Notes and Editorial Reviews
In this double album, the greatest vocal artists of the present day offer their own vision of the singing of their legendary predecessor. Both male and female singers now undertake the task of bringing back to life the wondrous voices of their androgynous forebears, in music that is by turns unsettling, deeply moving and of a dizzying virtuosity.
The extraordinary adulation accorded to castrati during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is still today one of the most fascinating phenomena in the history of music. During this golden age of the castrato, these male singers endowed with high voices that combined incredible refinement, amazing power and superhuman virtuosity took the musical world by storm. The whole of
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Europe was overcome by infatuation for these vocal prodigies. In the absence of the castrati themselves, the singers of today face the formidable challenge of reviving their repertoire. Both male and female singers now undertake the task of bringing back to life the wondrous voices of their androgynous forebears, in music that is by turns unsettling, deeply moving and of a dizzying virtuosity. In this double album, the greatest vocal artists of the present day offer their own vision of the singing of their legendary predecessors.
A 2CD-Compilation for the Price of 1 + 1 Bonus DVD
CD1 Feminine Castrato arias performed by female singers : Natalie Dessay, Kate Royal, Sonia Prina, Stephanie Blythe, Vivica Genaux, Elina Garanca, Patrizia Ciofi, Joyce DiDonato, Della Jones, Anne Sofie von Otter, Véronique Gens.
CD2 Masculine Castrato arias performed by male singers: Philippe Jaroussky, James Bowman, René Jacobs, Max Emanuel Cencic, Gérard Lesne, David Daniels…
+ Includes Bonus DVD 33.02 ( mini-documentary "Behind the scenes" - footage from the recording sessions of previous and new releases ) / NTSC – Stereo – Region Free
Six arias by Monteverdi, Handel, J.C. Bach and Vivaldi, first sung by castrati and performed here by Natalie Dessay, Joyce DiDonato, Philippe Jaroussky, Max Emanuel Cencic, Patrizia Ciofi and Vivica Genaux
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Works on This Recording
1.
L'Orfeo: Excerpt(s) by Claudio Monteverdi
Performer:
Natalie Dessay (Soprano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1607; Mantua, Italy
5.
Bajazet, RV 703 "Tamerlano": Excerpt(s) by Antonio Vivaldi
Performer:
Elina Garanca (Mezzo Soprano),
Vivica Genaux (Mezzo Soprano),
Patrizia Ciofi (Soprano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1735; Verona, Italy
6.
Ariodante, HWV 33: Excerpt(s) by George Frideric Handel
Performer:
Joyce DiDonato (Mezzo Soprano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1734-1735; London, England
7.
Alcina, HWV 34: Excerpt(s) by George Frideric Handel
Performer:
Della Jones (Mezzo Soprano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1735; London, England
8.
Serse, HWV 40: Excerpt(s) by George Frideric Handel
Performer:
Joyce DiDonato (Mezzo Soprano),
Anne Sofie von Otter (Mezzo Soprano)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1738; London, England
15.
Serse, HWV 40: Excerpt(s) by George Frideric Handel
Performer:
Gérard Lesne (Countertenor)
Period: Baroque
Written: 1738; London, England
16.
Orfeo ed Euridice: Excerpt(s) by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer:
David Daniels (Countertenor)
Period: Classical
Written: 1762/1774; Vienna, Austria
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