Cecilia Bartoli: Vivaldi
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Antonio Vivaldi
Genre:
Vocal
Label: Decca
Magazine Review Date: 02/2019
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 58
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 483 4475DH
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Argippo, Movement: Se lento ancora il tulmine |
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer Cecilia Bartoli, Mezzo soprano Ensemble Matheus Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Conductor |
Orlando (Furioso), Movement: Sol da te, mio dolce amore |
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer Cecilia Bartoli Ensemble Matheus Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Conductor |
Orlando (Furioso), Movement: Ah fuggi rapido |
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer Cecilia Bartoli, Mezzo soprano Ensemble Matheus Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Conductor |
Giustino, Movement: Vedro con mio diletto |
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer Cecilia Bartoli, Mezzo soprano Ensemble Matheus Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Conductor |
(La) Silvia, Movement: Quell' augellin (Act 2, Scene 1) |
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer Cecilia Bartoli, Mezzo soprano Ensemble Matheus Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Conductor |
Ottone in Villa, Movement: Leggi almeno, tiranna infedele |
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer Cecilia Bartoli Ensemble Matheus Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Conductor |
(La) Verita' in Cimento, Movement: Solo quella guancia bella |
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer Cecilia Bartoli, Mezzo soprano Ensemble Matheus Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Conductor |
Andromeda liberata, Movement: Sovvente il sole |
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer Cecilia Bartoli, Mezzo soprano Ensemble Matheus Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Conductor |
Tito Manlio, Movement: Combatta un gentil cor |
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer Cecilia Bartoli, Mezzo soprano Ensemble Matheus Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Conductor |
Catone in Utica, Movement: Se mai senti spirarti sul volto |
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer Cecilia Bartoli, Mezzo soprano Ensemble Matheus Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Conductor |
Author: Richard Wigmore
Bartoli lives just as dangerously in a solo from Orlando furioso and an explosive, trumpet-festooned aria from Tito Manlio, unfolding reams of tense, don’t-mess-with-me coloratura – thrilling or a tad exhausting, according to taste. If her timbre can coarsen, with unnerving shifts between registers, there’s no denying her impassioned conviction. In slower, soulful arias Bartoli’s soft singing is invariably beautiful, even if she can overdo that familiar whispered confidentiality. At times I longed for more straightforward simplicity, more of her natural mezzo warmth. Yet even when one bridles at her mannerisms, she compels with her command of the long line – always a Bartoli hallmark – and her palpable emotional engagement. She is incapable of singing a routine phrase.
In lighter mode Bartoli spars delightfully with Jean-Christophe Spinosi’s violin in a capricious avian aria from La Silvia (a dramma pastorale from which only a few arias survive), and is the knowing minx to the life in a flirtatious solo from La verità in cimento. Most moving, as music and performance, is Caesar’s ravishing aria from Catone in Utica, the line exquisitely caressed over gently floated strings, the wide leaps delicately, gracefully negotiated.
While there’s plenty to relish here, both for Vivaldi lovers and Bartoli aficionados, even the most diehard fan may recoil at Decca’s presentation. We get texts and translations but not a word about the arias and their context – and you’ll struggle to find information about some of the rarer items on the internet. Instead the lavishly illustrated booklet is the most blatant promotional exercise, with toe-curlingly effusive praise from all and sundry, led by that absurd Marilyn Horne hyperbole. If the overall tone of this review is a shade more negative than it might have been, blame the PR team.
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