Vivaldi – Arie Ritrovate (Sonia Prina) [2008]

1. Aria: Sarai Qual Padre Mio	
2. Aria: Se Vincer Non Si Puo [Damira], Atto I, Scena 8 La Verita In Cimento Rv 739	
3. Aria: Mi Vuoi Tradir Lo So [Melindo], Atto I, Scena 11 La Verita In Cimento Rv 739	
4. Recitativo [Scanderbeg E Ormondo], Atto Ii, Scena 9 Aria: Con Palme Ed Allori [Scanderbeg], Atto Ii,	
5. Concerto Per Archi In Fa Maggiore Rv 136 (5-7)	
6. Aria: Per Lacerarlo [Zidiana], Atto Iii, Scena 9 Teuzzone Rv 736	                          play
7. Aria: Abbia Respiro Il Cor [Tirsi], Atto Iii, Scena 9	
8. Aria: Perche Lacero Il Foglio [Eumena], Atto Ii, Scena 6	
9. Aria: Tu Dormi In Tante Pene [Servilia], Atto Iii, Scena 1 Tito Manlio Rv 738-A	
10. Concerto Per Violino In Si Bemole Maggiore Rv 369 (12-14)	
11. Recitativo [Ormondo], Atto Ii, Scena 10 Aria: S'A Voi Penso, O Luci Belle [Ormondo], Atto Ii, Scena	
12. Aria: Vedi Le Mie Catene [Zidiana], Atto Ii, Scena 9 Teuzzone Rv 736	
13. Aria: Porta Il Sol Del Tuo Sembiante [Ruggiero], Atto I, Scena 11 Orlando Furioso Rv Anh 84	  play
14. Aria: Alma Mia Fra Tanti Affanni Teuzzone Rv 736 (Mantova, Carnevale 1719)

Sonia Prina – Contralto
Accademia Bizantina
Stefano Montanari - Conductor

Part of the fun of following developments in Baroque music is that, while the press is reduced to trying to work up excitement for the merest scrap of music potentially by Mozart or Beethoven, unknown masterpieces by the likes of Vivaldi are still surfacing with regularity. This release by the energetic French label Naïve (check out the wild cover photo, apparently of contralto Sonia Prina) is a case in point. Conductor Ottavio Dantone and his Accademia Bizantina ensemble, prime exponents of the rocking and rolling school of Italian Baroque interpreters, here uncover a dozen arias drawn from little-known Vivaldi manuscripts, or inserted as alternate numbers into existing operas. These Arie ritrovate, or rediscovered arias, are anything but a completist grab bag of odds and ends. There are some bona fide masterpieces here (as indeed there are all through the still largely unmined corpus of Vivaldian opera), and plenty of music to challenge any singer. Prina's voice has an extremely attractive combination of power with a sort of woodwind quality; sample and enjoy. And hear what she can do in the flat-out careering virtuosity of "Per lacerarlo," an alternate aria from Teuzzone, or, by contrast, the emotional indecision and ambiguity of "Vedi le mie catene" from the same opera. The latter is the only work on the album possibly not by Vivaldi, but it's remarkable whoever may have composed it. A few pieces are reconstructions by Dantone and Frédéric Delaméa of arias whose music has been lost, apparently working from deductions that they represented contrafacta of arias with metrically similar texts; one of the few complaints that might be raised here is that it is not exactly clear how they reached their conclusions. The music is at a uniformly high level, however. The 12 arias are grouped into three sets of four, separated by a pair of concertos delivered in Dantone's trademark tumultuous style, and all in all this is as strong a collection of Vivaldi music as has appeared anywhere, with the added bonus that all the music is new. Notes and aria texts are in Italian, French, and English. --James Manheim, Rovi

This is an enjoyable collection of Vivaldian odds and ends. As the holdings of the National University Library of Turin continue to be explored, small and large discoveries are made. Among the former, at least in size, are alternative arias from extant operas, and isolated arias belonging to operas now otherwise lost. A third type is comprised of arias from operas (or "serenatas") put together by other hands from the works of various composers, not just Vivaldi. Sometimes new words were fitted to older music; musical detective work has made it possible to reconstruct these arias from their texts even when the music is no longer extant.

Scanderbeg e Ormondo, written in 1718, no longer exists except for the two arias recorded here. Teuzzone, La verità in cimento, Tito Manlio, and Orlando Furioso have been preserved (and all recorded in toto), but the arias presented here are alternative arias - stuck between the pages, if you will - that have not been heard in three centuries. The Concerto for strings, RV 136, has been included because of the thematic relationship between its middle movement and the reconstructed aria Abbia respiro il cor.

What will matter to most people, though, is whether or not this CD stands on its own, and it does, thanks in no small part to the contributions of alto Sonia Prina. I first noticed Prina in a wacky production from the Théâtre du Châtelet of Rossini's La Pietra del Paragone, issued on DVD by Naïve. Prina's Imogene Coca-like stage presence was married to a warm, chocolatey voice that, despite its dark colors, was both agile and feminine. It's only natural, then, that she should be a specialist in the Baroque repertoire, and this CD shows just how much she has to offer. It can be hard to put across a collection of unconnected arias, but Prina's vocal personality allows her to succeed where others have failed, and the voice itself is flexible and delicious. Stefano Montanari is no less virtuosic in the witty, extraverted violin concerto that has been inserted in the middle of this program. The microphones pick up his noisy breathing, though - was it allergy season in Ravenna?

Dantone and the Accademia Bizantina, frequent participants in this ongoing Vivaldi Edition from Naïve, accompany with personality and sensitivity. As a matter of fact, Dantone, with Frédéric Delaméa (who wrote the excellent booklet notes), is responsible for the three reconstructions. Texts and translations have been included. The engineering is clear and very intimate. -- Classical Net, Raymond Tuttle, October 2008

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