BaL 28.04.12 Vivaldi's Operas

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30 Building a Library: David Vickers surveys the recordings of the operas of Vivaldi and makes a personal recommendation.

Available recordings:

Argippo
Baroque Ensemble : Hofmusici (on period instruments), Ondrej Macek

Armida al campo d’Egitto
Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini

Arsilda, regina di Ponto
Modo Antiquo & Coro da Camera Italiano, Federico Maria Sardelli

Bajazet
Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi

Farnace
Le Concert Des Nations & Coro del Teatro de la Zarzuela, Jordi Savall (director)
I Barocchisti, Diego Fasolis

Griselda
Opera in Concert & Aradia Ensemble, Kevin Mallon
Ensemble Matheus, Jean-Christophe Spinosi

Il Teuzzone
Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall
Orchestra dell‘Opera Barocca di Guastalla, Sandro Volta

Juditha Triumphans (highlights)
Academia Montis Regalis, Alessandro de Marchi

L’Olimpiade

Sara Mingardo (Licida); Roberta Invernizzi (Megacle); Sonia Prina (Aristea); Marianna Kulikova (Argene); Laura Giordano (Aminta); Riccardo Novaro (Clistene); Sergio Foresti (Alcantro); Concerto Italiano; Rinaldo Alessandrini (conductor)
Venice Baroque Orchestra, Markellos Chryssicos
Budapest Madrigal Choir, Hungarian State Orchestra, Ferenc Szekeres (highlights)

La verità in cimento
Ensemble Matheus, Jean-Christophe Spinosi

Motezuma
Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis

Orlando finto pazzo
Coro del Teatro Regio di Torino, Academia Montis Regalis, Alessandro de Marchi

Orlando furioso
Ensemble Matheus & Choeur du Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Jean-Christophe Spinosi
Coro Amici della Polifonia & I solisti Veneti, Claudio Scimone
Orchestra & Chorus of San Francisco Opera, Randall Behr, stage direction by Pier Luigi Pizzi (DVD)
Coro da Camera Italiano & Modo Antiquo, Federico Maria Sardelli
Choeur Les Eléments & Ensemble Matheus, Jean-Christophe Spinosi


Ottone in villa
Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini
L’Arte dell’Arco (on period instruments), Frederico Guglielmo
Collegium Musicum 90, Richard Hickox
Ensemble Seicentonovecento, Flavio Colusso

Tito Manlio
Accademia Bizantina, Ottavio Dantone
Modo Antiquo, Federico Maria Sardell

[reinerfan]

Oh, good!

[John Skelton]

Oh, good!

I know - it's outrageous, the BBC pretending there's any music other than that written in the nineteenth / early twentieth century. Political correctness gone mad.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/ll/...tion/mediumAll lists the Naïve Edition so far, so easy enough to pick out the operas (Juditha Triumphans is a sacred work of quite dazzling invention and beauty).

Two other recordings of Ottone in Villa

Maria Laura Martorana, Tuva Semmingsen, Florin Cezar Ouatu, Luca Dordolo, Marina Bartoli: Brilliant Classics.
Nancy Argenta, Sophie Daneman, Susan Gritton, Monica Goop, Mark Padmore, Collegium 90 / Richard Hickox: Chandos Chaconne.

Argippo. Veronika Mrackova Fucikova, Pavla Stepnickova. Hofmusici Baroque Ensemble / Ondrej Macek: Dynamic.
Catone in Utica. Veronica Cangemi, Jacek Laszczkowski, Simon Edwards. La Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy / Jean-Claude Malgoire: Dynamic.
Ercole su`l Termodonte. Stains, Nesi, Cherici, Dordolo, Il Complesso Barocco / Alan Curtis. Dynamic (DVD).
Motezuma. Vito Priante, Mary-Ellen Nesi, Laura Cherici, Franziska Gottwald, Theodora Baka, Gemma Bertagnolli, Il Complesso Barocco / Alan Curtis, Stefano Vizioli: Dynamic (DVD).
Rosmira Fedele. Pizzolato, Brua, Haller, Elwes. Ensemble Baroque De Nice / Gilbert Bezzina: Dynamic.

Griselda. Colin Ainsworth, Carla Huhtanen, Lynne McMurtry. Opera in Concert, Aradia Ensemble / Kevin Mallon: Naxos.

No claims that is complete, but it's a start .

Vivaldi operas http://www.antonio-vivaldi.eu/contenu.php?id=5#.

Looking forward to the BAL .

[amateur51]

I know nothing from this part of Vivaldi's repertoire so I shall be listening to this BaL with open if not entirely innocent ears

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I know nothing from this part of Vivaldi's repertoire so I shall be listening to this BaL with open if not entirely innocent ears

I envy reinerfan's extensive knowledge of this repertoire that he can make so authoritative a judgement of it.

[John Skelton]

I will be most surprised if Jean-Christophe Spinosi's recording of Vivaldi's Goldoni opera, Griselda, isn't one of David Vickers' BAL choices .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNA0J2bJg3k&fmt=18

[Martin]

A survey of Vivaldi's operas is much to be welcolmed. Orlando Furioso, for example, has plenty of excellent music in it, as may be sampled here:

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Naive/OP30393

The point is that it makes a really refreshing change from the usual menu of Vivaldiana which is continuously served and repackaged on the airwaves and on disc. I do hope that Herr Alpensinfonie will reconsider his objection to making his usual researches, for the benefit of all inteligent and open-eared message board readers.

[reinerfan]

I envy reinerfan's extensive knowledge of this repertoire that he can make so authoritative a judgement of it.

This was only my personal reaction to Vivaldi's Operas, but I am delighted that other people will get some benefit from the review. I do have some 7 complete Vivaldi Operas in my collection as well as dozens of excerpts, but the problem that I have with most operas of this period, and I include Handel, Lully and Rameau in this grouping, is that they are usually very long and contain purple patches linked by more lengthy chugging along bits than more modern operas. I do find it easy to drop off to sleep, although that may be assisted by my age and sundry glasses of wine! DVDs do help as there is often some action going on during the boring musical bits. Anyway, I shall have a listen on the 28th. to see if my interest can be revived.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Anyway, I shall have a listen on the 28th. to see if my interest can be revived.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I finally relented and compiled a list.

[Martin]

I finally relented and compiled a list.

Bravo, Mr A, and very many thanks for your scholarly exercise.

[vinteuil]

I finally relented and compiled a list.

... many thanks.

If you want to get to know quite a lot of Vivaldi operas relatively easily the big naïve box of 27 CDs (Vivaldi edition Operas #01) is a good way in, containing

Orlando Finto Pazzo
Juditha Triumphans
Tito Manlio
la Verita in Cimento
Orlando Furioso
Atenaide
Farnace
l'Olimpiade
Griselda

... (very much looking forward to the Vivaldi edition Operas #02 in due course!)

I also have - but cannot really recommend:

la Silvia, Ens Baroque de Nice, Gilbert Bezzina
Dorilla in Tempe, Ens Baroque de Nice, Gilbert Bezzina

Looking forward to this BAL to see what's new in this rapidly-being-discovered terrain - it's a bit like when we all "discovered" Handel operas ten/twenty years ago

[Nick Armstrong]

Looking forward to this BAL to see what's new in this rapidly-being-discovered terrain - it's a bit like when we all "discovered" Handel operas ten/twenty years ago

We did indeed

And I agree about looking forward to this (no early morning constitutionals next Saturday, eh vinfortifié? )

I know almost nothing from the Vivaldi operas.

Would you say they possess as much invention, variety and depth as the Handel operas, in all honesty?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I finally relented and compiled a list.

[doversoul1]

Here’s one more:
La Fida Ninfa
Ensemble Matheus
Naïve 3CDs (2009)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jul/23/vivaldi-la-fida-ninfa-reviewed