Tormento Seicento
The magnificent soprano Amanda Forsythe returns with viola da gamba virtuoso Cristiano Contadin and his renowned ensemble Opera Prima in a program of music exploring the Galant style that was in vogue during the middle of the 18th century. The complexity and formal structure of the Baroque gives way to a charismatic beauty and captivating elegance that was still grounded by a virtuosic basso continuo.
American soprano Amanda Forsythe, celebrated for her performances on both sides of the Atlantic, is a regular soloist with the highly acclaimed baroque ensembles Les Talens Lyriques, the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Tafelmusik, Apollo’s Fire, Opera Prima, Pacific Musicworks, Early Music Vancouver, and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. She sang Euridice on the recording of Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers with the Boston Early Music Festival which won the GRAMMY AWARD for Best Opera Recording. Her début solo album of Handel arias “The Power of Love” with Apollo’s Fire was recently followed with the highly praised “Heavenly Bach”. She toured with the outstanding French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, performing works based on the Orfeo myth, and subsequently recorded the role of Euridice in a new edition of Gluck’s Orfeo for the ERATO label. Her discography includes more than 25 albums and DVDs, many of them premiere recordings. Forthcoming discs include Handel’s Roman Cantatas with Opera Prima, and Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona and a solo Telemann album, both with the Boston Early Music Festival.
Opera Prima, a newly established ensemble directed by Cristiano Contadin, was created to bring historically informed concerts and recordings of the Renaissance and Baroque period to life. The heart of the project lies in exploring the repertoire of the viola da gamba in its various styles, and approaching all music with pleasure and enthusiasm, as if each work for this instrument was newly-composed. If, through passionate communication, we can touch the hearts of the public, then the language of early music will be easy to understand.
The first recording by Opera Prima, “The Complete Telemann Trio Sonatas and Concertos”, for the Brilliant Classics label, received critical acclaim at the national and international level, and was proclaimed by Classic Voice Magazine as CD of the month in February 2015. Opera Prima has performed concerts at festivals in Italy, Greece, Suisse, Slovenia, Estonia and United States. Recent Opera Prima recordings include Dowland’s Lacrimae (awarded “Disc of the Month” by Musica magazine and praised by Fanfare as “a fabulous performance”),Torna Vincitor, an all-Graun disc of cantatas and viol concerto with Amanda Forsythe (chosen by Opera News as the Critic’s Choice in March 2021), a 2023 recording of Tartini (Klassik Heute claims Opera Prima “deliver[s] a buoyant orchestral sound with sensitively executed solos and decisive ensemble direction by Contadin, who also captivates as a soloist with temperament, empathy and sensitivity”).
PROGRAMME:
Claudio Monteverdi (1567 – 1643)
Sinfonia per strumenti dall’ VIII libro di madrigali
Luigi Rossi (1697 – 1653)
Mio ben Aria for soprano and continuo
Tarquinio Merula (1595 – 1665)
Ballo detto Eccardo for soprano and continuo
Domenico Mazzocchi (1592 -1665)
Sdegno campion audace aria for soprano and continuo
Cipriano de Rore/ Girolamo Dalla Casa ( ? – 1601)
Anchor che col partire madrigale diminuito per la viola bastarda and continuo
Barbara Strozzi (1551 – 1618)
Che si può fare aria for soprano and continuo
Gasparo Sartorio (1630 – 1680)
Perché quando apersi a l’aure vitali aria for soprano and continuo
Francesco Cavalli (1602 – 1676)
Dammi morte aria for soprano and continuo from “Artemisia”
Giovanni Kapsberger (1580 – 1651)
Canario for solo theorbo
Benedetto Ferrari (1603 – 1681)
Cantata spirituale for soprano and continuo
Monteverdi
Voglio di vita uscire for soprano and continuo
Merula
Ballo detto Pollicio for 2 voices, basso and continuo
Kapsberger
Arpeggiata for solo harp
Giulio Caccini (1551 – 1618)
Amarilli, mia bella Amarilli
Anonimo (XVII sec.)
inglese Amarilli, mia bella Amarilli
Maurizio Cazzati (1616 – 1678)
Ciaccona a 3 and il balletto della ciaccona for violin, cornetto and continuo
Rossi
La bella più bella aria for soprano and continuo
Andrea Falconieri (1585 – 1656)
Passacalle a 3 for 2 voices, basso and continuo
Ferrari
Amanti io vi so dire aria for voice, 2 violins and continuo
Watch Amanda Forsythe and Opera Prima perform Strozzi’s Che si può fare:
