In the highly unlikely event of our friends at BBC Music Magazine ever inviting me to do one of their ‘Music That Changed Me’ features (in which musicians contribute a potted autobiography based on key recordings which have shaped their development), Cecilia Bartoli’s 1999 Vivaldi Album with Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini would undoubtedly have a starring role – I’ll never forget the sense of wonder and excitement I felt on unwrapping my latest purchase from the long-since extinct Britannia Records and hearing the Italian mezzo bursting onto the scene part-way through what appeared to be a choral arrangement of ‘Spring’ from The Four Seasons (actually an aria from Dorilla in Tempe, for which the ‘Red Priest’ either previewed or recycled music from his best-known work).
All in all, then, this is a life-enhancing, exhilarating album which showcases the infinite variety of singer and composer alike and looks set to win new fans for both as well as being a shoo-in for lovers of that stunning 1999 disc – viva Bartoli, and viva Vivaldi! Arias & Concertos / Cecilia Bartoli Il Giardino Armonico Cecilia Bartoli (Actor), Giovanni Antonini (Actor), Brian Large (Director). Cecilia Bartoli demuestra ser una de las mejores contraltos del mundo. Su perfecto manejo del diafragma le permite interpretar tan brillantemente una pieza d. Find release reviews and credits for Vivaldi: Ottone in Villa - Cecilia Bartoli, Federico Guglielmo, Maria Laura Martorana, Tuva Semmingsen on AllMusic - 2010.
(2000 TV Special) Soundtracks. Soundtrack Credits. Di due rai languir costante Music by Antonio Vivaldi Performed by Cecilia Bartoli with Il Giardino Armonico. Music by Antonio Vivaldi Performed by Cecilia Bartoli with Il Giardino Armonico. Dite, oime' (from 'La fida ninfa').
It marked my first encounter with Bartoli herself, with historically-informed performance, and with Vivaldi as an operatic composer, sparking a lifelong fascination with baroque opera which has played out extensively in these pages over the past eight years as well as in my own parallel life as a performer: the album not only contributed to my decision to put aside my violin in favour of exploring my own potential as a singer, but also inspired me to get involved with numerous exhumations of baroque rarities further down the line.
Twenty years later, Bartoli’s back with a second scintillating instalment of arias from a composer whose operatic genius is now widely recognised – many of the works represented on that first disc have since been recorded in full thanks to projects like Naïve’s pioneering Vivaldi Edition (which yielded a marvellous complete Dorilla this time last year), and a new generation of singers like Philippe Jaroussky and Julia Lezhneva have taken up the baton and run with it on their own recital-albums in the wake of Bartoli’s advocacy. It’s every bit as electrifying as the first volume, and in some respects even outdoes it: now in her early fifties, Bartoli’s wiry, astonishingly agile voice remains in pristine condition thanks to her astute repertoire choices and careful vocal management, with no signs of wear and tear from her assumptions of roles like Bellini’s Norma and Amina in the interim. Her trademark machine-gun coloratura (not to all tastes, I’m aware, but it thrills me every time) continues to astound in arias like the opening ‘Se lento ancora fulmine’ from Argippo (recently allotted to Joyce Didonato’s Sycorax in the Metropolitan Opera’s pasticcio The Enchanted Island) and the martial ‘Combatta un gentil cor’ from Tito Manlio, whilst the staccato top Cs in ‘Quell’augellin che canto’ (a lilting pastorale with obbligato violin which foreshadows Handel’s ‘Se in fiorito’ from Giulio Cesare) are despatched with pinpoint accuracy.
In the half-dozen slow laments, including ‘Leggi almen’ from Ottone in Villa and ‘Sovente il solo’ from Andromeda Liberata (a sort of reverse ‘Dopo notte’, in which the singer muses that the sun always sets on even the most brilliant of days), the command of long lines which Bartoli’s developed in the course of projects like Norma really comes into its own, as does the additional muscle and bite which she’s acquired in the lower-middle register over the last decade or so.
The playing of Ensemble Matheus is a smidgen more refined than that of Il Giardino Armonico on the first volume, the horns slightly less unbridled and rasping and the string sound not quite so rough and ready; directing from the violin, Jean-Christophe Spinosi contributes stylish solos in ‘Quell’augellin’, and there’s an equally outstanding cameo from an unidentified flautist in ‘Sovente il solo’. (My one caveat about the album is that the booklet is mainly devoted to glowing testimonials to Bartoli and her first Vivaldi recording from the likes of Antonio Pappano, Rolando Villazón, Marilyn Horne and Marc Minkowski rather than detailed information on the performers or the music on this new instalment).
Cecilia Bartoli Tour
All in all, then, this is a life-enhancing, exhilarating album which showcases the infinite variety of singer and composer alike and looks set to win new fans for both as well as being a shoo-in for lovers of that stunning 1999 disc – viva Bartoli, and viva Vivaldi!
Until 31st December, we're offering up discounts of up to 50% on Bartoli's back catalogue, including the original Vivaldi Album: you can browse the complete list of titles here.
Viva Vivaldi - what a refreshing change from the interminable Four Seasons; and made all the more welcome by the ravishing tones of Cecilia Bartoli, looking majestic in her rich blue gown.
She opens this collection with a delightful teasing aria from an unknown opera, certainly 'di due rai languir constante' whets the appetite for more discoveries about this work.
From L'Olimpiade Bartoli takes on the role of Aminta for the aria 'tra le follie diverse siam navi all 'onde algenti'. It's a very spirited and proud performance with extremely animated contrasting tempi. There is anger and determination, yet the complicated contours are exquisitely controlled. By contrast, Lucio's aria from Tito Manlio is tender, sad and tragic; there are obvious Bach and Handel influences, with 'smooth as silk' legato. Close rapport is clear from the body language between Bartoli and Maria Grazio d'Alessio, (oboe). It is a vivacious conversation piece.
Bartoli opens 'gelosia, tu gia rendi', from Ottone in villa in fiery agitation before she relaxes into tender, mournfulness followed by a fierce finale. There is sparkle in abundance here. The triumphant opening section of the aria 'armatae face et anguibus' from Juditha triumphans ans devicta Holofernes is most effectively sung. The fiery coloratura passages show Vagus raging over her adversity, a very convincing performance indeed.
In the aria 'Zeffiretti che Sessurrti' Bartoli is accompanied by two violins, soloists Enrico Onofri and Marco Bianchi, and together they introduce this love song. It is a joy to watch Bartoli's exquisitely telling facial expressions; and to hear how expressively the violin's delightful phrasing tell the story. Here is pain and pleasure in equal measure.
Cecilia Bartoli, as Furnace, from the opera of the same name, sings the aria 'Gelido in Ogni Vena', with in extreme agitation. She gives a heartrending account of a sorrowing mother mourning the death of her beloved son, truly a cry from the heart. With anger and desperation and anguish in her voice almost brought tears to my eyes. What a performance, Bartoli seemed to be emotionally drained at the end. I'm not surprised.
From the opera Bajazet we are given another riveting performance. The aria 'Anch'il mar par che Sommerga' is sung in true gutsy fashion, very animated but well controlled. From La Griselda, the aria 'Agitata da due Venti' is sung with confidence and as might be expected in an agitated manner. There are coloratura passages of great showmanship.
From 'Guistino' comes another sparkling offering which brings the concert to a close with Cecilia Bartoli appearing as fresh as when she began, and looking like a Pre-Rafaelite maiden with her long flowing curly hair. The simple backdrop allows the richness of her performance to shine through.
Cecilia Bartoli Biography
Bartoli's arias are interspersed with two Vivaldi concerti. The first is for flautino, stings and basso continuo, the other for lute, two violins and basso continuo. Both have vigorous outer movements played with enthusiasm and animation by Il Giardino Armonico contrasted with lyrical Largo central movements played with sensitivity and refinement.
Cecilia Bartoli Top Songs
Wholly delightful. Clearly Bartoli seems to enjoy this genre and is richly rewarded by the loud and sustained applause that brought the curtain down. Altogether an entertaining and thrilling experience. For Vivaldi enthusiasts, the DVD's Score Plus feature that allows you to read the score as Bartoli performs offers added value.
Grace Barber