- “Drama Queens”
- Royal Arias from the 17th and 18th Centuries
Singer Joyce DiDonato joins conductor Alan Curtis and the accompanying group called “Il Complesso Barocco” in a program of royal arias from the 17th and 18th centuries. The music was created by famous composers like Handel and Vivaldi, and also by little – known composers such as Orlandini and Porta.
Ms. DiDonato says: “High drama, profound emotion, fearless vocal writing, time-stopping passages, historical significance and real discovery … What more could I ask for?”
We get to hear her in the following selections:
Cesti:
- Intorno all’idol mio
Giacomelli:
- Sposa, son disprezzata (from Merope)
Gluck:
- Ah! Si la liberté me doit être ravie (from Armide)
Handel:
- Piangerò la sorte mia (from Giulio Cesare)
- Ma quando tornerai (from Alcina)
- Brilla nell’ alma un non inteso ancor (from Alessandro)
Hasse, J A:
- Morte, col fiero aspetto (from Antonio e cleopatra)
Haydn:
- Vedi, se t’amo (from Armida)
Keiser:
- Lasciami piangere (from Fredegunda)
- Geloso, sospetto (from Octavia)
Monteverdi:
- Disprezzata regina (L’incoronazione di Poppea)
Orlandini:
- Da torbida procella (from Berenice)
- Col versar barbaro il sangue (from Berenice)
Porta, G:
- Madre diletta (from Ifigenia in aulide)
Vinci, Leonardo:
- Tradita, sprezzata (from Semiramide)
Performed by Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano), with the “Il Complesso Barocco”, Alan Curtis conducting.
In this recital Joyce DiDonato visits several temperamental operatic queens, ranging from Monteverdi’s Ottavia to Handel’s Cleopatra, and she is stunning in every aria. Her amazing technique, her imagination, and her virtuosity are astounding, and she has the appropriate temperament to go with these fiery queens.
“What more could a singer ask for than to indulge in the antics of rage and bliss, despair and jubilation, heartbreak and true love?” she continues. “It will be an extraordinary journey, thanks to these larger-than-life characters, and I fully expect to learn a lot about myself along the way.”
Gramophone Magazine wrote the following:
“DiDonato produces her most emotionally moving and sensitively embellished singing in ‘Madre diletta’…Wonderfully sung, passionately played and programmed intelligently – an exemplary recital.”
Here are some videos for you:
First, here is Ms. DiDonato in a documentary about this album; (sorry, it is partly in French, but there’s lot of the music):
On this next amazing video, Ms. DiDonato talks about and sings the emotional scenes included in this CD:
Tags: Joyce DiDonato, Drama Queens, Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco
