The Carnival of Venice in 1729 was quite unlike any other. Over a period of two months, opera houses went into a frenzy of competition to show off the most famous singers of the day, including the legendary Castrato Farinelli who made his astonishing Venetian debut.
Several of the most fashionable composers rose to the occasion, writing ravishing music for spectacular productions which often pitted the singers against each other in breathtaking displays of virtuosity. The results were sensational; one tour de force followed another in an atmosphere of fevered excitement and the adoring public lapped it up.
The carnival opened with a star-studded cast in Leonardo Leo's tragedy Cantone in Utica from which the dazzling aria 'Soffre talor del vento' and the more gentle 'Ombra adorata' are taken. Farinelli triumphed in Nicolo Porpora's opera 'Semiramide', the perfect vehicle for his extraordinary technique. By contrast 'Adelaide' by Giuseppe Maria Orlandini, another premiere, contains show-stopping displays for Farinelli's arch rival Faustina Bordoni. And Germiano Giacomelli's elegant opera 'Gianguir' contains the achingly beautiful aria 'Mi par sentir la bella'.
Most of these rediscovered works are recorded here for the first time.
''The excellent musicians of the fantastic period-instrument ensemble...get it all perfectly right: every tone, every phrase, coloratura and accompaniment'' (Süddeutsche Zeitung).
The critically acclaimed Il pomo d'oro is an Italian baroque ensemble founded in 2012 with a special focus on opera with authentic performances on period instruments. They have recorded 15 albums including the world premiere recording of Leonardo Leo's 'Cantone in Utica' with a repertoire that includes leading roles in operas by Rossini, Mozart, Gluck, Handel, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Purcell, Bizet and Massenet.
Ann Hallenberg is a much in demand Swedish mezzo-soprano and has recorded over 40 CDs, her solo CD Agrippina winning the award for best operatic recital at the International Opera Awards in May 2016.
The baroque violinist and conductor Stefano Montanari is a much sought after guest conductor with both modern and period orchestras. He is regarded as one of the finest baroque violin virtuosos of his generation. His recording of Corelli's Violin Sonatas op.5 won a Diapason d'Or and he was nominated for a Grammy Award for his recording of Purcells' 'O Solitude' with Andreas Scholl for Decca.
Carnevale 1729
AllMusic Review
by James Manheim
Where to begin listing the virtues of this gorgeous double-CD release by mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg? Perhaps with the unique programming concept, re-creating the operas staged during Carnival season in the year 1729 in Venice, a special year because all the big stars of Italian opera had come back home after disagreements with their impresario, Handel, in England.
The arias, written for the likes of the castrato Senesino and the soprano Faustina Bordoni, have all the technical fireworks of the Handel operas of the 1720s that have gained popularity. And consider that the music is virtually unknown, with much of it here receiving its premiere on recordings; much of the research was done by Hallenberg herself, along with her husband, with performers once again leaving musicology in the dust.
Is it second-order opera? Hardly, and here you can rely on the opinion of Handel himself, who dropped in to hear this remarkable stretch of music and took some of it back to London to make pastiches out of it. You can stop in anywhere for vocal heroics, but sample one of the more melodic pieces, such as "Bel piacer saria d'un core", from Semiramide riconosciuta of Nicola Porpora, Haydn's teacher.
The program is intelligently put together, with most of the pieces grouped together by individual opera, but two altogether fascinating selections from Gianguir, by the all-but-unknown Geminiano Giacomelli framing the arias from Giuseppe Maria Orlandini's Adelaide on CD 1.
The sharp, sensitive orchestral work of Il Pomo d'Oro under Stefano Montanari is a major attraction.
And last, but certainly not least, is the voice of Hallenberg herself, arguably at its absolute peak, easily tackling arias across a wide range, delivering plenty of power in the big runs and yet entering into each character. Oh, yes, Pentatone's audiophile-quality sound, recorded at the entirely appropriate Villa San Fermo in Lonigo, is superb. Sit back and enjoy, says Pentatone's little logo. Indeed: this is one of those rare recordings that breaks entirely new ground yet remains a pure pleasure, fully realized on its own terms.