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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
"An opera in the tradition of Neapolitan musical comedy." Thus the notes accompanying this set characterise Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's opera seria as "in the spirit of a comedy of characters". L'Olimpiade has had a chequered history. The first performance in Rome in January 1735 was disastrous. Money troubles with the production lead to substandard vocals, the chorus was not even available and the scenery was poor. Furthermore all subsequent performances were cancelled after Princess Maria Stuart, wife of the Jacobite pretender James Stuart who was living in Rome fell ill and later died.
However many arias Pergolesi composed for the opera were sufficiently admired to be copied into thousands of manuscripts and widely distributed for individual performance as well as finding their way into pasticcio operas. Finally however we can once again hear the complete work as it was intended in this World première recording on period instruments.
It's not mentioned in the blurb, but this recording is in fact a live recording; for the most part you wouldn't however know it apart from the applause at the end of each act (note that the acts don't parcel exactly into the three discs), although the stage noises do become a bit more obvious if you are listening on headphones. It's not often in my experience that you get live Baroque opera recordings of listenable quality as is this one - on so many others the vocals fade away as the singer moves about or turns away, yet you get to hear every crash and bang or even footstep on stage in crystal clear fidelity.
The three discs come in a double jewel case, packaged together with a separate chunky booklet in a cardboard sleeve. The booklet contains historical and musical notes, synopsis and libretto and translation in English, French & German. Unfortunately there is no matching number key printed in the libretto to match to the track numbers nor is it made easy to match the character name to performer, which is an annoyance, and part of the reason why I have not managed here to pass useful comment on each singer performance individually.
None of the performers were previously known to me, apart from countertenor Martin Oro in the minor role of Alcandro. It's a thoroughly competent performance all round though from all the vocalists, and an enjoyable set.
Cast:
Clistene (tenor) Jeffrey Francis
Aristea (soprano) Raffaella Milanesi
Argene (mezzo) Ann-Beth Solvang
Licida (mezzo) Jennifer Rivera
Megacle (soprano) Olga Pasichnyk
Aminta (tenor) Markus Brutscher
Alcandro (countertenor) Martin Oro
However many arias Pergolesi composed for the opera were sufficiently admired to be copied into thousands of manuscripts and widely distributed for individual performance as well as finding their way into pasticcio operas. Finally however we can once again hear the complete work as it was intended in this World première recording on period instruments.
It's not mentioned in the blurb, but this recording is in fact a live recording; for the most part you wouldn't however know it apart from the applause at the end of each act (note that the acts don't parcel exactly into the three discs), although the stage noises do become a bit more obvious if you are listening on headphones. It's not often in my experience that you get live Baroque opera recordings of listenable quality as is this one - on so many others the vocals fade away as the singer moves about or turns away, yet you get to hear every crash and bang or even footstep on stage in crystal clear fidelity.
The three discs come in a double jewel case, packaged together with a separate chunky booklet in a cardboard sleeve. The booklet contains historical and musical notes, synopsis and libretto and translation in English, French & German. Unfortunately there is no matching number key printed in the libretto to match to the track numbers nor is it made easy to match the character name to performer, which is an annoyance, and part of the reason why I have not managed here to pass useful comment on each singer performance individually.
None of the performers were previously known to me, apart from countertenor Martin Oro in the minor role of Alcandro. It's a thoroughly competent performance all round though from all the vocalists, and an enjoyable set.
Cast:
Clistene (tenor) Jeffrey Francis
Aristea (soprano) Raffaella Milanesi
Argene (mezzo) Ann-Beth Solvang
Licida (mezzo) Jennifer Rivera
Megacle (soprano) Olga Pasichnyk
Aminta (tenor) Markus Brutscher
Alcandro (countertenor) Martin Oro
Format:Audio CD
Ashtonishing music ("L'infelice in questo stato" is my favourite aria). Very good orchestra. Mediocre singing. What an oportunity missed to make a good recording of one of the best operas in the XVIIIth century.
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