Vivaldi la Pioggia

Vivaldi, the Venetian, master of the whole palette of human emotions. From the church to the opera house, from tragedy to joy, the immediately-recognisable sensibility, the expressiveness, the inimitable colours and an unbeatable talent to say so much in just a few notes.

Vivaldi, the Venetian, master of the whole palette of human emotions. From the church to the opera house, from tragedy to joy, the immediately-recognisable sensibility, the expressiveness, the inimitable colours and an unbeatable talent to say so much in just a few notes.

With this new recording, the madly epic and romantic opera, Il Giustino, finally receives its place in the spotlight, something that the history of music has denied it up until now. The fifty-eighth recording and eighteenth opera in the Vivaldi Edition, which began in 2000, solidifies the status of Vivaldi as the greatest of opera composers - and of composers full stop. It needed the talent, charisma and poetic energy of a great conductor to bring back to life this gem, and it is Ottavio Dantone who assumes this mantle.

Supreme master of the Baroque concerto and one of the finest composers of sacred music, Vivaldi is now also being rediscovered as an opera composer of genius. Some credit for this must go to Alan Curtis and Il Complesso Barocco, whose performances of Giustino since 1985 have made this colourful and dramatic work the most widely played of Vivaldi's operas in modern times. Giustino contains an endless flow of Vivaldian melodic inspiration and inventive orchestration; the score calls for a psaltery and for birdsong, while the goddess Fortune descends to the tune of Spring from the Four Seasons. This first recording is based on a concert performance in Rotterdam in 2001; the fine cast is headed by Dominique Labelle as the empress Arianna and Francesca Provvisionato as the plough-boy emperor Giustino.

Philippe Jaroussky (born 13 February 1978 in Maisons-Laffitte, France)[1] is a French sopranist countertenor. He began his musical career with the violin, winning an award at the Versailles conservatory and then took up the piano before turning to singing. He is noted for a virtuosic coloratura technique and for compelling and enlivened interpretations of baroque cantatas and operas…

Philippe Jaroussky's countertenor is not a large instrument, but what an instrument! He sings with flawless intonation; a tone that is sweet, pure, even, and focused over the full extent of his wide range; and a breathtaking command of coloratura technique. The impression that his voice is perhaps more elfin than heroic seems of minor consequence in light of its beauty, and the expressive intelligence and musicality he brings to these characters from Vivaldi operas. In spite of the bravado of the album's title, Vivaldi Heroes, many of the arias are exquisitely tender, showcasing Jaroussky's strengths in bringing out the characters' humanity and vulnerability. Any number of arias could be singled out, but "Vedro con mio diletto," from Guistino, is a standout. Matheus Ensemble, led by violinist Jean-Christophe Spinosi, is a full partner in its sensitivity and musicality and offers nuanced and colorful support.