Vivaldi: Arie ritrovate (Vivaldi Edition)

Vivaldi (Composer), Dantone (Conductor), Accademia Bizantina (Orchestra), Prina (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Prina
• Orchestra: Accademia Bizantina
• Conductor: Dantone
• Composer: Vivaldi
• Audio CD (March 25, 2008)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naive
• ASIN: B0011R8TNQ
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,128 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Classical Net, Raymond Tuttle, October 2008

This is an enjoyable collection of Vivaldian odds and ends. As the holdings of the National University Library of Turin continue to be explored, small and large discoveries are made. Among the former, at least in size, are alternative arias from extant operas, and isolated arias belonging to operas now otherwise lost. A third type is comprised of arias from operas (or "serenatas") put together by other hands from the works of various composers, not just Vivaldi. Sometimes new words were fitted to older music; musical detective work has made it possible to reconstruct these arias from their texts even when the music is no longer extant.

Scanderbeg e Ormondo, written in 1718, no longer exists except for the two arias recorded here. Teuzzone, La verità in cimento, Tito Manlio, and Orlando Furioso have been preserved (and all recorded in toto), but the arias presented here are alternative arias - stuck between the pages, if you will - that have not been heard in three centuries. The Concerto for strings, RV 136, has been included because of the thematic relationship between its middle movement and the reconstructed aria Abbia respiro il cor.

What will matter to most people, though, is whether or not this CD stands on its own, and it does, thanks in no small part to the contributions of alto Sonia Prina. I first noticed Prina in a wacky production from the Théâtre du Châtelet of Rossini's La Pietra del Paragone, issued on DVD by Naïve. Prina's Imogene Coca-like stage presence was married to a warm, chocolatey voice that, despite its dark colors, was both agile and feminine. It's only natural, then, that she should be a specialist in the Baroque repertoire, and this CD shows just how much she has to offer. It can be hard to put across a collection of unconnected arias, but Prina's vocal personality allows her to succeed where others have failed, and the voice itself is flexible and delicious. Stefano Montanari is no less virtuosic in the witty, extraverted violin concerto that has been inserted in the middle of this program. The microphones pick up his noisy breathing, though - was it allergy season in Ravenna?

Dantone and the Accademia Bizantina, frequent participants in this ongoing Vivaldi Edition from Naïve, accompany with personality and sensitivity. As a matter of fact, Dantone, with Frédéric Delaméa (who wrote the excellent booklet notes), is responsible for the three reconstructions. Texts and translations have been included. The engineering is clear and very intimate.

AllMusic.com, James Manheim, October 2008

Part of the fun of following developments in Baroque music is that, while the press is reduced to trying to work up excitement for the merest scrap of music potentially by Mozart or Beethoven, unknown masterpieces by the likes of Vivaldi are still surfacing with regularity. This release by the energetic French label Naïve (check out the wild cover photo, apparently of contralto Sonia Prina) is a case in point. Conductor Ottavio Dantone and his Accademia Bizantina ensemble, prime exponents of the rocking and rolling school of Italian Baroque interpreters, here uncover a dozen arias drawn from little-known Vivaldi manuscripts, or inserted as alternate numbers into existing operas. These Arie ritrovate, or rediscovered arias, are anything but a completist grab bag of odds and ends. There are some bona fide masterpieces here (as indeed there are all through the still largely unmined corpus of Vivaldian opera), and plenty of music to challenge any singer. Prina's voice has an extremely attractive combination of power with a sort of woodwind quality; sample and enjoy. And hear what she can do in the flat-out careering virtuosity of "Per lacerarlo," an alternate aria from Teuzzone, or, by contrast, the emotional indecision and ambiguity of "Vedi le mie catene" from the same opera. The latter is the only work on the album possibly not by Vivaldi, but it's remarkable whoever may have composed it. A few pieces are reconstructions by Dantone and Frédéric Delaméa of arias whose music has been lost, apparently working from deductions that they represented contrafacta of arias with metrically similar texts; one of the few complaints that might be raised here is that it is not exactly clear how they reached their conclusions. The music is at a uniformly high level, however. The 12 arias are grouped into three sets of four, separated by a pair of concertos delivered in Dantone's trademark tumultuous style, and all in all this is as strong a collection of Vivaldi music as has appeared anywhere, with the added bonus that all the music is new. Notes and aria texts are in Italian, French, and English.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Generally a nice effort, April 9, 2008

By 

G. Rodger "grodger21" (Milwaukee WI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vivaldi: Arie ritrovate (Vivaldi Edition) (Audio CD)

Sonia Prina has one of those voices that I can't quite decide if I like or not, and her recorded performances are similar. On the whole this recording falls into the I like it category. She is best on the arias from Scanderberg and Teuzzone, especially Con Palme ed allori, although there are times her breath control is lacking and she breaks the phrase. On the whole I enjoy what she brings to these arias musically, although sometimes the drama of the aria suffers as a result--her rendition of Se vincer non si puo from La Verita in Cimento is too safe and restrained, especially given the character singing is supposed to be manipulative and calculating and willing to do almost anything to win.

While I love Prina's crisp articulation of fast passages most of the time there are moments it seems too hard-edged and too much in the throat and it verges on the ugly (and not ugly-beautiful). She also rushes a little at times. But when it's good it is, very, very good. The aria Per lacerarlo from Teuzzone displays all of this in a single 2.5 minutes! Perfection and UGH! in close proximity.

The true gem here is the accompanying ensemble, which is always good, even when Prina lapses. Every moment of the accompaniment was perfection and lives up to the quality I have come to expect from these Naive recordings. I fully expect to listen to this multiple times, even given my reservations about Prina at moments, because at the end of the day even when she bothers me she is compelling and that is all I can ask of a performer.

5.0 out of 5 stars Vivaldi: Arie ritrovate (Vivaldi Edition), October 17, 2011

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Bjorn Viberg (European Union) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vivaldi: Arie ritrovate (Vivaldi Edition) (Audio CD)

Vivaldi: Arie ritrovate (Vivaldi Edition) is a 2007 Naive recording contralto Sonia Prina. Ottavio Dantone leads the Accademia Bizantina and we also hear violinist Stefano Montanari. Frederic Delemea has written a very well-written and informative essay entitled "Frescoes and miniatures". Also included are short biographies of the performers, the soloist and the conductor. Being a huge fan of Baroque music and Vivaldi this was truly a magnificent listening experience. Highly recommended indeed. 5/5.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great voice, with an amazing interpretation, July 16, 2011

By 

Felipe de Moraes (São Paulo, Brasil) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Vivaldi: Arie ritrovate (Vivaldi Edition) (Audio CD)

Sonia Prina is one of the great voices in our times. Owner of a unmatched vocal coloratura, she gives treatment and interpretation singular in her jobs. Her power of variation in Vivaldian arias are strong, giving a great versatility to the posibilities of interpretation. She can make in "arie da capo" exclusive colors, following sistematically the score in first reading, and giving to us a spettacular "variazzioni" when returns "da capo", being always consistent with the dramaticity of the text and work, of the score and of the techniques, without making use of "pyrotechnics" that surprise but don't transmit what the compositon wanna tell us. The concertos also are great, do not lose anything to the vocal parts. The album repertoire is terrific. Like musicologist, collector and unconditional admirer of Vivaldi, I recommend.