Sfera Ebbasta Gelosi

The first recording on Challenge Classics by the wonderful Dutch baroque orchestra, La Sfera Armoniosa. For its debut, La Sfera Armoniosa and its artistic director Mike Febtross have chosen orchestral music and arias from operas by Henry Purcell. Well-known baroque specialist, soprano Johannette Zomer joins the orchestra in this live recording.

The debut album by young countertenor Oscar Verhaar showcases eight arias drawn from Handel's English oratorios.

Working in 17th-century Venice soon after the worlds first public opera houses opened there, composer Francesco Cavalli had no tradition to follow. He gave his fertile imagination free rein, tinkering with the brand-new art form to create the lively Venetian style of opera, with its melodious arias, sprightly dance rhythms, free-wheeling mythological or historical plots and generous dollops of comedy. Like most of Cavallis operas, Ilpermestra wasnt performed between the late 17th century and recent years. Ilpermestra was written on the occasion of the birth of King Philip IV of Spains first son in 1658. It was one of the most magnificent operas to have ever been staged. This is the world premiere recording of the opera, made after a live stage performance in Utrecht in 2006.

The booklet for this release tells us that it is not only a world premiere recording but that La Rosinda has been revived on only one other occasion since the 17th century. Baroque opera enthusiasts should be circling, then, for this is a work in which Cavalli’s skills as an opera composer who can mix fluidity of text with just enough lyricism to make musical drama that is both compelling and attractive are clearly displayed.

This was a group of session musicians assembled by a composer to record a single LP. Composer and keyboardist Carlo Barbiera dedicated a full album to the life and works of sculptor Luciano Ceschia (1926-1991), both coming from near Udine, Friuli Venezia Giulia, in the north-east of Italy. This rare album is a rather original example of experimental electro-acoustic progressive style, mainly based on synth effects and acoustic guitars and often reminding some of Battiato's early works. Despite the presence of five singers in the line-up, the vocal parts are short, spoken or recited rather than sung. 19 tracks (+ bonus tracks) are listed on the cover, but these are connected to form two long suites. All in all an interesting album for the adventurous listeners in search of something different.

Bass-baritone Adam Plachetka presents Molieri, a programme of opera arias by Mozart and Salieri, together with the Czech Ensemble Baroque under the baton of Roman Válek. Thanks to fictional works such as the film Amadeus, Antonio Salieri is often scapegoated as the man who allegedly caused Mozart’s untimely death out of professional envy. Despite the fact that this is obviously not true, Salieri’s popularity has suffered from this popular myth-making, and most of his operas have sunk into oblivion. Molieri brings the two composers together, focusing on bass-8 baritone arias from their opera buffas. Famous arias from Mozart’s Da Ponte operas are heard in a completely different light when paired to excerpts from Salieri’s Falstaff, Axur, La grotto di Trofonio and La scuola de’ gelosi. It also makes clear why Salieri enjoyed such success, as well as why great composers such as Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt all wanted to study with him. Given the importance of Prague for Mozart’s operatic successes, the music fits the players of Czech Ensemble Baroque like a glove, and Plachetka possesses the optimal combination of vocal authority and agility to sing these buffo roles.