Nicola Antonio Porpora: Carlo Il Calvo

The singers are all first-rate. Max Cencic’s Lothar is spot on in terms of coloratura, while Franco Fagioli’s Adalgiso has a nice, almost transparent voice. Both Julia Leszhnova and Suzanne Jerosme... — Fanfare, Sep/Oct 2023 More…

Release Date: 17th Mar 2023
Catalogue No: PARARTS002
Label: Parnassus Arts

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Porpora: Carlo il calvo

Franco Fagioli (Adalgiso), Max Emanuel Cenčić (Lottario), Julia Lezhneva (Gildippe), Suzanne Jerosme (Giuditta), Petr Nekoranec (Asprando), Bruno de Sá (Berardo), Nian Wang (Eduige), Armonia Atenea (chamber ensemble)
George Petrou

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Carlo il Calvo (Charles the Bald) was first performed in 1738 at Rome's leading opera house, the Teatro delle Dame - Premiere Recording.

Porpora's opera is based on a Venetian libretto dating from 1699 which, under various titles, has been set to music by composers such as Vinacessi, Keller, Alessandro Scarlatti, Orlandini and Telemann.

The score has been preserved at the Conservatory in Naples. The plot is set in that period of the early Middle Ages when Charlemagne's Europe was disintegrating at the hands of his quarrelling heirs. Its distinctive feature is that the titular hero is a child. In contrast to his colleagues, Porpora even gives him some verses to sing.

Louis the German, Charles' half-brother and Charlemagne's grandson, abducts the legitimate heir to the throne in order to rob him of his sovereignty. This provides Charles's mother with the opportunity for heart-wrenching scenes of despair and breathtaking outbursts of feeling.

Reviews

Sep/Oct 2023

The singers are all first-rate. Max Cencic’s Lothar is spot on in terms of coloratura, while Franco Fagioli’s Adalgiso has a nice, almost transparent voice. Both Julia Leszhnova and Suzanne Jerosme have equally flexible voices, but the tenor of Petr Nekoranec is precisely the sort of powerful and spot on one would desire in his role as Asprando.

August 2023

Petrou adds thundering timpani to Porpora’s rich orchestration of braying horns, punctuating trumpets, whooping oboes and bustling strings in the overture. Pacy recitatives, cut considerably, are accompanied assertively by a vigorous continuo team...Carlo il Calvo deserves its spirited revival.

Nicola Antonio Porpora: Carlo Il Calvo

3 CDs

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