Performer: Cecilia Bartoli
Orchestra: Il Giardino Armonico
Conductor: Giovanni Antonini
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Decca
Release: 2019
Size: 1.4 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Nicola Porpora:
Polifemo
01. Nell’ attendere mio bene
La festa d’Imeneo
02. Vaghi amori, grazie amate
Johann Adolph Hasse:
Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra
03. Morte col fiero aspetto
Nicola Porpora:
Polifemo
04. Lontan dal solo e caro… Lusingato dalla speme
Riccardo Broschi:
La Merope
05. Chi non sente al mio dolore
Nicola Porpora:
Semiramide Regina dell’Assiria
06. Come nave in ria tempesta
Geminiano Giacomelli:
Adriano in Siria
07. Mancare o Dio mi sento
Riccardo Broschi:
La Merope
08. Si, traditor tu sei
Antonio Caldara:
La morte d’Abel
09. Questi al cor finora ignoti
Johann Adolph Hasse:
Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra
10. Signor, la tua speranza… A Dio trono, impero a Dio
Nicola Porpora:
Polifemo
11. Alto Giove
Renowned for portraying the music of the baroque like no one else, Cecilia Bartoli presents her new recording of arias famously performed by legendary castrato, Farinelli.
Exploring the complex gender roles of the world of baroque opera, and highlighting the phenomenon of the castrati, a horrifying practice which led to some of the most celebrated work of the period.
Featuring works by Farinelli’s brother, Riccardo Broschi, and his mentor, Nicola Porpora, as well as Hasse, Caldara and Giacomelli. Including two new world premiere recordings, from Porpora’s Polifemo and Broschi’s La Merope.
“Celebrating over three decades on the Decca Classics label, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli releases a brand new album commemorating the life and career of the most famous opera singer of the eighteenth century: the castrato Farinelli. The record includes arias by Farinelli’s older brother Riccardo Broschi, and his teacher and mentor Nicola Porpora. It also features a new recording of ‘Alto Giove’ from Porpora’s Polifemo. Cecilia performs with the period ensemble Il Giardino Armonico and its conductor Giovanni Antonini, with whom she first collaborated on her Grammy award-winning Vivaldi album, and again on Sacrificium, her first castrati album from 2009 which also won the Grammy for Best Classical Vocal Performance. This new album focusses on the baroque audiences’ love of anti-realism and the fetishisation of “hermaphroditic” voices during this period, and this celebration of gender fluidity and its associated power dynamics has been brought to the fore for 21st century audiences by Bartoli for this new release.”