Vivaldi - Farnace / Zanasi, Fernandez, Mingardo, Banditelli, Prina, Forte, Bettini, Le Concert des Nations, Savall [Import]

Antonio Vivaldi (Composer), Francesco Corselli (Composer), Jordi Savall (Conductor), Le Concert des Nations (Orchestra), Furio Zanasi (Performer), Adriana Fernandez (Performer), Sara Mingardo (Performer), Gloria Banditelli (Performer), Sonia Prina (Performer), Fuluvio Bettini Cinzia Forte (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Furio Zanasi, Adriana Fernandez, Sara Mingardo, Gloria Banditelli, Sonia Prina, et al.
• Orchestra: Le Concert des Nations
• Conductor: Jordi Savall
• Composer: Antonio Vivaldi, Francesco Corselli
• Audio CD (September 10, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Import
• Label: Alia Vox (Spain)
• ASIN: B0000634VT
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,613 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Requiem for a dead son, June 27, 2003

By 

Dr. Peter J. Glidden "KingFox" (Gli Angeli, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Vivaldi - Farnace / Zanasi, Fernandez, Mingardo, Banditelli, Prina, Forte, Bettini, Le Concert des Nations, Savall (Audio CD)

Vivaldi's vocal music will, I believe, eventually be adulated on a level approaching Bach's. For those who have labored through the rocky trails of bizarre, overpriced, and obscure recordings of his sacred music, recently revitalized by Robert King and Rinaldo Alessandrini, to name two, his operatic repertoire is a godsend, all the more so since these latter CD's have been favored by truly excellent singers. And no wonder. Who, other than Bach (and, to lesser extent, Handel), forges the indissassociable link between instrumental and vocal writing, giving us wind instruments that sigh and weep and cadenzas that soar like violins (or, in the case of our altos, like violas)? Jordi Savall's Farnace is bold. The more-or-less incomprehensible plot, with its gratuitious secondary love story, is simply the occasion for the music. This is the forgiveness we have to extend to these Venetian operas in order to enter them. When they are graced with such singers as these, the music opens our ear, heart, and mind and lets the trumpet call in. I bought this recording, (full-price!), for its three contralti, Sara Mingardo, Gloria Banditelli, and, my current favorite, Sonia Prina. Ms Mingardo and Ms. Banditelli are long-time heralds of the true contralto in baroque music, but only Ms. Prina, at the ripe old age of 29, makes my heart both thrill and melt. Perhaps less so in this recording than her Aristea in Alessandrini's Olympiade with her incomparably languid force, than here with her Marilyn Horne-worthy coloratura, but as part of this ensemble her major talent announces a great work. I will confess another miscasting in the role of the "Amazone d'Oriente" Berenice in Ms. Fernandez (too sweet for a murderous, tyranical queen! Her photo belies the role 100%) but the blame lies elsewhere than in her voice. The surprises came with Cinzi Forte, aptly named indeed, and her wind-swept mastery, and even more so, Furio Zanasi, whom I have not heard since Rene Jacob's legendary Guilio Cesare (Achilla). His full-throated approach to singing can leave one overwhelmed, but that is desireable here in a man bent with grief for his dead son. His 9:09 minute long aria "Gelido in ogni vena" is beyond the pale, metaphor intended.
There is much to discover in these three disks and Savall's additions from Corselli's version are ultimately enriching. Final note: the set photos are dramatic, baroque, and utterly splendid, making you regret having missed the performance and hoping fervently for its revival.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best opera recordings ever, August 14, 2004

By 

R. Rockwell (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Vivaldi - Farnace / Zanasi, Fernandez, Mingardo, Banditelli, Prina, Forte, Bettini, Le Concert des Nations, Savall (Audio CD)

I agree wholeheartedly with the reviewers below. I am relatively new to vocal music and I tend to respond on a wholly emotional level.

Some Baroque operas with lenghty recitives tend to bore me. But Savall and his cast have brought to life even those passages of the opera. The cast was recorded live in a Madrid opera house. Not all live recordings of operas are successful. But Savall and company have left me all atingle an hour after I finished listening.

I realize that two other reviewers have given much more lucid, analytical reviews, but I was just wowed by this recording so much.

I recommend this not just to baroque opera or Vivaldi lovers but as a CD that belongs in every classical music lover's collection.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally brilliant Vivaldi, June 23, 2004

By 

Bruce Bogin (rural France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vivaldi - Farnace / Zanasi, Fernandez, Mingardo, Banditelli, Prina, Forte, Bettini, Le Concert des Nations, Savall (Audio CD)

I agree wholeheartedly with reviewer Glidden's very expert review with the sole exception that I am madly in love with Sara Mingardo and although I am basically a soprano-lover, Sara is my absolute favorite Vivaldi singer. You should also purchase La Verità in Cimento, L'Olimpiade and Vespri per l'Assunzione di Maria Vergine. You will be totally convinced of her tremendous ability. The CDs come with an absolutely superb libretto. There is one minor flaw in this whole thing but by no means should you permit it to deter you from purchasing this work. The CDs are actually stored in slip-in jackets which are pages in the libretto. It cannot possibly be beneficial for the CDs to be put in and pulled out of these very tight jackets. Very definitely buy this work and then do yourself a big favor by buying a couple of empty jewel cases and storing the CDs in them as CDs should be stored. It will be well worth the small price (I buy them 3 for about $5).