(Photo: Clemens Manser) In 1637, the San Cassiano theatre opened its doors for the first time with a performance of Francesco Minelli’s “L’Andromeda,” an event that took opera out of the palazzi and drawing rooms of the aristocracy and into the public arena. Within a matter of only a few years, the city was awash with opera houses. Composers and {…}
(Photo: Alan Neilson) The main presentation at this year’s Bayreuth Baroque Festival was a lavish, fully staged production of Francesco Cavalli’s 1666 opera, “Pompeo Magno,” boasting a large cast of high-quality singers and actors. Playing the role of Giulia was the Belgian soprano Sophie Junker, who, since winning both the London Händel Competition in 2010 and Innsbruck’s Cesti Competition in {…}
American Randall Scotting has made a name for himself both as an authority on Italian Baroque music and as one of its most exquisitely timbered interpreters. The countertenor has in the past year alone released two albums, “The Crown” and “Lovesick,” a 17th century anthology about loss and heartbreak. With “Infinite Refrain: Music of Love’s Refuge” he joins forces with {…}
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. {…}
(Credit: Brescia e Amisano, Teatro alla Scala) In the last few years, Teatro alla Scala has committed to reviving masterpieces of the early Italian repertoire. On Oct. 30, 2021, the company presented, for the first time in its 243-year history, Francesco Cavalli’s (1602-1676) “La Calisto” (1651). Of Cavalli’s 41 operas, “La Calisto” is the only one to have found a {…}
(Credit: Presto Music website) Bulgarian soprano superstar Sonya Yoncheva will release her new album “Rebirth” on March 12, 2021. The album, which will be released by Sony Classical, will spotlight works by Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli, Barbara Strozzi, John Dowland, Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco Sánchez, and Alessandro Stradella, among others. The album will also include the popular Bulgarian folk {…}
