Comic Berlin

Is another baroque opera–in this case by composer Reinhard Keiser (1674-1739)–really worth hearing in its entirety? After a completely conventional overture, the opening scene pits the legendarily rich king of Lydia, the titular Croesus (who incidentally lived in the fifth century B.C.), against the Athenian philosopher and lawgiver Solon. On account of his immeasurable wealth, the complacent Croesus believes himself to be completely secure and unassailable; Solon mocks his riches and points out how ephemeral all earthly goods are. This exchange of words via recitative is perfectly built up–both as a composition and as performed here. From his very first notes, Roman Trekel's Croesus carries conviction, while Kwangchul Youn (a role originally intended for tenor but justifiably and effectively transcribed by conductor René Jacobs for bass) is no less impressive.

Pimpinone, TWV 21:15, is a comic opera by the German composer Georg Philipp Telemann with a libretto by Johann Philipp Praetorius. Its full title is Die Ungleiche Heirat zwischen Vespetta und Pimpinone oder Das herrsch-süchtige Camer Mägden (The Unequal Marriage Between Vespetta and Pimpinone or The Domineering Chambermaid). The work is described as a Lustiges Zwischenspiel ("comic intermezzo") in three parts. It was first performed at the Theater am Gänsemarkt, Hamburg on 27 September 1725 as light relief between the acts of Telemann's adaptation of Handel's opera seria Tamerlano. Pimpinone was highly successful and pointed the way forward to later intermezzi, particularly Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's La serva padrona.