# Opera seria - Help



## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

Dear friends, Opera Seria has always been one of my favourite operatic genres. I'm trying to expend my personal collection but, like some of you might know, although Opera seria was probably the most proliferous era in opera outcomes, most operas are now lost, or yet to be recorded or recorded still few times.

Thus, as long with my researches, i'd like to share with you which my next acquisitions are in my mind to obtain. Therefore i'd like to ask which recordings (if they exist) you know or you like that you would recommend. I'd be most thankful for any help. Here is my list of interests:


-"Catone in Utica" Libreto by Metastatio
Leonardo Vinci;
Johann Christian Bach;
Niccolo Piccini
Leonardo Leo

-"Griselda" Libretto Apostolo Zeno
Alesandro Scarlatti;

-"Didone abbandonata", Libretto by Metastatio
Nicola Porpora;
Leonardo Vinci;
Hasse

-"Demofoonte" Libretto by Mestastasio
Leonardo Leo
Glück;

-"Semiramide riconosciuta" Libretto by Metastasio
Nicola Porpora
Leonardo Vinci

-"Ezio", Libretto by Metastasio
Glück;
Hasse;
Handel;

-"Siroe re di Persia", Libretto by Metastasio
Hasse;

-"Farnace", Libretto by Corselli
Leonardo Vinci
Vivaldi

-"Artaserse" Libretto by Mestastasio
Leonardo Vinci;
Hasse;
Pastiche with Porpora, Broschi and Ariosti

-"Teuzzone", Libretto by Zeno
Vivaldi;

-"Bajazet", Libretto Jean Racine
Vivaldi;

-"Arsace", Libretto by Antonio Salvi
Francesco Feo

-"Tolomeo", Libretto by Nicola Haym
Handel

-"Arianna in Creta", Libretto by
Handel

-"Ariodante", Libretto by 
Handel

-"La clemenza de Tito", Libretto by Metastasio
Hasse
Mozart
Glück

-"L'Olimpiade", Libretto by Mestastasio
Pergolesi

-"Montezuma", Libretto by Frederick the Great
Graun;

-"Cleofide" Libretto by Metastasio
Hasse

Hopefully i wish that sharing Opera seria recording recommendations will be fruitfull for others who wish to learn more about this genre.

Lastly, does anyone know a good book about Metastasio? With his librettos, poetic analysis, etc.?


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## principe (Sep 3, 2012)

Dear Dionisio, this is a hell of a task, but I may contribute day per day. Otherwise...
So, to start with the first two:
"Catone in Utica": No version of Vinci, Leo or Piccini (so far and as far as I can possibly know).
There are however: a) one recording of Vivaldi' s, on Dynamic (from a live recording) with Malgoire and
b) one of the quite forgotten composer called Ferrandini, on OEHMS (3CDs).
For J.C.Bach, there is only the Overture in a CD from CPO (with the Complete Opera Overtures of the composer).

"Griselda": There are two quite good recordings, a recent and an "historic". The first is the brilliant one with Jacobs, on H.M., with D. Roschmann and the other is one with Nino Sanzogno, on Gala, with Mirela Freni, Luigi Alva, Sesto Bruscantini, etc. However, I by far prefer the Jacobs (particularly if you find it in SACD) for the brilliant sound and very lively performance.
There is also a "Griselda" by Vivaldi, in two recordings, an expensive and a budget one, namely: the one on Naive with J.C. Spinosi, M.N. Lemieux, S. Kermes, P. Jaroussky. The cheap one is on Naxos with Kevin Mallon and a much less impressive cast.

Tomorrow or so for some more.

Principe


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

principe said:


> Dear Dionisio, this is a hell of a task, but I may contribute day per day. Otherwise...
> So, to start with the first two:
> "Catone in Utica": No version of Vinci, Leo or Piccini (so far and as far as I can possibly know).
> There are however: a) one recording of Vivaldi' s, on Dynamic (from a live recording) with Malgoire and
> ...


Danke schön, principe 

I've been searching around but aside from the most popular names (Vivaldi, Handel or Mozart) the rest of these composers is very difficult to find or non-existent at all. Thank you for your opinion on Griselda and i'll take your advice. Rene jacobs is a conductor who i appreciate too (specially with his most recent recording on Agrippina). However i like always to read opinions from other people. And because money does not fall like rain, i try to make the best investments i can with the resources i get.


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## principe (Sep 3, 2012)

Vielen Dank, Dionisio, auch.
So, for today, I have the next three on your list:
-"Didone abbandonata". Funnily, there is no complete set of any of the composers you mentioned, but there are two complete ones from different composers: a) One from Galuppi, on Bongiovanni. A rather old live recording from Italy, of course.
b) One from Jommelli, with the very good Frieder Bernius conducting and D. Roschmann and D. Taylor among the very good singers. The recording is bright and detailed, on Orfeo.
Arias from Hasse's "Didone" exist in two recitals from two young but fine singers, both on OEHMS: one is with counter-tenor Valer Barna-Sebadus (CD is called "Reloaded") and the other is with Mezzo Stefanie Iranyi (CD is called "Lamenti").

- "Demofoonte": Again no sign for complete sets from the composers you mentioned, but two complete ones from two other:
a) One from the completely forgotten Joseph Schuster, on DHM, with an almost unknown cast, but very good performance. An interesting work, after all.
b) One from Mozart (!): It's "fragments" of an Opera, a kind of "pastiche", compiled by Bruno Weil. Intriguing.
I found only one Aria from "Demofoonte" by Gluck on the recital of Philippe Jaroussky, called "Carestini", on Virgin.

-"Semiramide riconosciuta": There is an old, probably deleted and rare anyway, recording of Porpora's Opera, on the Italian label Kicco Classics. I'm not sure if you can possibly get it.
There is also another Opera with the same title by Meyerbeer, on Dynamic. A live performance, as usual with this label, and a mediocre cast. 
There is also a "Semiramide riconosciuta" by Gluck. Few arias exist in the Recital of Bartoli, called "Italian Arias", and in a "Live" CD from Wigmore Hall called "Blessed Spirit: A Gluck Retrospective". A very fine project by the "Classical Opera Company" under Ian Page.

These few for today. 

Principe


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante have recorded Bajazet which is definitley worth getting.


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

Hi again. I'm writing just to share something i'm watching now.

I don't know if anyone knows this Rinaldo production, but i'm absolutely loving it. It's wonderfull to see a Rinaldo's production from its era. Its is wonderfull to see a Rinaldo as a knight from the Crusades. And i'm discovering also some singers i didn't know like Katerina Knezikova 

Being a suporter of the "faithfullness" of the opera (which words, music and scenary must be all linked), i enjoy these kind of productions. (That does not mean opera should be old-fashioned. It means that the scenary must be acording to the plot)


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

dionisio said:


> Hi again. I'm writing just to share something i'm watching now.
> 
> I don't know if anyone knows this Rinaldo production, but i'm absolutely loving it. It's wonderfull to see a Rinaldo's production from its era. Its is wonderfull to see a Rinaldo as a knight from the Crusades. And i'm discovering also some singers i didn't know like Katerina Knezikova
> 
> Being a suporter of the "faithfullness" of the opera (which words, music and scenary must be all linked), i enjoy these kind of productions. (That does not mean opera should be old-fashioned. It means that the scenary must be acording to the plot)


Oh good, it's back! I saw this some time ago and then the video got taken down. It is lovely and dream-like.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

I love this version of Mozart's _La Clemenza di Tito_. One caveat: the recitatives have been replaced by spoken dialogue, which I know some people dislike. The setting has also been updated to 1930s Italy, but the staging is faithful to Mozart's intentions.


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## tyroneslothrop (Sep 5, 2012)

MAuer said:


> ...the recitatives have been replaced by spoken dialogue...


And then how is this different from a Broadway musical?


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

tyroneslothrop said:


> And then how is this different from a Broadway musical?


I doubt Jonas Kaufmann would appear in a Broadway musical. Although it could have been fun to see Broadway singers try to sing Parto parto or Non più di fiori.


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## tyroneslothrop (Sep 5, 2012)

Aksel said:


> Although it could have been fun to see Broadway singers try to sing Parto parto or Non più di fiori.


LOL! That would be funny! :lol:


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