Customer Reviews

Vivaldi: Opera Arias and Sinfonias

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With the resurgence in popularity of early music, especially Handel and Bach, I find it odd that the vocal music of Antonio Vivaldi isn't experiencing something similar. With a couple of exceptions, for example this disc or Cecilia Bartoli's wonderful Vivaldi Album (not quite as wonderful as Ms. Kirkby's, however), Vivaldi's operas are still virtually unknown. This is a shame--Vivaldi's vocal music is both beautiful and virtuosic, and the perfect vehicle for a soprano (or any other voice part) to give us a recital which shows off their technical abilities while not boring the listener with pieces they have heard thousands of times before.

Emma Kirkby does just that--the faster songs and the ornaments are tossed off with such ease that one forgets how difficult the music is that she is singing; if any other singer were attempting these pieces, they would sound as if they were about to collapse from exhaustion. But not Kirkby, who has never sounded more at ease or beautiful. Goodman conducts sensitively and intelligently, and the orchestra performs well, important since much of the disc is composed of Sinfonias from Vivaldi's operas.

What an exciting CD! Emma Kirkby's voice is very clear and magical. The ornamentation is clean and well executed. The Bradenburg Consort is as usual immaculate in their execution of these pieces. Vivaldi fans out there should be impressed with this CD.