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Giants Among Men by Robert Thicknesse

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Giants Among Men by Robert Thicknesse Reviews Recordings Giants among men By Robert Thicknesse The latest additions to Naïve’s Vivaldi Edition provide satisfying if intermittent pleasures while a rarity by Bononcini, Handel’s contemporary, hits the spot Argippo is not exactly that but it’s a bit pretending to be someone way posher of a dog’s dinner (and isn’t that the literal (ie Argippo, neighbouring nabob), and meaning of pasticcio?): a reconstruction it leads to much trouble, finally (not of a show probably put together by Vivaldi convincingly) undone when he fesses for (maybe) Prague, including some of his up. But the music takes a while to match own old recycled music plus many arias by the drama, and there is a gulf between the likes of Hasse and Vinci. Well, I think words and music all the way through, that’s what’s going on: Reinhard Strohm’s with many off-the-peg arias. Stick with programme note is a teeny bit confusing. it and there’s the payoff of a few lovely Anyway, violinist/conductor Fabio Biondi, pieces, including much medium-showy Argippo the pocket-sized but full-on Europa coloratura, terrific violin parts and nicely Galante (six violins) and his nice cast put a wandering tunes, very decently sung by Vivaldi lot of energy into some pretty run-of-the- Emőke Baráth, Marie Lys, Delphine Galou Naïve OP 7079 (Vivaldi Edition vol 64) mill music and eventually make a decent and Marianna Pizzolato, some even not case for this piece, though Act One is a bit in 4/4 time and without those hammering of a meet-the-gang slog. Vivaldi basses, endless sequences and reat projects like the Vivaldi The story is a sort of brutalist- perfect cadences. Edition – recording the entire patriarchal standard seria plot, with 450 manuscripts by the Red echoes of Ariodante. Interestingly, we Priest unearthed in the 1930s, seem to be in Bengal or somewhere Gincluding 21 operas – cuts both ways: yes, (King Tisifaro is referred to as ‘the it’s fabulous to suddenly rediscover a huge Great Moghul’), but they behave like forgotten chapter in operatic history; but regular medieval opera courts, with completeness requires that the turkeys death sentences abounding. Courtier also get a look-in. Silvero has seduced Princess Zanaida by Impressive attention to detail: conductor Ottavio Dantone Il Tamerlano Vivaldi Naïve OP 7080 (Vivaldi Edition vol 65) Volume 65 of the Edition is another of those I Can’t Believe It’s Not Vivaldi! jobs. Il Tamerlano appeared as Il Bajazet in 1735 Verona, billed as ‘by various authors’. Strohm reckons that four (yay!) numbers, two now missing, might have been newly composed for the show by the man himself; elsewhere he raided his back catalogue for arias, and bunged in at least GIULIA PAPETTI 10 by other composers. Five completely missing arias have been ‘reconstructed’ from contemporary music. 64 November/December 2020 OperaNow www.operanow.co.uk 064-065_ON1120_RECORDINGS_Vivaldi_JM_LW.indd 64 12/10/2020 18:37 Recordings Reviews The event must have been some kind showpony stuff with great style, and the However this is a happy-ending story of canary-fanciers’ AGM: the imported mezzo Marina de Liso has a lot of dignity, so the dog stuff gets fixed and even Acis music largely consists of look-at-me and pleasantly sober embellishments in brought back to life after that nasty brush arias composed for Farinelli and the star her da capos, as Andronico. with the rock. mezzo Vittoria Tesi by the likes of Hasse, It’s good stuff, too, lively, varied, Giacomelli and Farinelli’s brother Riccardo dramatic and richly characterised – Broschi, though sung by other singers and performed with great imagination in Verona. The tenor Bajazet and mezzo and verve by Dorothee Oberlinger and Asteria (Vivaldi’s regular prima donna Ensemble 1700 in a live performance at Anna Girò) sing only Vivaldi’s own music. Potsdam. There isn’t yet the freedom Is it all worth it? Well, we know from and variety of Handel’s aria styles, but Handel that this is a fruitful libretto by this is far from dry or repetitive, with Agostino Piovene, though here it lacks some exquisite continuo arias, a different the death scene – and much besides. It’s instrumental texture for each character, hard not to feel Vivaldi was going through excellently eccentric sound effects from the motions: the arias are all decent, Polifemo the players, a really beautifully studied without any real showstoppers of either continuo cello, harpsichord and archlute, the firework or smoochy variety, but more Bononcini and withal a great energy and bounce. One to the point this sort of cut-and-paste job Deutsche Harmonia Mundi aria, Circe’s ‘Pensiero di vendetta’, full of rarely delivers the emotional kickback you G0100042577552 blistering coloratura, was a massive hit hope for: highly dramatic recit is all very which Handel nicked in his usual manner well (and performed with gusto) but the and improved for Radamisto. tension it cranks up needs to explode in I was wondering when Giovanni João Fernandes, a lovely basso cantante the aria. Bononcini, Handel’s great rival in 1730s who brightened our shores for a while years Ottavio Dantone is one of my favourite London, would get his moment in the ago as a Guildhall student, is the giant, early musicos, every nuance and bow- sun. Prolific and fluent, in 1697 he moved as ridiculed here as he is by Handel (he stroke fanatically considered, an attention from Italy to Vienna and thence to Berlin gets very excited telling Galatea all about to the actual sound you rarely hear; and his in 1702, where he produced the one-act his livestock), and supported by a terrific band Accademia Bizantina (a whole eight opera Polifemo for the court of Sophia cast: Helena Rasker as the dark-toned fiddles this time) extremely involved and Charlotte (George I’s little sister). It’s a sentimentalist Glaucus, Roberta Mameli as exuberant. Good cast, too, and all singing pretty action-packed version of the Acis flighty, virtuosic Silla, Roberta Invernizzi at full tilt. Filippo Mineccia (Tamerlano) and Galatea story, finding time for a love- as characterful as ever as Galatea, and the sounds a bit hooty under pressure in this triangle sub-plot for shepherd Glaucus, extraordinary Bruno de Sá, as soprano Acis mezzo role, Delphine Galou’s Asteria witch Circe and nymph Scylla – who has of astonishing purity and musicianship. It’s can be rather mannered in the recit, an unfortunate swimming accident where a fun, shortish, fast-moving piece, and not Arianna Vendittelli (Idaspe) tosses off the ‘her lower body is turned into dogs’. without its depths. ON Performing with imagination and verve: Dorothee Oberlinger (centre) with Ensemble 1700 www.operanow.co.uk OperaNow November/December 2020 65 064-065_ON1120_RECORDINGS_Vivaldi_JM_LW.indd 65 12/10/2020 18:37.
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