Cecilia Bartoli Announces New Album -- Farinelli -- download now

👍🏻
She is still singing very well.  Here is a full list of tracks for Farinelli:

1. ‘Nell’Attendere Mio Bene’ from Polifemo by Porpora
2. ‘Vaghi Amori, Grazie Amate’ from La Festa d’Imeneo by Porpora
3. ‘Morte Col Fiero Aspetto’ from Marc’Antonio E Cleopatra by Hasse
4. ‘Lontan… Lusingato Dalla Speme’ from Polifemo by Porpora*
5. ‘Chi Non Sente Al Mio Dolore’ from La Merope by Broschi
6. ‘Come Nave In Ria Tempesta’ from Semiramide Regina Dell’Assiria by Porpora
7. ‘Mancare O Dio Mi Sento’ from Adriano In Siria by Giacomelli
8. ‘Si, Traditor Tu Sei’ from La Merope by Broschi*
9. ‘Questi Al Cor Finora Ignoti’ from La Morte d’Abel by Caldara
10. ‘Signor La Tua Speranza… A Dio Trono, Impero A Dio’ from Marc’Antonio E Cleopatra by Hasse
11. ‘Alto Giove’ from Polifemo by Porpora
*Denotes a world premiere recording

The beard first appeared in her Salzburg performance of Handel's Ariodante.  The castrato Farinelli probably couldn't grow a beard, but never mind.  She is someone I love, and she looks great in her beard.  There's even a short film.  She begins with the Ariodante makeup and then switches to her own hair.



Farinelli was very popular in London during Handel's opera period.



Amazon tells me that I cannot receive my album until January, but in spite of that, I may listen now. I may also download now. The pieces on this album are mostly by Porpora, a wonderful Italian composer of vocal music who has slipped out of the repertoire. It is wonderful that we get to hear him now by way of la Bartoli.

Other composers include Broschi, Farinelli's brother. His first aria is rather low key for this era.

The sweetness and flexibility of her voice is still with us, as is also the complete originality of her interpretations. She loves this music and wants us to love it, too.

The final track, Alto Giove by Porpora, is the most well known of this repertoire and has a different orchestra accompanying it. Il Giardino Armonico led by Giovanni Antonini accompany most of the tracks, but the final one is accompanied by Les Musiciens du Prince with Gianluca Capuano. She must simply have loved this version. I love it too.

This one comes with visuals.

Jaroussky Farinelli

This is an album of arias and duets by Nicola Porpora which were composed for the castrato Farinelli.  Porpora was famous as the great trainer of castrati, including, of course, Farinelli.  He was born in Naples in the middle of the early days of the Neapolitan opera school.

The album includes 11 tracks, 2 with Cecilia Bartoli, 7 of which are world premiere recordings.  The very long aria "Alto Giove" is apparently not one of the world premieres, but it is very beautiful in Jaroussky's voice.

The duets are lovely.  Cecilia generally sings soprano to his alto.  I especially love the second duet "La Gioia Ch'Io Sento" which bursts upon us unexpectedly.  It is all very very sweet.  Have a little sweetness in your life.

#ad

Arias for Farinelli

This was very much a Baroque weekend.  On Saturday night was Vivica Genaux with the Philharmonia Baroque in Berkeley doing her Arias for Farinelli program.

Philharmonia Baroque performs in the First Congregational Church in Berkeley, and after living in Sacramento for a while, I am feeling a bit of envy for such a spacious room with such nice acoustics.

This was sort of an anyone but Bach concert from the generation born from the decade 1678-88:

• We begin with a concerto for six woodwinds by Johann Friedrich Fasch, who worked within 50 miles of Bach.  This was on the program as a memorial for two of their woodwind players who died last spring.

• Then Vivica thrilled us with three arias by Antonio Vivaldi.

• Georg Philipp Telemann's "Sinfonia Spirituosa"

• Then we have two arias by Nicola Porpora and one by Roccardo Broschi.  Broschi is heard only because he was Farinelli's brother and wrote a number of show piece arias for him.  He is younger than the others.  These were pretty flashy.

• The program closed with a suite by Jean -Philippe Rameau from La Guirlande.  This included some very primitive looking percussion--a tall drum and a tambourine. 

• Vivica sang "Agitata da due venti" from Vivaldi's Griselda as an encore.  I don't think it was as funny as this film.

 

#ad

Sacrificium Album

The idea of the castrati is that these unnatural beasts could perform impossible feats with their high voices. The best of them could do what mere mortals, and certainly mere women, could not. Others have recorded albums honoring castrati, such as Vivica Genaux - Arias for Farinelli and Andreas Scholl - Arias for Senesino, but none have actually tried to rival the castrati by seeming to achieve the truly impossible as Cecilia Bartoli is attempting with her album Sacrificium.

Cecilia seems to understand the goal of castrato singing which is to stun the audience into complete disbelief. This happens in “Cadrò, ma qual si mira” by Araia and ”Son qual nave” by Broschi. The breath control exceeds the humanly possible and the range is astounding.

I was wowed by Opera Proibita but didn’t really enjoy listening to it. That kind of beating the listener over the head is missing here. At this point in her career perhaps Cecilia is willing to show her natural sweetness, both emotionally and vocally.

The song about birds with flute accompaniment, “Usignolo sventurato” by Porpora, is very pleasing.

The sweetness of the original instrument orchestra pairs beautifully with the sweetness of the soloist’s performances. I wouldn’t have thought it possible to be this technically stunning and emotionally moving all at the same time. I like it very much.
#ad

Arias for Farinelli

Vivica Genaux has a new album called Arias for Farinelli, a castrato who sang in the period most represented these days by George Frederick Handel. It was, however, the competition who hired him while he was in London from 1734-37. This album gives a picture of Italian opera in the time of Handel, a repertoire we seldom hear.

Represented are Nicola Porpora, Geminiano Giacomelli, Riccardo Broschi (Farinelli’s brother), Johann Adolf Hasse, and Baldassari Galuppi, listed here chronologically in the order of their birth dates. René Jacobs, the conductor, says in his notes, “The composers of our arias were themselves trained singers, and understood the human vocal instrument so well that they occasionally gave singing lessons; Porpora even made it his profession.” I didn’t think of that when giving advice to composers, but why not? Find out what Fach suits your own voice. Learn a few arias and perform them for your friends, preferably your singer friends. I would remove my prohibition that they compose for themselves if composers actually were trained as opera singers. Forgive me, as usual I have digressed.

Jacobs also speaks of “hermaphroditic dreams,” satisfied both by castrati in female roles and contraltos in trouser parts, sometimes together in the same opera. Gender confusion as a method for increasing pleasure is what we are talking about here. We have suspected as much.

Jacobs discusses at length the suitability of falsettists in replacing castrati and makes the statement, “…when it comes to replacing soprano castratos like Farinelli, unfortunately no falsettist in existence today fulfils [the] desire for full and rounded lower notes, combined with high notes that must be gently placed, unforced and capable of modulation.” Senisino yes, Farinelli no. How fascinating! He says in this period “…the voice should sound ‘large and powerful in the low register, of moderate volume in the middle register, and increasingly softer in the higher reaches,’” (a quote from a treatise written in 1474.) This is, of course, the opposite of modern practice where practically all high notes are blasted out as loudly as possible. You will have to read the whole liner note for yourself. As castrati gradually died out, they were replaced by women, not falsettists.

Farinelli’s range extended from a to d’’’. For Sarah I quote: “Farinelli’s public expected him to sing his arias in a new way, that is with new ‘graces’, each time he sang them: many opera fans attended every performance of a production!” There are still those who do it now.

I am supposed to be writing about Vivica Genaux’s performance of the selected arias. I like her voice a great deal. In the past I compared her to Marilyn Horne. I think Vivica is a true mezzo and would not have contracted as a soprano in her youth as Marilyn is known to have done. Her voice is placed ideally for the extravagant ornamentation beautifully performed here.

She misses only the miraculous flow of the phrase attained in my lifetime only by one singer. Whom I will not name. You know who I mean.

“Quell’ usignolo” by Giacomelli goes on for over 14 minutes on six lines of text about a nightingale. What fun this is. The cadenzas are wonderful. Vivica Genaux is one of the best people around today, and this is a great way to hear her.
#ad