Monteverdi

Handel’s dramatic opera-oratorio Semele, which was recorded from a live performance at London’s Alexandra Palace Theatre in May 2019.

L’Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) is often described as the first true opera, with good reason: it is made up of five acts, has a large gallery of characters, a detailed orchestral score specifying some forty instruments and, like so many later operas, its libretto is based on a classical myth. Monteverdi’s work thus becomes a sort of matrix for the entire genre – with one exception: the narrative of this ‘tale in music’ is direct, succinct and to the point.

Ulysses and Monteverdi: passion and action at the heart of musical drama. Penelope sings of her endless wait, her hope to see the king of her heart again, while her suitors besiege her to take her hand and the throne. The return of Ulysses to Ithaca after twenty years of wandering brings the drama to a close. Travelling incognito disguised as an old man, he arrives at the palace for the contest that Penelope has arranged: whoever manages to bend Odysseus' former bow will have the hand of the queen. The old man in rags presents himself to the court, and achieves his revenge.

In 1650, seven years after Claudio Monteverdi’s death, the Venetian publisher Alessandro Vincenti, with the help of Francesco Cavalli, a student and successor of Monteverdi, decided to put together the compilation Messa a quattro voci et salmi. It was a unique tribute to Monteverdi. In an era when looking back was not fashionable, the preservation of written music was rare, and for the most part the names of dead musicians were quickly forgotten, Monteverdi’s fame seemed to persist for a long time.

Ulysses and Monteverdi: passion and action at the heart of musical drama. Penelope sings of her endless wait, her hope to see the king of her heart again, while her suitors besiege her to take her hand and the throne. The return of Ulysses to Ithaca after twenty years of wandering brings the drama to a close. Travelling incognito disguised as an old man, he arrives at the palace for the contest that Penelope has arranged: whoever manages to bend Odysseus' former bow will have the hand of the queen. The old man in rags presents himself to the court, and achieves his revenge.

After ‘Stravaganza d’amore’, their superb album of late sixteenth-century Florentine music, Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion return to Italy, this time to Mantua. Here they offer us their reading of one of the peaks of sacred music from this period: Monteverdi’s Vespers. Revealing like no other interpreters the poignant interiority of these pieces, they bring out to the full their inherent sense of theatre. An overwhelming experience.

Recorded live in concert in October, this release marks the Monteverdi Choir's 60th birthday and the 200th anniversary of Bruckner's birth with an album that combines his celebrated a cappella motets with the sacred motets of Carlo Gesualdo (1566 - 1613).

Recorded live in concert in October, this release marks the Monteverdi Choir's 60th birthday and the 200th anniversary of Bruckner's birth with an album that combines his celebrated a cappella motets with the sacred motets of Carlo Gesualdo (1566 - 1613).

Magdalena Kožená is back with another early music adventure on Archiv Production after her highly acclaimed ‘Vivaldi’ and ‘Lettere Amorose’ albums. In this recording, Kozena explores the early Italian Baroque Music of Claudio Monteverdi. She duets with Anna Prohaska on tracks ‘Pur ti miro’ and ‘Zefiro torna’, plus there are guest performances from David Feldman, Jakob Pilgram, Michael Feyfar and Luca Tittoto. Kozena sings with La Cetra Barockorchester Basel and Andrea Marcon.

Magdalena Kožená is back with another early music adventure on Archiv Production after her highly acclaimed ‘Vivaldi’ and ‘Lettere Amorose’ albums. In this recording, Kozena explores the early Italian Baroque Music of Claudio Monteverdi. She duets with Anna Prohaska on tracks ‘Pur ti miro’ and ‘Zefiro torna’, plus there are guest performances from David Feldman, Jakob Pilgram, Michael Feyfar and Luca Tittoto. Kozena sings with La Cetra Barockorchester Basel and Andrea Marcon.