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New Vivaldi CD
Posted by Michael Piepgras
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New Vivaldi CD January 03, 2009 05:18PM |
New CD in 2009:
Antonia Vivaldi - Arien/Arias
Magdalena Kozena/Venice Baroque Orchestra/Andrea Marcon
CD Deutsche Grammophon Archiv Produktion 477 809-6
mentioned in DG catalogue 2009 - page 158
Date of issue: unknown
From idnes.cz:
* Natočené u je i vae dalí album, tentokrát s hudbou Antonia Vivaldiho. Bude to něco jako vstřícný krok vůči trhu?
Přiznávám, e k Vivaldimu jsem bývala vdycky dost skeptická. Moná proto, e jsem ho měla zafixovaného jako turistického autora, jako jméno z letáčků, které mi v Praze pořád někdo vnucoval. Take jsem si říkala: Vivaldi, jenom to ne! Jene Vivaldi, to není jenom Čtvero ročních období, ale také opery, které jsou velmi málo známé. Přitom v tomto repertoáru je spousta klenotů, které by pro normálního posluchače mohly být objevem. Vivaldi psal ve skutečnosti křehkou hudbu, která nesnese přehnané efekty. Teprve potom je půvabná. Desku jsem natočila s italským ansámblem Venice Baroque Orchestra s dirigentem Andreou Marconem, kteří tuhle hudbu mají v krvi. Vivaldi je navíc zajímavý tím, e jako dalí sólisty vyuívá různé instrumentální nástroje.
* Máte ráda Vivaldiho efektní virtuozitu?
Nevybrala jsem moc árií, které by se daly nazvat pyrotechnickými. Jistěe některé ano, protoe k tomuto skladateli prostě patří, a kdy se dělá průřez jeho tvorbou, tak se koloratura musí blýsknout. Mně se ale víc zamlouvají věci, které jsou klidné, které prostě plynou, a člověk si představuje, e sedí večer v gondole a jen tak se veze... Pro mne je tento klidný Vivaldi silnějí ne ten výbojný. Abych nezapomněla, na nahrávce budou árie pro alt i soprán. To abych se nenudila.
New sampler from Deutsche Grammophon in 2009:
"Classical Love Songs" with different singers, e.g. Magdalena
CD 477 811-2
mentioned in DG catalogue 2009 - page 197
Date of issue: unknown
And already announced for 2009:
Ravel live recording with Berliner Philharmoniker from September 2008 on EMI (ca. March 2009?)
Martinu live recording from Prague Rudolfinum December 2008 on Supraphon (ca. May 2009?)
Michael
Antonia Vivaldi - Arien/Arias
Magdalena Kozena/Venice Baroque Orchestra/Andrea Marcon
CD Deutsche Grammophon Archiv Produktion 477 809-6
mentioned in DG catalogue 2009 - page 158
Date of issue: unknown
From idnes.cz:
* Natočené u je i vae dalí album, tentokrát s hudbou Antonia Vivaldiho. Bude to něco jako vstřícný krok vůči trhu?
Přiznávám, e k Vivaldimu jsem bývala vdycky dost skeptická. Moná proto, e jsem ho měla zafixovaného jako turistického autora, jako jméno z letáčků, které mi v Praze pořád někdo vnucoval. Take jsem si říkala: Vivaldi, jenom to ne! Jene Vivaldi, to není jenom Čtvero ročních období, ale také opery, které jsou velmi málo známé. Přitom v tomto repertoáru je spousta klenotů, které by pro normálního posluchače mohly být objevem. Vivaldi psal ve skutečnosti křehkou hudbu, která nesnese přehnané efekty. Teprve potom je půvabná. Desku jsem natočila s italským ansámblem Venice Baroque Orchestra s dirigentem Andreou Marconem, kteří tuhle hudbu mají v krvi. Vivaldi je navíc zajímavý tím, e jako dalí sólisty vyuívá různé instrumentální nástroje.
* Máte ráda Vivaldiho efektní virtuozitu?
Nevybrala jsem moc árií, které by se daly nazvat pyrotechnickými. Jistěe některé ano, protoe k tomuto skladateli prostě patří, a kdy se dělá průřez jeho tvorbou, tak se koloratura musí blýsknout. Mně se ale víc zamlouvají věci, které jsou klidné, které prostě plynou, a člověk si představuje, e sedí večer v gondole a jen tak se veze... Pro mne je tento klidný Vivaldi silnějí ne ten výbojný. Abych nezapomněla, na nahrávce budou árie pro alt i soprán. To abych se nenudila.
New sampler from Deutsche Grammophon in 2009:
"Classical Love Songs" with different singers, e.g. Magdalena
CD 477 811-2
mentioned in DG catalogue 2009 - page 197
Date of issue: unknown
And already announced for 2009:
Ravel live recording with Berliner Philharmoniker from September 2008 on EMI (ca. March 2009?)
Martinu live recording from Prague Rudolfinum December 2008 on Supraphon (ca. May 2009?)
Michael
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Re: New Vivaldi CD March 03, 2009 03:34PM |
The international release of the Vivaldi CD will be on 15 May 2009.
[www2.deutschegrammophon.com]
Michae
[www2.deutschegrammophon.com]
Michae
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Re: New Vivaldi CD May 13, 2009 10:20PM |
More informations with new beautiful photos from the Matthias Bothor. The CD-release will be now in June.
[www2.deutschegrammophon.com]
Michael
[www2.deutschegrammophon.com]
Michael
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Re: New Vivaldi CD May 13, 2009 10:51PM |
Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 7 |
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Bryan
Re: New Vivaldi CD May 15, 2009 07:38PM |
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Re: New Vivaldi CD May 20, 2009 08:18PM |
Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 4 |
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Re: New Vivaldi CD May 26, 2009 04:29PM |
Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 2 |
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Re: New Vivaldi CD June 02, 2009 10:34AM |
Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 104 |
The new CD will be on sale:
Great Britain on 08.06. (as Bryan already mentioned)
US on 16.06. (amazon.com)
Germany on 19.06. (retail)
I had the chance to listen to a press copy - it's amazing. Though I still like Händel more than Vivaldi this CD is as breathtaking as the fabulous recording (Ah mio cor) from 2007 with the Venice Baroque Orchestra.
Michael
Great Britain on 08.06. (as Bryan already mentioned)
US on 16.06. (amazon.com)
Germany on 19.06. (retail)
I had the chance to listen to a press copy - it's amazing. Though I still like Händel more than Vivaldi this CD is as breathtaking as the fabulous recording (Ah mio cor) from 2007 with the Venice Baroque Orchestra.
Michael
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Re: New Vivaldi CD June 08, 2009 12:00PM |
Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 104 |
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Re: New Vivaldi CD April 17, 2010 05:34PM |
Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 104 |
The magazine Opera News (Metropolitan opera) reviews the vivaldi CD in the new issue from may 2010:
Magdalena Kožená: "Vivaldi"
Arias from Tito Manlio, Juditha Triumphans Devicta Holfernes Barbarie, La Verità in Cimento, Farnace, Arsilda, Regina di Ponto, Orlando Furioso, Ottone in Villa, Griselda, L'Incoronazione di Dario, Orlando Finto Pazzo and L'Olimpiade. Venice Baroque Orchestra, Marcon. Texts and translations.
Perhaps it is less-than-good form to mention one mezzo-soprano in the opening paragraph of the review of a disc by another. But one cannot help wondering whether a fine Vivaldi CD such as this one by Magdalena Kožená could be a financially viable entity in today's shrinking classical-music market were it not for Cecilia Bartoli's musical curiosity — and drawing power. Bartoli certainly paved the way, back in 1999, with her bestseller, The Vivaldi Album. One of the hallmarks of a great singer is the ability to put the material first, calling minimal attention to herself. Mabel Mercer did it with cabaret material, Maria Callas with Verdi and bel canto. Surely Bartoli enlightened us about Vivaldi's genius for composing intensely dramatic opera music. Kožená likewise makes us "ooh" and "ah" at the brilliance of the Vivaldi literature here, stepping back a bit to shine as an exemplary interpreter. Kožená treats this material lovingly, offering individuality, consummate vocal elegance and emotional conviction.
The disc contains fifteen arias from eleven of the Vivaldi operas composed between 1713 and 1735. In the booklet notes, Kožená asserts that she favors more lyrical numbers above the bravura Vivaldi arias loaded with coloratura. Be that as it may, she excels in both, and one of the pleasures to be found in her coloratura work is the absence of gimmicks such as aspiration of breath between pitches to achieve her virtuoso speed of delivery. A case in point is Vagaus's aria of vengeance, "Armatae face et angibus," from Juditha Triumphans (1716), setting a Latin text by Giacomo Cosetti. Kožená's runs, shakes and trills are dazzling in their accuracy, clarity and ease. Another bravura aria is "Ho il cor già lacero," from Griselda (1835), on a libretto by Zeno, revised by the great playwright Goldoni. The story is convoluted but fascinating: King Gualtiero has taken as his bride Griselda, a simple shepherdess, but his people feel he's married beneath his station. After she has borne him two children (one a daughter believed dead), he stages a test of Griselda's fidelity by casting her out and pretending he will replace her with the young (aptly named) Constanza. Griselda proves her fidelity and is reinstated — a good thing, as Constanza turns out to be their long-lost daughter! Griselda's misfortunes are embodied in this showpiece.
In "Misero spirto mio," from Vivaldi's first opera, Ottono in Villa (1713), the emotionally torn Tullia's aria of vengeance against the man she loves gives Kožená the opportunity to alternate long, agonized lines with fiery outbursts. Also emotionally powerful is "Nel profondo cieco mondo," from Orlando Furioso (1727). Kožená spares nothing here and loses control of her instrument for a moment, but it feels almost appropriate, as the players of the Venice Baroque Orchestra tear into the accompaniment fearlessly and with virtuoso accuracy.
On the gentler side, also from Orlando Furioso, "Sol date, mio dolce amore" features a solo on traverse flute beautifully executed by Michele Favaro. As Ruggiero — one of several characters in this opera who overlap with the dramatis personae of Handel's Alcina — Kožená sounds truly spellbound by the power of the sorceress Alcina. In "Cara sorte di chi nata," from La Verità in Cimento (1720), Sultana Rustena sings enviously of the life she imagines fortunate humble women have, living in simple poverty with a faithful husband; a humorous tone is conveyed by Vivaldi's solo and obbligato passages for recorder, played here by Anna Fusek. Kožená makes a lovely effect in Oronte's aria from L'Incoronazione di Dario (1717), "Non mi lusinga vana speranza." Oronte's desire for the throne of Persia is imbued with deeply felt longing in the repeated intoning of the line "Posso sperar" (I am able to hope), the mezzo intensifying it without overplaying.
Vivaldi's L'Olimpiade (1734) is one of many eighteenth-century settings of Metastasio's libretto; its "Mentre dormi Amor formenti" is a gentle aria of slumber that is full of irony. In it, Licida wishes his friend Magacle to dream about Licida's romantic contentment with Aristea, with whom Megacle is actually also in love. The sweetness of the aria and the mezzo's delivery underline the tension of this love triangle. Here, as in all the more lyrical arias, Kožená beautifully captures the atmosphere of the piece and supplies a firm, alluring legato.
Two fascinating excerpts are particular highlights. "Lo stridor, l'orror d'Averno," from Vivaldi's first, less successful Orlando attempt, Orlando Finto Pazzo (1714), is a recitative-like aria of intense declamation. A wind machine sets the eerie mood of the piece, and Kožená delivers a strong reading of this incantation summoning the infernal gods. Of particular interest is the intriguing "Gelido in ogni vena," from Farnace (1727), which alone would place Vivaldi in the pantheon of composers of dramatic vocal music. He employs a searingly intense repeated figure in the strings to support the emotional tension, while extreme dynamic contrasts in the vocal line heighten the drama at hand — Farnace's unbearable guilt at the thought of condemning his son to death. Kožená manages to embody this torment in every beautiful phrase; simple ornaments in the repeat intensify the effect, while her occasional use of straight tone accents the sense of agony.
Andrea Marcon and his Venice Baroque Orchestra, having previously collaborated with the mezzo on a Handel disc, are spectacularly successful here in making a strong individual impression as an ensemble while being entirely at one with the soloist: the playing, the pacing and the music itself sound completely organic.
Ira Siff in Opera News May 2010
Michael
Magdalena Kožená: "Vivaldi"
Arias from Tito Manlio, Juditha Triumphans Devicta Holfernes Barbarie, La Verità in Cimento, Farnace, Arsilda, Regina di Ponto, Orlando Furioso, Ottone in Villa, Griselda, L'Incoronazione di Dario, Orlando Finto Pazzo and L'Olimpiade. Venice Baroque Orchestra, Marcon. Texts and translations.
Perhaps it is less-than-good form to mention one mezzo-soprano in the opening paragraph of the review of a disc by another. But one cannot help wondering whether a fine Vivaldi CD such as this one by Magdalena Kožená could be a financially viable entity in today's shrinking classical-music market were it not for Cecilia Bartoli's musical curiosity — and drawing power. Bartoli certainly paved the way, back in 1999, with her bestseller, The Vivaldi Album. One of the hallmarks of a great singer is the ability to put the material first, calling minimal attention to herself. Mabel Mercer did it with cabaret material, Maria Callas with Verdi and bel canto. Surely Bartoli enlightened us about Vivaldi's genius for composing intensely dramatic opera music. Kožená likewise makes us "ooh" and "ah" at the brilliance of the Vivaldi literature here, stepping back a bit to shine as an exemplary interpreter. Kožená treats this material lovingly, offering individuality, consummate vocal elegance and emotional conviction.
The disc contains fifteen arias from eleven of the Vivaldi operas composed between 1713 and 1735. In the booklet notes, Kožená asserts that she favors more lyrical numbers above the bravura Vivaldi arias loaded with coloratura. Be that as it may, she excels in both, and one of the pleasures to be found in her coloratura work is the absence of gimmicks such as aspiration of breath between pitches to achieve her virtuoso speed of delivery. A case in point is Vagaus's aria of vengeance, "Armatae face et angibus," from Juditha Triumphans (1716), setting a Latin text by Giacomo Cosetti. Kožená's runs, shakes and trills are dazzling in their accuracy, clarity and ease. Another bravura aria is "Ho il cor già lacero," from Griselda (1835), on a libretto by Zeno, revised by the great playwright Goldoni. The story is convoluted but fascinating: King Gualtiero has taken as his bride Griselda, a simple shepherdess, but his people feel he's married beneath his station. After she has borne him two children (one a daughter believed dead), he stages a test of Griselda's fidelity by casting her out and pretending he will replace her with the young (aptly named) Constanza. Griselda proves her fidelity and is reinstated — a good thing, as Constanza turns out to be their long-lost daughter! Griselda's misfortunes are embodied in this showpiece.
In "Misero spirto mio," from Vivaldi's first opera, Ottono in Villa (1713), the emotionally torn Tullia's aria of vengeance against the man she loves gives Kožená the opportunity to alternate long, agonized lines with fiery outbursts. Also emotionally powerful is "Nel profondo cieco mondo," from Orlando Furioso (1727). Kožená spares nothing here and loses control of her instrument for a moment, but it feels almost appropriate, as the players of the Venice Baroque Orchestra tear into the accompaniment fearlessly and with virtuoso accuracy.
On the gentler side, also from Orlando Furioso, "Sol date, mio dolce amore" features a solo on traverse flute beautifully executed by Michele Favaro. As Ruggiero — one of several characters in this opera who overlap with the dramatis personae of Handel's Alcina — Kožená sounds truly spellbound by the power of the sorceress Alcina. In "Cara sorte di chi nata," from La Verità in Cimento (1720), Sultana Rustena sings enviously of the life she imagines fortunate humble women have, living in simple poverty with a faithful husband; a humorous tone is conveyed by Vivaldi's solo and obbligato passages for recorder, played here by Anna Fusek. Kožená makes a lovely effect in Oronte's aria from L'Incoronazione di Dario (1717), "Non mi lusinga vana speranza." Oronte's desire for the throne of Persia is imbued with deeply felt longing in the repeated intoning of the line "Posso sperar" (I am able to hope), the mezzo intensifying it without overplaying.
Vivaldi's L'Olimpiade (1734) is one of many eighteenth-century settings of Metastasio's libretto; its "Mentre dormi Amor formenti" is a gentle aria of slumber that is full of irony. In it, Licida wishes his friend Magacle to dream about Licida's romantic contentment with Aristea, with whom Megacle is actually also in love. The sweetness of the aria and the mezzo's delivery underline the tension of this love triangle. Here, as in all the more lyrical arias, Kožená beautifully captures the atmosphere of the piece and supplies a firm, alluring legato.
Two fascinating excerpts are particular highlights. "Lo stridor, l'orror d'Averno," from Vivaldi's first, less successful Orlando attempt, Orlando Finto Pazzo (1714), is a recitative-like aria of intense declamation. A wind machine sets the eerie mood of the piece, and Kožená delivers a strong reading of this incantation summoning the infernal gods. Of particular interest is the intriguing "Gelido in ogni vena," from Farnace (1727), which alone would place Vivaldi in the pantheon of composers of dramatic vocal music. He employs a searingly intense repeated figure in the strings to support the emotional tension, while extreme dynamic contrasts in the vocal line heighten the drama at hand — Farnace's unbearable guilt at the thought of condemning his son to death. Kožená manages to embody this torment in every beautiful phrase; simple ornaments in the repeat intensify the effect, while her occasional use of straight tone accents the sense of agony.
Andrea Marcon and his Venice Baroque Orchestra, having previously collaborated with the mezzo on a Handel disc, are spectacularly successful here in making a strong individual impression as an ensemble while being entirely at one with the soloist: the playing, the pacing and the music itself sound completely organic.
Ira Siff in Opera News May 2010
Michael
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