Fureur et enchantement : l'Orlando furioso de Carlo Vistoli à Lyon

By Beate Langenbruch, 24 May 2023

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“Dans le rôle-titre, Carlo Vistoli est éblouissant”

Reviewed at Chapelle de la Trinité, Lyon on 22 May 2023

Vivaldi, Orlando furioso, RV 728 (concert performance)

Carlo Vistoli, Countertenor

Benedetta Mazzucato, Contralto

Filippo Mineccia, Countertenor

Margherita Maria Sala, Mezzo-soprano

Ana Maria Labin, Soprano

Luigi De Donato, Bass

Adèle Charvet, Mezzo-soprano

Ensemble Matheus

Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Conductor

A female voice florilegium: Vivaldi's Juditha triumphans in Paris

Laura Servidei, 11th February

A great performance of Vivaldi's only surviving oratorio, with Marie-Nicole Lemieux as the protagonist, under the baton of Jean-Chirstophe Spinosi.

****1

Camels and comic capers in Algiers: Italiana in Salzburg

Mark Pullinger, 8th August

Cecilia Bartoli is joined by frequent collaborators Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier in a fun-filled Rossini farce full of Italian sunshine. Big grins all round.

*****

A stormy reception for Rossini's Otello in Paris

Mark Pullinger, 7th April

Verdi’s Otello opens with a fierce storm raging over Cyprus. In Rossini’s version, composed 71 years earlier in 1816, the composer eschewed the Cypriot setting entirely and the storm doesn’t take place until Act III, although last night a mighty crack of thunder resounded over the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées as the audience filed into the opera house.

****1

Le nozze di Teti, e di Peleo: Rossini rarities in rare quality at the Theater an der Wien

Snapdragon, 26th February

In times where musical luxury is sometimes associated with having a pop star perform a short “Happy Birthday” and a handful of songs in a private performance – and for a usually undisclosed (and indecent) fee, having a whole piece of music composed for an occasion, or organising a private performance by a famous orchestra, is almost unimaginable.

****1

Sex, wine and bel canto bliss: Le Comte Ory at the Theater an der Wien

Snapdragon, 20th February

When Jean-Christophe Spinosi stepped onto the podium to conduct Le Comte Ory that night, he didn’t wait for his applause to cease, but instantly cued a hearty forte from the Ensemble Matheus, and consequently a few incredulous looks from the audience.

*****

Prom 70: Ensemble Matheus and Spinosi

Nahoko Gotoh, 6th September

For the late night prom on Monday, the French early music group Ensemble Matheus led by the flamboyant violinist/director Jean-Christophe Spinosi brought an entertaining and well-juxtaposed programme of baroque arias and concertos starring French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux.

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Beate Langenbruch

Incapable de départager musique et littérature dans sa vie, Beate a décidé de se consacrer passionnément aux deux. La maîtresse de conférences en littérature française (Moyen Âge) et soprano allemande parcourt le monde pour ses recherches comme pour chanter, avec son trio de musique de chambre, en soliste ou en choeur. Ses années d'expériences instrumentales (piano, flûte, guitare) n'ont que très modérément entravé son amour inconditionnel de la voix et du répertoire choral en particulier.

Fureur et enchantement : l'Orlando furioso de Carlo Vistoli et l'Ensemble Matheus à Lyon