Monteverdi: L'Orfeo: a tale in music

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The singers’ intensity – and the bold, sometimes unusual distribution of instrumental parts – distinguish this Orfeo from earlier recordings. Linderoth probes Orfeo’s vulnerability from first... — BBC Music Magazine, October 2021, 4 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 5 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

Release Date: 28th May 2021
Catalogue No: BIS2519
Label: BIS
Length: 1 hour 44 minutes

BBC Music Magazine

October 2021

Opera Choice

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Monteverdi: L'Orfeo

Work length1:44:52

$46.00

$61.10

$82.25

Kristina Hellgren (soprano), Adam Riis (tenor), Christine Nonbo Andersen (soprano), Anna Zander (mezzo-soprano), Johan Linderoth (tenor), Daniel Åberg (baritone), Ann-Margret Nyberg (soprano), Karl Peter Eriksson (baritone), Maria Forsström (mezzo-soprano), Steffen Bruun (bass), Rasmus Gravers Nielsen (tenor), Staffan Alveteg (bass)
Höör Barock, Ensemble Altapunta, Ensemble Lundabarock
Fredrik Malmberg

Toccata

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Dal mio permesso amato

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In questo lieto e fortunato giorno

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Vieni Imeneo, deh vieni (1)

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Muse, honor di Parnaso

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Lasciate i monti (1)

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Ma tu gentil cantor

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Rosa del ciel, vita del mondo

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Io non dirò

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Lasciate i monti (2)

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Vieni Imeneo, deh vieni (2)

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Ma s'il nostro gioir

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Alcun non sia

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Ecco pur ch'a voi ritorno

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Ahi caso acerbo (1)

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In un fiorito prato

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Tu se' morta

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Ahi caso acerbo (2)

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Ma io ch'in questa lingua

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Chi ne consola ahi lassi?

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Sinfonia

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Scorto da te, mio Nume

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Ecco l'atra palude

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Dove, ah dove te'n vai

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O tu ch'innanzi morte

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Possente spirto

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Sol tu, nobile Dio

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Ben mi lusinga alquanto

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Ei dorme

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Nulla impresa per huom

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Signor, quell'infelice

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Benchè severo e immutabil fato

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O degli habitator

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Quali grazie ti rendo

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Pietade oggi

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Qual honor di te fia degno

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Ahi vista troppo dolce

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È la virtute un raggio

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Ritornello

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Questi i campi di Tracia

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Perchè a lo sdegno e al dolor in preda

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Padre cortese al maggior uopo arrivi

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Saliam cantando al Cielo

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Vanne Orfeo, felice a pieno

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Moresca

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About
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About

L’Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) is often described as the first opera. The composer himself used another term for his work, however: ‘favola in musica’, a musical tale. Taking this as their point of departure, the performers on the present recording place the emphasis on the libretto’s direct narrative, and how the music alone is used to express emotions, a music which underpins the plot and the text word for word. To quote the liner notes: ‘To modern ears the musical heritage of L’Orfeo is more to be found in the Lieder tradition than in the grand opera of the nineteenth century.’ The tale told by Monteverdi and the members of the three ensembles which bring his score to life, is that of Orpheus, the poet and musician who travels to the Underworld in order to persuade Hades to let his beloved Eurydice return to the living. Under the direction of Fredrik Malmberg, and with Johan Linderoth as their Orfeo, the 38 singers and musicians that make up Ensemble Lundabarock, Höör Barock and Ensemble Altapunta perform a score which in 1607 was state-of-the-art contemporary. Four full centuries after the first performance in Mantua it remains almost shockingly modern, as in the sound of cornetts and trombones that summon up the spirits of the Underworld or the portrayal of undiluted, raw grief in Orfeo’s celebrated aria Possente Spirto.

Reviews

October 2021

The singers’ intensity – and the bold, sometimes unusual distribution of instrumental parts – distinguish this Orfeo from earlier recordings. Linderoth probes Orfeo’s vulnerability from first bar to last...Yet it is Malmberg’s energy that gives this performance a brilliant edge.

Nov/Dec 2021

I suspect this L’Orfeo will gain a reputation as one of the best in the discography. Although the overall sound is glossy and clean, it retains the warmth and texture that period instrument enthusiasts prize, and Malmberg has chosen tempos carefully, always with an eye toward the text and the drama. The cast is consistently strong, and the diction is admirably clear throughout.

September 2021

There is some fine instrumental playing, with the outstandingly crisp delivery and rhythmic vitality of the wind instrumentalists bringing particular pleasure. Improvised ornamentation is for the most part discrete.

20th June 2021

a stylish, pacy performance. As Orfeo, the tenor Johan Linderoth excels, his singing of Possente spirto, the lavishly ornamented set piece through which his character charms his way into Hades, both magisterial and passionate.

Offer,Monteverdi: L'Orfeo

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