Piede

The general wall of obscurity surrounding Vivaldi's operas seems to be lifting. Tito Manlio, a large work composed in 1719 for a royal wedding that was called off at the last minute, was recorded on LPs in the 1970s and in 2006 received two new recordings, released at nearly the same time. So much for the theory that opera on recordings is dying! The opera is a compelling one, with a convincing father-son drama: the ancient Roman consul Tito Manlio (or Titus Manlius) plans to have his son executed for disobedience, but the younger Manlio is saved by a flood of acclamation for his military deeds. The opera seria libretto was set by several other composers of the early eighteenth century. Its central role is the young Manlio, intended for a castrato and sung here by soprano Elisabeth Scholl.

This two-CD reissue contains only the complete set (of 12) that appeared in his lifetime – several dozen more are extant. Published as his Op. 4 in Venice in 1702, these chamber cantatas are typical Baroque ‘languish ’n’ anguish’ love laments, six scored for solo soprano voice, six for solo alto. They are beautifully sung by Barbara Schlick and Derek Lee Ragin.