This Cd received Diapason Decouverte, l’Orphé d’Or – Prix Spécial and was nominated BBC Opera of the Month.
Carlo Re d’Alemagna (3 CD’s) Fabio Biondi, conductor Romina Basso, kontratenor/kontra-alto (Lotario) Roberta Invernizzi, soprano (Giuditta) Marina de Liso, mezzo (Gildippe) Marianne Beate Kielland, mezzo-soprano (Adalgiso) Carlo Allemano, tenor (Bernardo) José Maria Lo Monaco, mezzo-soprano (Asprando) Damiana Pinti, alto (Armilla) Roberto Abbondanza, bass (Bleso) Stavanger Symphony Orchestra Agogique 2014 (BBC Music Magazine’s Choice of the Month April 2014)
Reviews:
GRAMMOPHONE MAGAZINE
“The modern-instrument Stavanger Symphony Orchestra play in a competent Baroque style”
DIAPASON
“The Norwegian orchestra (modern, conducted by Biondi from the first desk) achieves a good balance with the very committed performers.”
FORUMOPERA
“We are amazed by the flexibility of those Scandinavian musicians, adapting the rich tone of their instruments to the required “phrase”: it offers at the same time the smoothness of a modern ensemble, and the freshness of a Baroque instruments’ orchestra, with strings that know how to play staccato and winds incredibly full-flavoured.”
VOIX des ARTS
“The musical idioms of Carlo, Re d’Alemagna is complemented by the remarkable affinity for Scarlatti’s music displayed by the players of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, over whose excursions into Baroque repertory Maestro Biondi has presided since 2006.” (…) “first-rank players have built a legacy of superb musicianship and versatility, and these qualities contribute to playing of Scarlatti’s score that rivals the best work of Early Music specialist ensembles. Every detail of Scarlatti’s orchestration is aired with expert timing and perfect intonation, and the SSO’s playing falls victim to none of the preciousness or over-articulation that afflict many performances of Baroque music. Each section of the orchestra is given music of formidable technical difficulty, and the SSO players respond with unfettered virtuosity. With such vibrant playing combined with ideal conducting, the stage is set for a performance that unearths for 21st-Century listeners a hidden treasure of 18th-Century opera.”
BBC Music Magazine
“The musical rewards in this dramma are plentiful.”
NDR.de
“Besonderes Lob haben auch die Instrumentalisten unter Leitung von Fabio Biondi verdient. Die Musiker tragen die Sänger hingebungsvoll durch diese fast dreistündige Oper“
Kulturradio.de
“Stavanger Symphony Orchestra fabriziert einen prachtvollen Sound und strotzt vor Sinnlichkeit“
Avant-Scene Opera
“The modern orchestra of Stavanger (Norway) directed by Biondi since 2006, has practised for more than 20 years the Baroque repertoire, and shows here its perfect ability to react”.
