Queen of Baroque

A collection of the very best of Bartoli's treasured recordings of musical delights and discoveries of the 17th and 18th century. Featuring two previously unreleased world premiere recordings of forgotten jewels by Leonardo Vinci and Agostino Steffani. With guest appearances from Philippe Jaroussky, June Anderson, Franco Fagioli and Sol Gabetta.

A collection of the very best of Bartoli's treasured recordings of musical delights and discoveries of the 17th and 18th century. Featuring two previously unreleased world premiere recordings of forgotten jewels by Leonardo Vinci and Agostino Steffani. With guest appearances from Philippe Jaroussky, June Anderson, Franco Fagioli and Sol Gabetta.

Yes, there was another Cleopatra! She was married to Tigranes the Great, King of Armenia, and together they created an Armenia that reached from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. The resplendent and regal voice of soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian is perfectly suited to the role of Cleopatra. Bayrakdarian shines in arias from three rarely heard operas about King Tigranes and his queen. Bayrakdarians multi-hued voice relates the passion, drama, and fervor of the love story of Tigranes and Cleopatra. Bayrakdarian sparkles in five arias from Il Tigrane by Baroque master Johann Adolph Hasse, famous in his day as one of the foremost composers of opera. Arias by Vivaldi and Gluck add further excitement to the album.Bayrakdarian is supported by the Grammy-nominated team of Constantine Orbelian the singers dream collaborator (Opera News) and his marvellous Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra.

It is with much pleasure that Glossa is able to announce the release of a further new recording featuring the marvellous vocal talents of that queen of Baroque music, Roberta Invernizzi: La bella più bella. Known for her dazzling and elegant displays in the music of the later Baroque – Handel and Vivaldi come to mind, but also her Naples-related travelogue on the recent I Viaggi di Faustina – the Milanese singer has also nurtured, across her career, the more delicate and nuanced art of the Italian song repertory from the early 17th century, a time when courtly and polyphonic expression were giving way to the “moving of the emotions” by a solo singer accompanied by a single instrument. Renato Dolcini guides us through the musical evolution of this form in his illuminating booklet essay.

Simone Kermes erhält den Echo Klassik 2011 als Sängerin des Jahres. Die aus Dresden stammende Sängerin wurde für ihre CD "Colori d´amore" ausgezeichnet, die Publikum und Presse gleichermaßen begeisterte: "eines der besten Volkalrecitals der letzten Jahre", urteilte Fono Forum. Die "Best of Simone Kermes" zeigt die "Queen of Baroque" in der gesamten Bandbreite ihres Könnens - mit entdeckenswerter Musik von Händel, Bononcini, Hasse, Haydn, Scarlatti, Pergolesi u. a. - lauter entdeckenswerte, oft völlig zu Unrecht vergessene Arienperlen.

Acts I and III of this oratorio are sumptuous pageants: Solomon on the throne with his adoring Queen; Solomon receives the Queen of Sheba. In between, Act II's depiction of Solomon's judgment (over the baby) is one of the finest dramatic scenes Handel wrote in any context. The First Harlot's fear, desperation, and gratitude, the Second Harlot's grief-crazed jealousy, Solomon's serene wisdom–all are smashingly portrayed by Handel and by Rodgers, Jones and Watkinson. Argenta's Queen is a girlish delight; the regal Hendricks as Sheba sounds quite comfortable among these Baroque specialists; Rolfe Johnson and Varcoe have two splendid arias each. The choir and orchestra–whether in the amorous "Nightingale" chorus, the sequence of pictorial numbers in Act III, or the stunning double choruses throughout–are magnificent.