Armida

A keen advocate of the works of Antonio Salieri, Christophe Rousset continues his exploration of the composer's works, having unearthed the manuscript of another masterpiece. The three-act opera Armida, first performed on June 2, 1771 in Vienna, presents a perfect synthesis of the Italian and French styles. Salieri was just twenty when he turned to the difficult opera seria genre. He chose to tackle a well-known subject: that of the love affair between the Christian Crusader Rinaldo and the Saracen sorceress Armida, borrowed from Tasso's epic poem Gerusalemme liberata. A very dense plot focuses on an intense drama involving just four characters. The fluidity, originality and brio of his compositional style were to ensure Salieri's lasting reputation throughout Europe.

Il pomo d’oro and Francesco Corti present Handel’s Apollo e Dafne and Armida abbandonata, together with two outstanding vocalists: soprano Kathryn Lewek (Armida & Dafne) and baritone John Chest (Apollo). Handel composed these two cantatas shortly after his Italian sojourn (1706-1709), and they demonstrate his acquaintance with and aptitude for Italian operatic music. Compared to opera, supporting roles are left out of these relatively compact cantatas, increasing the focus on the main characters, and heightening the expressive depth of their music. Il pomo d’oro performs these pieces with historically-informed ears, lively and colourful. The cantatas alternate with several delightful orchestral pieces by Handel, including several movements from his Almira Suite.

Armida is an opera in three acts by Joseph Haydn, set to a libretto based upon Torquato Tasso’s poem Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered) and written duringhis services for the Eszterházy family...

The new album MOZART Vol. 2 of the Armida Quartet will be released on 28 June 2019 on CAvi-music. The recording was co-produced by Bayrischer Rundfunk BR-KLASSIK and features KV 80, KV 458 (The Hunt) and KV 499 (Hoffmeister Quartet) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A special feature for all string quartet fans is the use of the new Mozart Urtext Edition by G.Henle Verlag!

Renée Fleming continues her reign as `Queen of the MET', starring in a bel canto rarity specially staged for her - a showcase for her extraordinary vocal virtuosity as well as one of the most beautiful voices of our time. This four-hour bel canto extravaganza is presented here on 2 DVDs. In addition to the great prima donna title role, Armida uniquely features no fewer than six tenor roles, here led by the acclaimed young American tenor Lawrence Brownlee(previously featured on the DG DVD of the Met's La Cenerentola.)…Renée Fleming returns to the Met in Armida February 18 - March 5, 2011.

Martin Klett together with the Armida Quartett perform late Romantic Piano Quintets by Cesar Franck and Frank Martin. "… We only have two hands, and our ten fingers are not capable of exploiting all the possibilities": that is how composer Frank Martin (1890-1974) once described the inadequacies of the keyboard. However, pianist Martin Klett and the members of the Armida Quartet view things somewhat differently. Similarly to the string quartet as a whole ensemble, the piano forms "a perfect unit in itself", Klett affirms.