L'Olimpiade: The Opera (the Olympic Opera)

L'Olimpiade is an opera libretto by Metastasio that was set in music by a huge number of baroque and classical composers. This recording is a compendium of some arias by several composers (from Caldara, Vivaldi, Hasse etc. to Paisiello and Cimarosa), and is more a recital than an artificial pasticcio, since recitatives have not been recorded. This recording deserves five stars for the music and performance. All of the 6 singers are great, specially the women, and more specifically Romina Basso.
After listening to this CD I am more convinced that it is urgent to record Hasse operas, he was such a great composer. His first aria in "Superbo di me stesso " sung by Basso is ashtonishing as is the aria "Siam navi all'onde algenti" sung superbly by countertenor Spanos, whose style is very vivaldian. However, the best aria of the recording is perhaps, and not surprsisingly, by Vivaldi "Mentre dormi". The tempo chosen for this aria was very slow, and this permits the music to shine in an icredible way. Besides the voice of Gottwald is perfectly suited to the text of the aria, and her da capo is very intelligent, as well as the lute ornaments. Almost 10 minutes of pure heaven. Other interesting composer is the neapolitan Davide Perez, whose operas have not been recorded until now, although there was a project for recording Solimano with the Real Compañia de Opera that I think has been cancelled for finnancial problems. Also, the aria by Traetta "Chi non mi disse un di" with Gauvin, left me craving for listening the whole opera. Anyway, as the enclosed booklet says, I hope this recording enocurages conductors to record music by other less known composers. Start with Hasse, please!

The Baroque fashion for pastiche operas has seemingly been revived in recent months, with productions like the Met's 'Enchanted Island' and now this recording of 'L'Olimpiade'. But while the former production seemed to be PR for Handel, barring the obvious Vivaldi or Rameau addition, the Venice Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Markellos Chryssicos has created something quite sublime here. Working from the libretto created for Caldara in 1733, the present recording features music from no less than 16 different composers, who all set Metstasio's dramma per musica at some point during the 18th century. Most of the composers' names will be unknown to the general public, but that should by no means be prohibitive. On the contrary, it is precisely though efforts like this that the public will learn to know the names of those who were once great - and whose music is still great - but fell into obscurity for one reason or another.

The choice of arias has been very carefully made, so that even though fifty years might separate some of the settings, the whole CD still has a lovely stylistic coherence to it. Stand-out arias, to name but a few, include Licida's "Gemo in un punto", set by Baldassare Galuppi, which is given a much more dramatic ornamentation than in the full DVD recording of Galuppi's opera (available on the Dynamic label), Aminta's "Son qual per mare ignoto", here in a setting by Johann Adolf Hasse, as well as Argene's "Che non mi disse un di", set by Tommaso Traetta, whose name will probably be most familiar from Les Talens Lyriques' recording of 'Antigona'. The only weak(er) choices I find are the settings of Davide Perez, though this is but a minor irritation and largely a product of my own tastes.

The casting has Romina Basso, Franziska Gottwald and Ruth Rosique all reprising the roles of Megacle, Licida and Aristea respectively, which they sang in the VBO's production of the Galuppi version, and all three portray their characters excellently. The remaining singers (Karina Gauvin as Argene, Nicholas Phan as Clistene, and Nicholas Spanos as Aminta) are also all pleasing, though one might have wished for Roberta Invernizzi as Argene, in order to reunite the four protagonists as they were in the Galuppi staging! And to top it all off, there is the ever-supportive and vibrant playing of the VBO, as well as Markellos Chryssicos' spot-on interpretive choices to look forward to.

There are no recitatives - some might jump for joy at this - which creates the feeling that this is just a recital disc, but seeing as the arias are so wonderful and so sensitively chosen, the absence of this also pales into insignificance.

I did not give it a five star rating as it took longer than i thought it would to arrive.