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Antonio VIVALDI (1678–1741) Il Bajazet
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Valeria La Grotta, Soprano • Loriana Castellano, Lucia Cirillo, Mezzo-sopranos Sonia Prina, Contralto • Raffaele Pe, Countertenor • Renato Dolcini, Baritone Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia Federico Maria Sardelli, Conductor
Il Bajazet was commissioned in 1735 to open Verona’s carnival season. Vivaldi chose a libretto by Agostino Piovene drawn from the well-known story of the defeated Ottoman sultan, King Bajazet, captured by Tamerlane who duly falls in love with Bajazet’s proud daughter, Asteria. Vivaldi was in his late maturity when he completed the opera, modifying his music to suit contemporary taste, and using the pasticcio form, incorporating some arias written by other, mostly Neapolitan, composers. Repurposing of this kind was wholly acceptable at the time and such works enjoyed great popularity. The conductor and Vivaldi specialist, Federico Maria Sardelli, has integrated lost arias, clarified the use of historically appropriate orchestration, and brought the opera to rich theatrical life. Key features: • This is a recording first issued on Dynamic DVD (DYN-38056) and Blu-ray (DYN-58056). •
8.660616-18 Release date: 16 Jan 2026
Companion titles – Other Italian opera recordings
Renato Dolcini sings the title role, and Italian opera of the 17th and 18th centuries is central to his repertoire. He has sung major roles at the Salzburg Festival, Glyndebourne, Amsterdam, etc., and works with some of the world’s most sought-after directors:
Renato Dolcini
Graham Vick, Robert Carsen, Moshe Leiser et Patrice Caurier, Barrie Kosky, Pierre Audi. The New York Times wrote, ‘Renato Dolcini fully embodies Orlando’s mad scene, and would certainly have burned up the stage – if there had been one’. • Of this production, Gramophone wrote that ‘ Raffaele Pe sings wonderfully as Andronico’ and that Sonia Prina is ‘a magnetic performer’ and Loriana Castellano ‘sings with coppery mezzo tone’ and Lucia Cirillo ‘ignites the vocal fireworks’.
8.660536-37
8.660603
Raffaele Pe
Sonia Prina
8.660582-83
8.660580-81
Click to listen to Sinfonia: Allegro – Andante molto – Allegro
Loriana Castellano
Lucia Cirillo
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Ottorino RESPIGHI (1879–1936) Maria Egiziaca Francesca Dotto, Soprano • Vincenzo Costanzo, Tenor Simone Alberghini, Baritone Orchestra e Coro del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia Manlio Benzi, Conductor
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Ottorino Respighi’s Maria Egiziaca , described by the composer as a ‘mystery in three episodes’, narrates the life of Saint Mary of Egypt in a profoundly moving and deeply sensuous musical representation of Christian faith as seen through its various characters. This work, depicting Maria’s journey from prostitution to sainthood through sin, conversion and atonement, started out as a concert triptych and sits somewhere between an oratorio and an opera. The intensely dramatic and at times symphonic qualities of Maria Egiziaca are imbued with ancient Italian musical traditions, with two beautiful symphonic interludes separating the
three episodes. Key features: • This recording is a disc edition from Dynamic label (DYN-38050 [DVD] and DYN-58050 [Blu-ray]). • ‘This is a fine performance…under conductor Manlio Benzi , with the outstanding soprano Francesca Dotto in the title role and resonant bass Simone Alberghini .’ – BBC Music Magazine. • ‘The entire cast is good. The opera opens with the Sailor’s song (‘Giammai non mi conforto’), sung with ingratiating vibrancy by tenor Vincenzo Costanzo , who later appears as a leper. Simone Alberghini is compelling as the Pilgrim and the Abbot Zosimo… and Ilaria Vanacore brings solid tones to the Voice of an Angel and the Blind Woman’ (American Record Guide) .
8.660591 Release date: 30 Jan 2026
Companion titles – Ottorino Respighi, Composer
Manlio Benzi
Francesca Dotto
2.110571 (NBD0072V)
2.110655 (NBD0106V)
Simone Alberghini
Vincenzo Costanzo
Click to listen to Primo episodo: Intermedio I
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