Porpora - Carlo il Calvo | Parnassus Arts PARARTS002

Porpora - Carlo il Calvo

£37.95

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Label: Parnassus Arts

Cat No: PARARTS002

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 3

Genre: Opera

Release Date: 17th March 2023

Contents

Artists

Franco Fagioli
Max Emanuel Cencic
Julia Lezhneva
Suzanne Jerosme
Petr Nekoranec
Bruno de Sa
Nian Wang
Armonia Atenea

Conductor

George Petrou

Works

Porpora, Nicola

Carlo il calvo

Artists

Franco Fagioli
Max Emanuel Cencic
Julia Lezhneva
Suzanne Jerosme
Petr Nekoranec
Bruno de Sa
Nian Wang
Armonia Atenea

Conductor

George Petrou

About

Carlo il Calvo (Charles the Bald) was first performed in 1738 at Rome's leading opera house, the Teatro delle Dame - premiere recording. Porpora's opera is based on a Venetian libretto dating from 1699 which, under various titles, has been set to music by composers such as Vinacessi, Keller, Alessandro Scarlatti, Orlandini and Telemann.

The score has been preserved at the Conservatory in Naples. The plot is set in that period of the early Middle Ages when Charlemagne's Europe was disintegrating at the hands of his quarrelling heirs. Its distinctive feature is that the titular hero is a child. In contrast to his colleagues, Porpora even gives him some verses to sing.

Louis the German, Charles's half-brother and Charlemagne's grandson, abducts the legitimate heir to the throne in order to rob him of his sovereignty. This provides Charles's mother with the opportunity for heart-wrenching scenes of despair and breathtaking outbursts of felling. On the stage of the premiere were acclaimed singing stars of baroque Europe.

The vocal demands are correspondingly exorbitant: in this premiere recording the soloists offer a first-class interpretation: Franco Fagioli (Adalgiso), Max Emanuel Cencic (Lottario), Julia Lezhneva (Gildippe), Suzanne Jerosme (Giuditta), Petr Nekoranec (Asprando), Bruno de Sá (Berardo) and Nian Wang (Eduige) with Armonia Atenea under George Petrou.

Reviews

Giudittta is sung emotively and with crystalline precision by Suzanne Jerosme: her outstanding moment is an intense reaction to Asprando’s betrayal […]. There is virtuoso coloratura galore, even for the duplicitous Asprando, […] sung brilliantly by Petr Nekoranec. […] Carlo il Calvo deserves its spirited revival
Gramophone
As Gildippe, Lezhneva has several fine arias: her first aria, “Sento, che in sen turbato” is a marvel of vocal display; and “Se nell’amico nido” is a meltingly lovely lament.
MusicWeb International

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