Antonio Draghi & Leonardo García Alarcón: El Prometeo

“… Although this recording was made in the studio, it followed straight after a run of live staged performances at Dijon Opera, pictures from which are contained in the booklet. That comes across strongly in this well characterised and immediate recording, in which the singers, in general, audibly adopt a particular persona, but without the distraction of audience or stage noise. Nor does it seem as though the listener is merely eavesdropping on an event intended for the presence of a live audience, but the pacing and temper of the whole recording keeps one engaged… Even on the basis of only two acts of Draghi’s own score, this performance reveals a musician with an accomplished compositional voice, whose word-setting is direct and efficient, but whose ear for melody finds winning expression in the more extended solo vocal sections, clearly pointing ahead to the greater possibilities afforded by formal arias in the structure of opera. Knowledge of this historical background is not essential, however, as this release is a generally enjoyable realisation of a lively piece of musical theatre which will repay the attention of listeners with any interest in early opera and maybe more besides. Perhaps it will also provoke other performers to start mining Draghi’s output for more gems.”

****    Excellent Album

“… For this production Alarcon has put together an ensemble that is quite homogeneous and of good standard throughout. In the title role the tenor Fabio Trümpy is a reliable interpreter, but he is outshone by the soprano Mariana Flores as Tetis. Giuseppina Bridelli as Nisea and Alejandro Meerapfel as Jupiter also give good performances. The Cappella Mediterranea convinces with a vital and colourful orchestral performance and the Chœur de Chambre de Namur is, as expected, impeccable in its admittedly only short performances.” ****