What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Nekrotzar]

Must have been a real aha moment...

a-ha ha ha, that was quite funny

[Nekrotzar]

Here's another baroque thing, truly fantastic recording, my favourite I reckon

[Adrian]

For me, I went with a guilty pleasure:


Attachment 8035

Nothing to be a a shamed about.
Wonderful music, wish Sony had done some more during recording.
Sounding always a bit sharp or blurry. if that's the right word.
The opposite of sharp I mean .
Now they are much better.

[Nekrotzar]

Wow, third opera in a row today..this one I bought yesterday and this is the first listen (to both the recording and the actual opera). I will download the libretto later...first I shall hear the music for what it is:

[Clayton]

Sent to me by recent member Salomé :

I don't know much by Vivaldi apart from Bajazet, and this is really wonderful. Jaroussky is on it, and I am so happy to finally have a recording of him on something!!!!!!!

The whole Naïve Vivaldi rediscovery is such a wonderful project; all the research and preparation work, the casting and production are all so brilliantly done. I have not heard all but of what I have they are all very good and thoroughly enjoyable, so much so that it is difficult to pick out the better ones (further to Orlando Furioso) to recommend.

At the moment I think my favourites would be

L'incoronazione di Dario
Griselda
La fida ninfa
La Verità in cimento

but as I said, all good...

[Adrian]

Verdi: La Traviata.
Sills / Gedda/Panerai .
Recording from 1971.

[Florestan]

Lodoiska_

[Nekrotzar]

That's a nice looking box, Florestan. The opera that's inside it..what's it like?

[Nekrotzar]

I listened to half of act 1 coming to school today, I can't get enough of this, why are Vivaldi's operas not performed or recorded more often? I looked up the discography of this one and some others and there wasn't much to be found.....

Anyhow, I shall be listening to parts of this whenever I get a chance today. :

[Amfortas]

That's a nice looking box, Florestan. The opera that's inside it..what's it like?

A pioneering work, hugely successful in its day, and perhaps the first "rescue opera." Stirring music; exciting, melodramatic plot; and extravagant effects, including a potentially dangerous onstage fire.

[Florestan]

A pioneering work, hugely successful in its day, and perhaps the first "rescue opera." Stirring music; exciting, melodramatic plot; and extravagant effects, including a potentially dangerous onstage fire.

And a singspeil like Fidelio. And there is a sword fight where you can hear the clashing swords.

[Nekrotzar]

Because I haven't listened to this in a little while. I have a feeling this may very well be my favourite Strauss opera......but I also need to get to know Die Frau Ohne Schatten which I've heard from a number of people to be one of his very best.....

[Clayton]

I didn't think that Vinci's Artaserse could be topped but this is even better - the music gorgeous, the orchestra more exciting and focused, the countertenor voices more sharply differentiated and the singing simply amazing (perhaps Vince Yi could do with some more vocal colours and a pinch of vibrato, but that is mere quibbling). Highly recommended A++.

Vinci, Leonardo: Catone in Utica
Max Emanuel Cencic (Arbace), Franco Fagioli (Cesare), Valer Sabadus (Marzia), Martin Mitterutzner (Fulvio), Vince Yi (Emilia), Juan Sancho (Catone). Il Pomo D'oro, Riccardo Minasi



...

I just went to add this to my Amazon Wish List and it comes very dear. $51.60 - or $46.25 on PC. No wonder CD sales are off.

I think this price is too much. The music content is excellent; like Soave_Fanciulla says, the music is gorgeous and the singing is excellent. However these prices are going to cut out a lot of potential listeners which is a shame. It is not even as if it is like Opera Rara's lavish presentation. It is a fairly bog standard job, so I was really disappointed with that.

That said, again I would highly recommend it as an opera recording if cost was not an issue

...or maybe wait until it goes on special offer.

For those interested, it may be about time to start looking again; PC has it on 40% off and A site I have seen for GBP 17!

[Clayton]

...I can't get enough of this, why are Vivaldi's operas not performed or recorded more often? I looked up the discography of this one and some others and there wasn't much to be found.....

I put it down to the fact we are lucky enough to be in a great baroque opera revival at the moment.

A combination of different factors including that there is a lot more interest now (in the nineteenth century they were just not interested and come the twentieth they had been long forgotten) and a significant improvement in communication systems means that lost manuscripts that are found can be shared with many, many more people.

There are quite a number of new discoveries being performed and recorded for the first time at the moment; it is an exciting time for baroque fans.

[Clayton]

On second listening I've decided it's a keeper. Lovely arias.

Gasparini: Il Bajazet
Leonardo De Lisi (Bajazet), Filippo Mineccia (Tamerlano), Giuseppina Bridelli (Asteria), Ewa Gubanska (Irene), Antonio Giovannini (Andronico), Benedetta Mazzucato (Clearco), Raffaele Pe (Leone), Giorgia Cinciripi (Zaida)
Auser Musici, Carlo Ipata

reminded of this, I came back here this morning too. I am surprised there aren't more recordings with Mineccia. Maybe too much competition with many very good countertenors...