Nicola Porpora - Orlando (2005)

Disc: 1
1. Sinfonia: Lentement (1. Akt) -
2. (ohne Satzbezeichnung) -
3. Allegro
4. Ombre amene
5. Dimmi, dimmi, ove sei?
6. Quel cauto nocchiero
7. Cotesti tuoi sì strani dogmi
8. La bella mia nemica
9. Zeffiro lusinghiero (2. Akt)
10. Amor a te mi lega
11. Il piè s'allontana
12. Reggi su questo braccio
13. Se i rai del giorno
14. Marcia
15. Pur ti raggiungerò, barbaro imbelle
16. Dal mio bel sol lontano
17. Esci dal chiuso tetto
18. Quell'umidetto ciglio
19. Oh Medoro, Medoro
20. Mentre rendo a te la vita

Disc: 2
1. Sinfonia: Allegro (3. Akt)
2. Mio bel Medoro
3. Sopra il suo stelo
4. Sì, mio caro Medoro
5. La tortora innocente
6. Orlando, oh quanto in vano ricercato
7. Costante, e fedele
8. Non ebbi mai più fortunato giorno
9. Vanne, felice rio
10. Così dunque s'impara ad ingannar
11. Non so come si possa
12. Torna, torna, Medoro
13. Quando ritorni al fonte
14. Ah che di Orlando a fronte
15. Se infida tu mi chiami
16. Liete piante, verdi erbe (4. Akt)
17. Perfidissima donna
18. Mi proverà spietato
19. Fuggiam, bell'idol mio
20. Bella diva all'ombre amica
21. Andiam, Medoro, andiamo
22. Io dico all'antro, addio
23. Ove son? Chi mi guida?
24. Da me che volete
25. Ma qual astro benigno
26. Aurette leggere

Robert Expert - Orlando (counter-tenor)
Olga Pitarch - Medoro (soprano)
Betsabée Haas - Angelica (mezzo-soprano)

Real Compañía Ópera de Cámara
Juan Bautista Otero - conductor

Here is the earliest operatic masterpiece of Nicola Porpora, the Neapolitan composer who left an indelible mark on the 18th century and the careers of its greatest masters, from Hasse, Jommelli and Handel to Joseph Haydn, who was his pupil in Vienna. Against the backcloth of theold Carolingian epic, the valiant knight Roland is transformed into a lover before becoming ‘Orlando furioso’ in this encounter of three mythical figures: Ariosto, Metastasio and Porpora. We run the gamut from epic to tragedy in this vibrant, crackling performance under the inspired direction of Juan Bautista Otero, seconded by the vocal soloists and instrumentalists of the young Real Compañia Opera de Cámara. A major discovery! (World Premiere) ---prestomusic.com

It seems like the treasure-trove of Baroque opera will never end. Nicola Porpora was an almost exact contemporary of Handel, and a worthy rival from the evidence of this recording. This is a very satisfying performance of a wonderful opera. The quality of the writing is very high; none of this would be out of place in an opera by Handel. The recitatives are if anything more dramatic and striking than Handel's, the accompanied recitatives full of invention, and the arias full of beauty. There is perhaps a lack of vocal pyrotechnics in the fast arias, but the lyrical ones verge on the sublime. The one duet is particularly striking. The orchestral writing in the overture and sinfonias is very powerful, with a contrapuntal richness that Handel rarely attempted in his opera overtures. My only problem with the recording is the voice of the countertenor, Robert Expert, whose sound does not please me too much. Tastes in countertenors tends to be particular, so not everyone may share my view. All in all, a very fine recording by an unjustly neglected master. One interesting fact about Porpora: he outlived Handel by almost 10 years, and ended up in Vienna as a music teacher, where one of his star pupils was... Joseph Haydn! ---Chris Protopapas, amazon.com

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