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Notes
After their acclaimed recording of Telemann’s Miriways, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin returns to PENTATONE with Joseph Haydn’s opera L’isola disabitata, together with an excellent quartet of vocalists. Officially called an azione teatrale, L’isola is a serious opera about love, loss and misunderstanding with a happy ending, set on an exotic deserted island. Special about this opera is that Haydn chose orchestral accompaniment for the entire work, with colourful and dramatic accompagnato recitatives. In Haydn’s printed score, many of the elaborate instrumental sections were deliberately cut, because he feared that they demanded too much from the players, and that some audiences may not have been cultured enough to fully appreciate them. Special about this recording is that these parts have all been reinstated, using a recent edition by Thomas Busse. The seasoned players of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, led by Bernhard Forck, play this lavish score with fervour and swing, while Anett Fritsch (Costanza), Sunhae Im (Silvia), Krystian Adam (Gernando) and André Morsch (Enrico) offer an equally virtuosic vocal delivery. The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin is generally seen as one of the best period-instruments ensembles of today, and has a substantial PENTATONE discography, including Telemann’s Miriways (2020), CANTATA with Bejun Mehta (2018), as well as Handel’s Messiah (2020) and Concerti grossi Op. 6 (released in 2019 and 2020) and Op. 3 (2020). Annet Fritsch and André Morsch featured on Telemann’s Miriways, while Sunhae Im and Krystian Adam make their PENTATONE debut.
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Reviews
“… Bernhard Forck conducts the Akadamie fur Alte Musik with an excellent sense of pacing and doesn’t allow the opera to drag. The recitatives are performed with urgency without the drab quality that can emerge if sung by singers who only vaguely know what they’re singing about. The intimate sound contributes greatly to the whole…”
David Reynolds – American Record Guide – March/April 2022
Opera category - Nominee
International Classical Music Awards 2022
Recommended
“… Pentatone’s engineers have furnished a sound space of exemplary clarity and warmth. The renowned Berlin period ensemble is celebrated for the quality of their musicianship and that is exactly what they provide here. The direction of Bernhard Forck is resolute and flawless. He brings sufficient gravitas to give the needed weight to the emotional depth of the accompanied recitatives. Musicians of the Akademie für Alte Musik show once again their pre-eminence among the Period performance orchestras of the world. The singers are a successful group that are well-suited to their roles. Annett Fritsch as the older, despairing sister Constanze has a voice that combines glowing tone and warmth of expression to suit the sister who bears the greater tonal and emotional range. Silvia, the younger, more naive sister, whose best friend on the island is a deer, is sung by Sunhae Im… Her tonal quality and agility are still unimpaired and of all the singers she displays the most thought and conviction in her numerous recitatives. Krystian Adam is an ideal Gernando. His vocal lines are delivered with taste and elegance, and his slightly tremulous tone is attractive to hear, and is slightly reminiscent of the sound of the young David Rendall. André Morsch as Enrico has a warm and pliable baritone voice that shows a decent flexibility in the decorated sections…”
Mike Parr - MusicWeb-International.com – 4 January 2022
“… L’isola disabitata is a work of genuine charm whose high musical quality and very simplicity make it immensely touching… That it makes such a strong impression on this new recording can be attributed in no small measure to a performance of the highest standard, beautifully played by Akamus Berlin and directed with an unerring sense of style by Bernhard Forck. All four soloists are excellent, with top honours just about taken by the soprano Anett Fritsch’s Constanza , a performance as appealingly sung and keenly observed …”
Brian Robins – Opera – November 2021
Performance **** Recording ****
“…Under Bernhard Forck, the orchestra performance impresses right from the start of the overture … throughout, the recorded sound is clear.”
George Hall – BBC Music magazine – November 2021
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