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Special offer. Vivaldi: Ottone in Villa

Sonia Prina (Ottone), Julia Lezhneva (Caio Silio), Veronica Cangemi (Cleonilla), Roberta Invernizzi (Tullia) & Topi Lehtipuu (Decio)

Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini (director)

Vivaldi: Ottone in Villa

Awards:

A major attraction of Antonini's version is the casting of Sonia Prina as Roman Emperor Ottone. Her rounded vocal timbre and powerful declamation bring strong characterisation to the role...Antonini...

BBC Music Magazine, January 20115 out of 5 stars

More reviews

Special offer. Vivaldi: Ottone in Villa

Sonia Prina (Ottone), Julia Lezhneva (Caio Silio), Veronica Cangemi (Cleonilla), Roberta Invernizzi (Tullia) & Topi Lehtipuu (Decio)

Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini (director)

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Awards:

A major attraction of Antonini's version is the casting of Sonia Prina as Roman Emperor Ottone. Her rounded vocal timbre and powerful declamation bring strong characterisation to the role...Antonini...

BBC Music Magazine, January 20115 out of 5 stars

More reviews

About

Ottone in villa is the second recording of a Vivaldi opera this year, and the first full opera recording ever done by leading Baroque music specialist Il Giardino Armonico and its music director Giovanni Antonini. They are joined by a cast including confirmed performers and rising stars such as Julia Lezhneva and Topi Lehtipuu. Ottone in Villa is the earliest opera by Vivaldi, and this is the world premiere of a complete recording of the work.

Il Giardino Armonico, founded in Milan in 1985 and directed by Giovanni Antonini, is one of today’s most admired and sought-after ensembles specialising in performance on period instruments. The ensemble has made many award winning recordings of instrumental works by Vivaldi and other seventeenth and eighteenth-century composers.

Long thought to be Vivaldi’s first opera, Ottone in villa (“Otho on vacation”) had its premier in 1713 in the small public theatre of Vicenza, the Teatro delle Garzerie. By this time Antonio Vivaldi was already a celebrated violin virtuoso and teacher at La Pietà. Ottone in villa bears witness to Vivaldi’s mastery in his first productive period (in 1711 he had published his Op. 3 concerti, L’estro armonico), and is a precious example of Venetian operatic culture. The drama is a satire of Imperial Rome’s high society, concentrating on amorous intrigues among an attractive group of young characters in a pastoral setting.

The Vivaldi Edition, a recording venture conceived by the Italian musicologist Alberto Basso (Istituto per I Beni Musicali in Piemonte) and the independent label Naïve, is one of the most ambitious recording projects of the twenty-first century. Its principal objective is to record the massive collection of Vivaldi autograph manuscripts preserved in the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria in Turin, some 450 works in all.

  • Release date: 15th Nov 2010
  • Label: Naive
  • Series: Vivaldi Edition
  • Catalogue number: OP30493
  • Length: 2 hours 14 minutes
  • Genre:

Contents and tracklist

Vivaldi: Ottone in Villa
Work length2:14:35
Sinfonia: Allegro
Track length2:33
Sinfonia: Larghetto
Track length0:54
Sinfonia: Allegro
Track length0:38
Act I Scene 1: Recitative: Nacqui a gran sorte … (I was born to greatness … ) (Cleonilla)
Track length1:21
Act I Scene 1: Aria: Quanto m'alletta (How alluring) (Cleonilla)
Track length4:09
Act I Scene 2: Recitative: Caio … (Caio … ) (Cleonilla, Caio)
Track length0:45
Act I Scene 2: Aria: Sole degl'occhi miei (Light of my eyes) (Caio)
Track length3:21
Act I Scene 2: Recitative: Ma Cesare qui vien … (But here comes Caesar … ) (Caio, Cleonilla)
Track length0:12
Act I Scene 3: Recitative: Cleonilla, a te ne vengo … (Cleonilla, I come to you … ) (Ottone, Cleonilla, Caio)
Track length2:18
Act I Scene 3: Aria: Caro bene (Beloved) (Cleonilla)
Track length1:42
Act I Scene 4: Recitative: Piu fido amante, e chi miro giammai? … (Has there ever been a truer lover? … ) (Ottone, Caio)
Track length0:48
Act I Scene 4: Aria: Par tormento, ed e piacer (It seems a torment yet is a pleasure) (Ottone)
Track length2:49
Act I Scene 5: Recitative: Quanto di donna amante … (Just how cunnning a mistress can be … ) (Caio, Tullia)
Track length2:18
Act I Scene 5: Aria: Chi seguir vuol la costanza (He who insists on being constant) (Caio)
Track length2:51
Act I Scene 6: Recitative: Ah! Traditor t'intendo … (Ah! Traitor, I know what's in your mind … ) (Tullia)
Track length0:44
Act I Scene 6: Aria: Con l'amor di donna amante (My love, being that of a loving woman) (Tullia)
Track length2:44
Act I Scene 7: Recitative: Quanto m'alletti, o cara … (How I love, my dearest … ) (Ottone, Cleonilla, Decio)
Track length1:22
Act I Scene 7: Aria: Frema pur, si lagni Roma (Let Rome fret and fume) (Ottone)
Track length4:25
Act I Scene 8: Recitative: Grande ho, Decio, il desio … (I am extremely curious to know, Decio … ) (Cleonilla, Decio, Tullia)
Track length0:58
Act I Scene 8: Aria: Il tuo pensiero e lusinghiero (You are living in a fool's paradise) (Decio)
Track length2:32
Act I Scene 9: Recitative: Porgimi il manto, caro … (Hand me my robe, dear boy … ) (Cleonilla, Tullia)
Track length2:47
Act I Scene 9: Aria: Che fe, che amor (I swear that faith, that love) (Cleonilla)
Track length2:01
Act I Scene 10: Recitative: E Caio aborriro per fin ch'io viva? … (Hold Caio in abhorrence for as long as I live? … ) (Caio, Tullia)
Track length0:32
Act I Scene 10: Aria: Si, si, deggio partir (Yes, yes, I must be off) (Tullia)
Track length2:10
Act I Scene 11: Recitative: E Caio aborriro per fin ch'io viva? … (Hold Caio in abhorrence for as long as I live? … ) (Caio)
Track length0:30
Act I Scene 11: Aria: Gelosia (Jealousy) (Caio)
Track length3:16
Act II Scene 1: Recitative: Spinto Signor son' io … (I am urged, my lord … ) (Decio, Ottone)
Track length1:54
Act II Scene 1: Aria: Come l'onda (Like a wave) (Ottone)
Track length2:58
Act II Scene 2: Recitative: A Cesare tradito io dir non volli … (I decided not to tell the deceived Caesar … ) (Deccio, Caio)
Track length1:04
Act II Scene 2: Aria: Che giova it trono al Re (What good is his throne to a king) (Decio)
Track length3:10
Act II Scene 3: Recitative: Parli Decio che vuol … (Decio can say what he likes … ) (Caio, Tullia)
Track length2:25
Act II Scene 3: Aria: L'ombre, l'aure, e ancora il rio (The shadows, the breezes, and even the stream) (Caio, Tullia)
Track length7:02
Act II Scene 4: Recitative: Qual duolo, o Caio, frenetico ti rende? … (What grief, O Caio, has provoked this frenzy? … ) (Tullia, Caio)
Track length0:27
Act II Scene 4: Aria: Su gl'occhi del tuo ben (To your beloved) (Caio)
Track length2:20
Act II Scene 5: Recitative: Disperato e l'infido … (The deceiver is desperate … ) (Tullia)
Track length0:28
Act II Scene 5: Aria: Due tiranni ho nel mio cor[e] (Two tyrants have I in my heart) (Tullia)
Track length4:31
Act II Scene 6: Recitative: Felice e il volto mio … (My face looks happy … ) (Cleonilla, Caio)
Track length1:09
Act II Scene 6: Aria: Leggi almeno, tiranna infedele (Read at least, O faithless tyrant) (Caio)
Track length5:35
Act II Scene 7: Recitative: Che mai scrisse qui Caio? … (Whatever has Caio written here? … ) (Cleonilla, Ottone)
Track length2:58
Act II Scene 7: Aria: Tu vedrai (You shall see) (Cleonilla)
Track length3:02
Act II Scene 8: Recitative: Cesare, io gia prevedo … (Caesar, I foresee … ) (Decio, Ottone, Cleonilla)
Track length0:32
Act II Scene 8: Aria: Povera fedelta (Poor constancy) (Cleonilla)
Track length2:11
Act II Scene 9: Recitative: Ah Decio, i tuio ricordi … (Ah Decio, your report … ) (Ottone, Decio)
Track length0:31
Act II Scene 9: Aria: Ben talor favella il Cielo (Very often heaven speaks) (Decio)
Track length2:43
Act II Scene 10: Recitative: Oh! qual error fec'io … (Oh, how mistaken I was … ) (Ottone, Caio)
Track length1:52
Act II Scene 10: Aria: Compatisco il tuo fiero tormento (I sympathise with your great grief) (Ottone)
Track length4:39
Act II Scene 11: Recitative: Quanto Cleonilla e scaltra … (How shrewd Cleonilla is! … ) (Caio)
Track length0:34
Act II Scene 11: Aria: Io sembro appunto (I am just) (Caio)
Track length3:14
Act II Scene 12: Recitative: Ah, che non vuol sentirmi il traditore … (Ah, the deceiver will not listen to me … ) (Tullia)
Track length0:44
Act II Scene 12: Aria: Misero spirto mio (My suffering spirit) (Tullia)
Track length4:25
Act III Scene 1: Recitative: Signor … (My lord … ) (Decio, Ottone)
Track length0:45
Act III Scene 1: Aria: Tutto sprezzo, e trono, e impero (I care for nothing, not my throne nor empire) (Ottone)
Track length2:28
Act III Scene 2: Recitative: Gia di Ottone preveggo … (I foresee Ottone's … ) (Decio)
Track length0:47
Act III Scene 2: Aria: L'esser amante (To be a lover) (Decio)
Track length3:45
Act III Scene 3: Recitative: Cerchi in van ch'io t'ascolti … (I am deaf to your pleas … ) (Cleonilla, Caio)
Track length0:24
Act III Scene 3: Aria: No, per te non ho piu amor, no (No, I no longer love you, no) (Cleonilla)
Track length1:59
Act III Scene 4: Recitative: Cleonilla … (Cleonilla … ) (Tullia, Caio, Cleonilla)
Track length1:19
Act III Scene 4: Aria: Guarda in quest'occhi (Look into my eyes, and hear) (Caio)
Track length4:19
Act III Scene 5: Recitative: Quant'ha di vago Amor nel suo gran regno … (All the charms that Love possesses … ) (Cleonilla, Tullia)
Track length0:47
Act III Scene 5: Aria: Che bel contento (What sweet contentment) (Tullia)
Track length1:48
Act III Scene 6: Recitative: Piu soffrir non poss'io … (I can bear this no longer … ) (Caio, Cleonilla, Tullia)
Track length0:36
Act III Final Scene: Recitative: Caio infierito … (Caio in a rage … ) (Ottone, Decio, Cleonilla, Caio, Tullia)
Track length3:42
Act III Final Scene: Grande e il contento (Great and heartfelt) (Chorus)
Track length0:48

Spotlight on this release

Awards and reviews

  • Presto Recording of the Week
    6th December 2010

January 2011

A major attraction of Antonini's version is the casting of Sonia Prina as Roman Emperor Ottone. Her rounded vocal timbre and powerful declamation bring strong characterisation to the role...Antonini complements the dramatic tension with a preference for generally brisker tempos
5 out of 5 stars

15th December 2010

there is no lack of musical invention or showmanship – particularly when brought to life with such verve by a terrific cast under conductor Giovanni Antonini, with the trademark percussive vibrancy of Il Giardino Armonico... [Lezhneva's] barnstorming vengeance aria at the end of Act One fizzes with rapid-fire coloratura and sky-high ornamentation.
Graham Rogers

February 2011

The energy and virtuosity of this recording place it head and shoulders above the rest...All the vocal performances leap from the disc into your room with their drama and vocal quality...Il Giardino Armonico play with invigorating forward drive, rhythmic punch, and bright sweetness of tone, Vivaldi's favoured violins singing particularly under their fingertips. A beautiful, joyful listen.

March 2011

One need only listen to a simply recitative to appreciate how much rehearsal time must have gone into lifting the drama with some real acting: it's breathy, full of pauses, running on of lines and always flexible in pace. The real joy is the way Antonini and his performers cherish and differentiate the arias. A lot of thought has gone into phrasing, articulation, dynamics and rhythmic gestures

6th December 2010

all the singers are good but I found the flawless technique and expressive range of Russian soprano Julia Lezhneva particularly outstanding. The recording also features the leading Baroque ensemble Il Giardino Armonico who are stylistically spot on and the performance is well paced by their music director Giovanni Antonini. It isn’t the first recording of this opera but must rank amongst the very best.
Chris O'Reilly
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