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In its day La scuola de’ gelosi (1778) was one of the best-known comic operas by Antonio Salieri (1750–1825), remaining a box-office hit for decades. All the more astonishing is the fact that it could sink into obscurity. Even Goethe was excited by this masterpiece: “The opera is the audience’s favourite, and the audience is right. It contains an astonishing richness and variety, and the subject is treated with the most exquisite taste. I was moved by every aria.” In the wake of its world premiere in Venice in 1778, La scuola de’ gelosi was performed in opera houses all over Europe, from Dresden, Vienna, Prague and Paris to cities as far away as London and St Petersburg, before it passed into near-oblivion.

Pure Amina is one of the most touching characters of the bel canto repertoire. The young somnambulist is completely unaware of her condition which loses her the love of her fiancé. Maria Callas was probably her most admirable performer, having won the heart of the Scala’s audience after a legendary series of performances staged by her close friend Luchino Visconti in 1955. Two years later, she would record this milestone studio recording – an absolute reference of Bellini’s discography – with Antonino Votto.

The chamber cantata flourished in Italy as a counterpart to public opera and oratorio, cultivated by aristocratic patrons for their personal enjoyment. Perhaps because of its essentially private origins, this pervasive Baroque form remains little known today. During his years in Italy (1706-1710), George Frideric Handel composed nearly 100 cantatas for a series of important patrons, but they have tended to be passed over in favor of his larger operas, oratorios, concertos and orchestral suites. The plan of La Risonanza to perform and record all of the cantatas with instrumental accompaniment (about one-third of the total) is therefore of signal importance for all music lovers, as it will bring this extraordinarily beautiful music once again to life (2006-2009).

Nach der ersten CD "Il primo amore" mit Frühwerken von Marianna Martines (1744-1812), die von der Presse als "interpretatorische Delikatesse" (Rondo) gelobt wurde, hat die Cembalistin Nicholeta Paraschivescu mit dem Ensemble La Floridiana und der Mezzosopranistin Anna Bonitatibus nun drei späte Kantaten, ein Cembalokonzert sowie eine Sonate dieser herausragenden Komponistin des 18. Jahrhunderts aufgenommen, darunter drei Weltersteinspielungen.

This is the best recording so far of Partenope. Krisztina Laki is splendid in the lead role as is Helga Muller-Molinari as Rosmira and John York Skinner as Armindo. Rene Jacobs in the counter-tenor role of Arsace does a fine job considering the date of this recording. The orchestra plays with great vitality. This is the recommended recording of this opera.

Gaetano Latilla (1711-88) is pretty much a footnote, but after its premiere in 1738, this opera, La finta cameriera, was performed at one time or another throughout Europe for the next 20 years. It consists of 44 arias and acres of recitative (indeed, the Parisians objected to all the chatter in 1752). I normally hate these 18th century “intermezzo” operas about people disguised as either the lower classes or their own brothers, particularly because in between the acres of recitative there usually are simple-to-sing, “flavorful” arias. This work, however, is different: many of the arias are very showy and difficult, and require true virtuoso singing.