La Fida Ninfa

La Fida Ninfa premiered during the Verona carnival of 1732 at the Teatro Filarmonico. The work was composed to help celebrate the opening of the theatre, which had been postponed for two years, since at that time, the city had been surrounded by foreign military troops. The production was spectacular, and included elaborate ballets by Andrea Cattani, a famous ballet master from Poland, as well as sumptuous sets by Francesco Bibiena. “Vivaldi's score is a ravishing one, offering a rewarding sequence of beguiling arias, duets, a trio and a quartet. Sandrine Piau (Licori) and Verónica Cangemi (Morasto) take on the considerable vocal challenges of demanding roles with their usual tonal warmth and bravura, while Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Elpina) provides the necessary emotional contrasts.

The story is of Oralto, pirate and despotic ruler of Naxos, an island in the Aegean Sea, has seized in the course of one of his plundering expeditions the old Narete, a shepherd of Scyros, and his two daughters, Licori and Elpina. Licori, an extremely beautiful young girl, had been promised in marriage when she was still a child to Osmino, a young shepherd of Scyros: but Osmino had been carried off by Thracian soldiers. Licori however had never forgotten Osmino and had remained faithful to his memory to the extent of rejecting every other proposal.

This special project features the finest opera arias recorded by Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux for Naïve, ranging from Vivaldi, Handel and Mozart to Saint-Saëns, Massenet and Berlioz. It gathers tracks from 6 recordings released between 2003 and 2012, resulting from collaborations with some of the finest orchestras of the time: Il Complesso Barocco, Ensemble Matheus, Les Violons du Roy, Orchestre National de France. Only one motto for Marie-Nicole: passion!

One of the best-known cellists of his generation and of the recording era overall, Yo-Yo Ma is recognized not only for his technical virtuosity but for his engaging interpretative ability, whether the tone is delicate, plaintive, playful, or impassioned. After breaking through with a collection of Bach cello suites in 1983, his ambitions and his appeal stretched far beyond the classical sphere via popular collaborations with such artists as jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin (1992's Hush) and bluegrass musicians Stuart Duncan and Chris Thile (2011's The Goat Rodeo Sessions).

Naïve's Vivaldi! features Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux in selections from Vivaldi operas and an excerpted version of his Stabat Mater, RV 621, limited just to the alto arias. All of this material is drawn from Naïve's standing catalog of Vivaldi recordings with the Ensemble Matheus, to which Lemieux has been a star contributor. Her work in duets with Philippe Jaroussky is duly noted for its resultant and memorable fireworks; some of these moments are included, along with a little bit of her work alongside popular soprano Sandrine Piau.

In FURY / MERCY, soprano Channa Malkin and early music ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa under the direction of Mike Fentross present a deeply personal and emotionally charged exploration of Antonio Vivaldi’s vocal and instrumental works. Moving seamlessly between operatic arias, sacred motets, and concerti, this album delves into the extremes of the human emotional spectrum—from searing rage to tender compassion. The program opens with music from La fida ninfa, where betrayal and longing unfold through heartbreakingly intimate arias. It then journeys through the thunderous outcry of Armatae face et anguibus from Juditha Triumphans, into the serene and redemptive beauty of the motet In furore iustissimae irae. Along the way, the album draws on lesser-known Vivaldi gems—such as the Concerto in D Minor “Madrigalesco”—all chosen and interpreted with the intent to reveal the transformative power of emotion through music.