The term ‘Baroque’ in music covers a period o f around 150 years, from 1600 to 1750, and this collection of six operatic masterpieces shows the diversity of musical experience to be found from this era. All of these excellent Maggio Musicale Fiorentino productions were recorded in Florence, a city that was witness to the origins of opera and saw its rise in popularity with leading names such as Monteverdi and Vivaldi. Lully and Handel represent opera’s spread throughout Europe and its adaptation to national tastes, establishing theatrical traditions of romance and tragedy that are still universal to audiences today.

Artists

Charles Workman (tenor), Delphine Galou (contralto), Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani (tenor), Jean-François Lombard, Elena Harsányi, Luigi de Donato, Carmela Remigio (soprano), Leonardo Cortellazzi, Francesca Aspromonte, Raffaele Pe, Rossana Bertini, Elena Bertuzzi, Candida Guida, Paolo Fanciullacci, Marco Scavazza, Mauro Borgioni, Mary-Ellen Nesi (mezzo-soprano), Sonia Prina (contralto), Roberta Mameli (soprano), Carlo Allemano, Accademia Bizantina (early music ensemble), Coro Del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Modo Antiquo (early music ensemble), Coro Ricercare Ensemble, Compagnia Dramatodìa, Benjamin Lazar, Valentino Villa, Marco Gandini, Deda Cristina Colonna, Ottavio Dantone (early keyboard instruments), Carlo Ipata, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (opera company), Federico Maria Sardelli