Customer Reviews

Johann Georg Conradi: Ariadne

5 star:		(3)
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I am an unabashed afficcionado of 17th and 18the century operas by little known composers whose works I happen to run across from time to time. Frankly I was persuaded by the previous review and the price was right. So I bought it. Brother, you haven't heard singing until you have heard Karina Gauvin sing. This lady can sing and then some!!! Conradi was born in 1645, some 40 years before Bach and Handel. He was a contemporary of Biber. This work is very German and in my view not reflective of the music being composed in Italy and France at the same time. It is expertly presented. All the voices and the orchestra and chorus of the Boston Early Music Society under the direction of Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs are superb. But for me the feature is Karina Gauvin. She is an absolute winner.

I was fortunate enough to be in Boston in June 2003 for the modern premiere of this opera.. although I had never heard of Conradi, a musicologist friend of mine urged me to attend.. boy, am I glad.. this is a marvelous opera filled with lush harmonies and beautiful melodies.. at the live performance there was also some great dancing (especially the scissor dancers!) I was thrilled when I heard there was going to be a commercial recording made, and bought it very first chance I had. A must own for any opera lover!

I saw the opening-night live performance of this at the 2003 Boston Early Music Festival (which was the first time it had ever been staged in its entirety). Matthew White and Jan Kobow were particularly outstanding. That performance has long lived in my memory; I only wish there were a DVD that captured what I heard and saw.

This recording uses a different tenor, James Taylor, than the Boston performances. I'm a long-time fan of Mr. Taylor and welcomed this replacement.