Io Sono Cesare

An heroic story, based on historical events occurring on the Germanic fringes of the Roman Empire, Arminio is now being revived in a new and ravishing production by Parnassus Arts under their artistic director Max Emanuel Cencic: a combination with an unequalled track record in Handelian opera seria, as witnessed by their multiple-award-winning staging and recording of Alessandro (from 2012 to date). Countertenor Max Emanuel Cencic takes the title role of Arminio, surrounded by a superb cast featuring Layla Claire (Tusnelda), Ruxandra Donose (Ramise), Vince Yi (Sigismondo), Juan Sancho (Varo), Xavier Sabata (Tullio) and Petros Magoulas (Segeste).

Alessandro Severo is a pasticcio, an Italian term meaning a jumble or hodgepodge. In the operatic context, it refers to a work made up of music composed for another occasion and reused with little or no change. Handel produced three pasticcio operas based on his own music: Oreste (1734), Alessandro Severo (1738), and Giove in Argo (1739); only the latter contains any substantial new music. With this release, we now have recordings of all three.
FANFARE: Ron Salemi

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato has gained a strong following with novel, even fearless programs, flawlessly executed. The stimulus for In War & Peace was extramusical: DiDonato temporarily shelved a different project in the wake of the terrorist attack at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris. The concept is ambitious: the booklet includes quotes about finding peace from figures as varied as Patrick Stewart, Riccardo Muti, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and an inmate at New York's Sing Sing prison. Does it directly connect with DiDonato's program of Baroque arias? Listeners will have to decide for themselves, but the good news is that the program stands on its own.

Verdi: Rigoletto - Gueden, Protti, del Monaco - Erede - 1954
Classical | 2 CDs | MP3 | VBR - 192 kbps | NO BOOKS NO COVER | 131 MB
DECCA 476 263 8 | Release Date: 2006

Egy évvel a korszakos jelentőségű, Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi és Giuseppe di Stefano fémjelezte Rigoletto-felvétel előtt készült ez a most újrakiadott lemez, amely jó 50 év távlatából visszatekintve is kiállja az idő próbáját.

Punto fermo per l’editore Paolo Boringhieri, nell’accingersi all’impresa di pubblicare l’intera Opera di Sigmund Freud verso la metà degli anni cinquanta del secolo scorso, fu quello che dovesse trattarsi di un’edizione definitiva, capace di costituire per decenni il termine di riferimento degli studiosi italiani.