Artaserse(s) EMS 12 April

[doversoul1]

Lucie Skeaping explores Artaserse, one of the most popular opera libretti by Metastasio, the great 18th century dramatist, featuring Artaxerxes I, King of Persia.
The libretto was originally written for and first set to music by Leonardo Vinci in 1730 for Rome, and it was subsequently set by dozens of later composers. In England, Thomas Arne's 1762 Artaxerxes is set to an English libretto that is based on Metastasio's. Lucie Skeaping introduces extracts from a few of the 90 known settings of Metastasio's text.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05qdsq8

[doversoul1]

I very much enjoyed the programme. Nathalie Stutzmann in Graun was splendid and The Hanover Band excellent.

These clips have been posted before but as we are on the subject, here is a taster of a staged Artaserse, by Vinci. This is the aria to close act one and brought the house down with it. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it is stupendous and most entertaining.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXmF6h3Yd_A

…and here is the whole opera but not for the faint hearted, as this production follows the ‘no women on stage’ rule from Vinci’s time. Concerto Koln is the star (if you ask me).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDoqUBOtw7Y

[MickyD]

DS, some years ago, Harmonia Mundi brought out a whole Graun opera 'Cleopatra e Cesare' with Concerto Koln...it has some fabulous music. Some cheap second hand copies available here..;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Graun-Cleopatra-Cesare-Carl-Heinrich/dp/B00008NEYM/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1428915741&sr=1-1&keywords=Graun+cleopatra