(Photo:Birgit Gufler) In 1718, the Venetian composer Antonio Caldara and the librettist Apostolo Zeno premiered their opera “Ifigenia in Aulide” for the imperial court in Vienna to celebrate Emperor Karl VI of Austria’s name day. This summer, over three hundred years since its last staging, the Innsbruck Early Music Festival brought together a stellar cast under the musical direction of {…}
Ensemble Masques/ credit:David Samyn WDR 3 Cultural Radio has released its Days of Old Music Herne 2023 lineup featuring vocal music by Francesco Cavalli, Antonia Bembo, Guillaume Dufay, and Antonio Caldara. The theme for 2023 focuses on fashion, drawing musicians from various European locations to Herne once again. The majority of these ensembles will make their debut at the festival. {…}
(Photo: Benoit Auguste) Over the course of the 17th century, the role of the tenor was displaced by the rise of the castrato. Whilst in opera’s early years tenors were given prominent roles, such as the title role in Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo,” by the middle of the century they were relegated to comic or travesti roles. During the early 18th century, {…}
(Photo: Concetto Armonico) Cavarzere is a small town set in the Veneto countryside in North-East Italy, with a population of less than 15,000. One of its claims to fame is that the conductor Tulio Serafin was born in the nearby hamlet of Rottanova, and the local theatre is named in his honor. Now Andrea Castello, also a local resident, who {…}
