Comim, Flavio

Flavio comes from a fertile period in Handel's output, but despite the presence of Cuzzoni and Senesino, two of the most important and lauded singers of the day, it flopped when first presented in 1723. This is probably due to the fact that it's a comedy that turns tragic before ending happily–and London audiences simply couldn't get their heads around such a thing. Whatever the case, it contains aria after aria, with a duet thrown in–and each one is short, to the point, and always entertaining. The instrumental textures are never complex–and the rhythms, mostly upbeat, keep the opera moving at an almost sitcom pace. I won't go into the plot because it's not that hard to follow, but rest assured that this performance is dynamite.

The real prize in this jam packed nine-CD set is of course the incandescent recording of Giulio Cesare with some of the most phenomenal singing on record by Larmore, Schlick, and Fink. When this came out it created quite a stir, given it is about as complete as it ever has been, and filled with Jacob’s searching and trend-setting conducting. While it won’t displace favorites of yesteryear, those recordings are of a different era and style altogether, and here the opera comes together in a manner fully redolent of what Handel must have envisioned.

Flavio Boltro is undoubtedly one of the greatest representatives of the jazz trumpet in Europe. Michel Petrucciani understood this very well by calling him to be part of one of his best bands. Flavio is a creative in the true sense of the word: he knows how to create his own music. Far from being content to play a piece, he gives life to it! For Flavio, live reproduction of existing music is not enough, it must be transfigured. It's as if he painted each note with his personal vision of the world.