Abstract:The selection under review here comprises three complete operas and three aria recitals. There has been a recent tendency to issue recitals under the guise of homages to singers of the past. This is u...The selection under review here comprises three complete operas and three aria recitals. There has been a recent tendency to issue recitals under the guise of homages to singers of the past. This is understandably a convenient method for record companies to provide a new concept behind aria compilations that makes them more marketable than a traditional recital. As a concept, though, it is not uniformly convincing as one is not always left with the impression of having really met a voice of the past. A case in point is the otherwise excellent recital by Roberta Invernizzi: Arias for Domenico Gizzi: A star castrato in Baroque Rome (Glossa gcd922608, rec 2014, 57′). It includes 13 arias from various operas by Feo, Vinci, Scarlatti, Bononcini, Sarro and Costanzi. All of them are nice pieces in themselves but without being overtly distinct from each other. Without a sense of the bigger dramatic context, or indeed their place within the output of a single composer, such pieces are inevitably heard as a succession of pleasant arias that do not, however, give a clear image of who Domenico Gizzi (1687–1748) really was. Maybe the selection was not very fortunate, but most of these items are of a standard da capo type that most competent singers of the time would have been able to sing. Generally speaking, the idea that a singer’s repertory is so singular that just by listening to their arias one can gain a unique, recognizable imprint of their voice is probably better suited to later periods.Read More
Publication Year: 2016
Publication Date: 2016-10-31
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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