Continuo: Mark Packwood/Steven Devine (harpsichord), Joseph Crouch (cello)
Leader: Matthew Truscott
Conductor:Ian Page
Notes
A composer inextricably linked with London’s Covent Garden, Thomas Arne’s greatest opera, Artaxerxes, was premièred at the Theatre Royal, the predecessor of the Royal Opera House, on 2 February 1762 and remained in the Covent Garden repertory until the late 1830s, where it received a documented 111 performances before 1790. The young Mozart almost certainly attended a performance when he came to London in the mid1760s and Haydn was also acquainted with the work, enthusiastically exclaiming that he “had no idea we had such an opera in the English language.”
The Mozartists, under the dynamic leadership of conductor and artistic director Ian Page, are leading exponents of the music of Mozart and his contemporaries. Originally called Classical Opera, the company was founded in 1997 and has received widespread international acclaim for its stylish and virtuosic period-instrument orchestra, its imaginative and innovative programming and its ability to nurture and develop world-class young artists.
Renowned for their fresh and insightful interpretations of well-known masterpieces as well as for their ability to bring rare and neglected works to light, they have mounted staged productions of many of Mozart’s operas. In 2015 the company launched MOZART 250, a ground-breaking 27-year project exploring the chronological trajectory of Mozart’s life, works and influences. Described by The Observer as “among the most audacious classical music scheduling ever,” this flagship project presents 250th Anniversary performances of most of Mozart’s important works, placing them in context alongside other significant works by Mozart’s contemporaries
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Reviews
“… As far as the performance goes, the orchestra of the Mozartists is spot on in terms of interpretation. Ian Page leads a solid and disciplined band that gives excellent support to the singers. All of the voices are clear, and sing with fine diction. All around, this is (or was) an excellent production and it demonstrates that Arne was both entirely modern for his times, as well as being an innovative and creative composer…”
Bertil van Boer – Fanfare – January/February 2022
"... The Mozartists play gloriously under the dynamic leadership of conductor and artistic director, Ian Page. The constant stream of melody allied to the beauty of the soloists' voices give much pleasure. This is one of the outstanding works by an English composer of the period and it serves Arne's cause well. Everyone can take a well-deserved bow and the whole enterprise deserves the highest raise." *****
Edward Clark - Musical Opinion Quarterly - July - September 2021
“… very much recommended.”
Alexandra Coghlan – Gramophone magazine – July 2021
Recommended
“A wholly recommendable recording of a milestone work in the history of English opera.”
Göran Forsling – MusicWeb-International.com – 6 July 2021
“Spearheaded by six excellent singers, Page and the Mozartists offer a highly engaging reading of Thomas Arne’s 1762 English-language version of Metastasio’s drama Artaxerxes, the orchestral colours vividly realised on historically appropriate instruments…”
Stephen Pettitt – The Sunday Times (Culture magazine) – 16 May 2021
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