is relieved to find, is very discreet (only five strings, two recorders and, once or twice, two trumpets are employed, plus a continuo of two harpsichords, theorbo, guitar and organ) and is a world removed from the inflated Leppardizations which have been responsible for giving a false idea of Cavalli. In the absence of the original prologue, Jacobs has also added the delightful and entertaining prologue from Ciro (which was first produced only a fortnight after the premiere of Xerse).

Xerse is an astonishingly fine work, on a par with, but more `advanced' than, the operas of his master Monteverdi. It is brimful of melodic invention, harmonic piquancy, stylistic diversity and vitality in the recitatives (which frequently merge into ariosi), and vocal ensembles are unusually numerous. Dramatically it is a most effective high comedy. The plot concerns the distinctly un-regal behaviour of Xerxes, king of Persia, who forsakes his betrothed (Amastre) and becomes enamoured of Romilda, one of the Prince of Abydos's daughters—who however loves, and is loved by, his brother Arsamene, who in turn is loved by Romilda's sister Adelanta. A complicated mix-up ensues, owing to a stupid servant letting a love-letter fall into wrong hands and to misunderstandings arising on all sides. This kind of action demands two qualities above all- -absolutely clear enunciation, and intelligent and varied pacing of recitatives: on both counts Jacobs's stylish direction (which extends to the excellent instrumental playing) is most successful. Literally every word comes through (and for those without Italian there is an English translation, though this is not always quite accurate). This is an undoubted success: a hitherto unheard opera of striking quality, playing and singing that are extremely musicianly and musical (by no means always synonymous!); and impeccably clean recording. ---L.S., ottosoperahouse.blogspot.com

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