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Notes
Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo is naturally an iconic work for Leonardo García Alarcón. The Argentinian conductor has performed and matured his interpretation of Monteverdi’s masterpiece throughout his life. Together with his group of soloists, the Namur Chamber Choir and the Cappella Mediterranea ensemble, he now presents his vision of L’Orfeo: Monteverdi’s opera is as much the apotheosis of the Renaissance as a testimony to the nascent Baroque style. This is what strikes us when we listen to this new recording, which so eloquently emphasises the contrasts between sometimes nostalgic glances towards the past and the most innovative expressions of operatic language. The printed score, published two years after the premiere in Mantua in 1607, offers contrasts too: is it the snapshot of a specific performance or a ‘blueprint’ intended for future performers? In fact, it is both, and that is where we find the tricky questions that must be answered by those who open this precious document; Leonardo García Alarcón does so here in a manner at once respectful, inventive and theatrical.
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Reviews
Baroque Vocal category - Nominee
International Classical Music Awards 2022
“…Valerio Contaldo … is … commanding in the title role, singing with a mellifluous tenor … The rest of the superlative cast includes the pure-voiced Mariana Flores as Musica and Euridice, Salvo Vitale as a forbidding Caronte, and Giuseppina Bridelli, expressive as the Messenger … The Chamber Chorus of Namur sing with style; and the magnificent instrumental ensemble, including particularly pleasurable contributions from the lutes, brings the interludes to life with exuberance and precision.”
Allan Altman – American Record Guide – January/February 2022
“No two recordings of Monteverdi’s first opera — 1607 — sound alike, and this new version owes as much to García and his performers improvisatory skills as to Monteverdi’s notes as they have come down to us… the solo ensemble, headed by Contaldo’s Orfeo, comprises state-of-the-art Monteverdians… his intensity in his confrontation with Salvo Vitale’s Stygian-voiced Charon brings the scene vividly to dramatic life. Ana Quintans and Giuseppina Bridelli are compelling singers of Hope/Proserpina and the anguished Messenger.”
Hugh Canning - Sunday Times (Culture magazine) – 23 January 2022
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