Che puro ciel: The Rise of Classical Opera

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Jacobs and Bejun Mehta unleash the primal energies buried in magnificent yet largely forgotten operas...Jacobs's abrupt tempo twists, the instrumentalists' boldness and the chorus's power make... — BBC Music Magazine, February 2014, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 28th Oct 2013
Catalogue No: HMC902172
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Length: 69 minutes

BBC Music Magazine

February 2014

Opera Choice
Gramophone Magazine

February 2014

Editor's Choice
Gramophone Awards

2014

Finalist - Recital

This release includes a digital booklet

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Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice: Aria Che puro ciel!

Work length6:06

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Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice: Coro Vieni a' regni del riposo

Work length1:46

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Mozart: Ascanio in Alba: Recitativo Perché tacer degg'io?

Work length4:33

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Mozart: Ascanio in Alba: Aria Cara, lontano ancora

Work length5:01

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Traetta: Antigona: Aria Ah, se lo vedi piangere

Work length3:17

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Hasse, J A: Il Trionfo di Clelia: Aria Dei di Roma, ah perdonate!

Work length4:32

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Bach, J C: Artaserse: Recitativo accompagnato No, che non ha la sorte

Work length1:58

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Bach, J C: Artaserse: Aria Vo solcando un mar crudele

Work length6:45

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Traetta: Ifigenia in Tauride: Dormi Oreste!

Work length7:47

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Gluck: Ezio: Aria Pensa a serbarmi, o cara

Work length5:07

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Mozart: Ascanio in Alba: Aria Ah di sì nobil alma

Work length3:42

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Traetta: Antigona: Aria Ah, sì, da te dipende

Work length5:00

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Gluck: Ezio: Aria Se il fulmine sospendi

Work length3:27

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Mozart: Mitridate: Recitativo accompagnato Vadasi...

Work length1:23

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Mozart: Mitridate: Aria Già dagli occhi il velo è tolto

Work length9:19

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About
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In the famous Preface to Alceste (1767), Christoph Willibald Gluck and his librettist Ranieri de' Calzabigi posited a new direction for opera. They spoke of moving beyond Baroque forms, of striving for a new naturalism in opera. They wanted, in Calzabigi's lovely phrase, to liberate the language of the heart. Taken from the height of this Reform period, the arias on this disc reveal composers exploring and experimenting, at struggle and at play, as they create the new forms that bring to opera the noble simplicity of the Classical era.

Reviews

February 2014

Jacobs and Bejun Mehta unleash the primal energies buried in magnificent yet largely forgotten operas...Jacobs's abrupt tempo twists, the instrumentalists' boldness and the chorus's power make such ensemble sections as electrifying as Mehta's solos. This is a daring and important retelling of the story of Classical opera.

CD Review 16th November 2013

a well-chosen showcase, Mehta’s dramatic instincts are effectively deployed, and the accompaniments in the recitatives are handled with all the fluency we’ve come to expect from Jacobs complete Mozart opera recordings

21st December 2013

if you have an ear for the tragic passions beneath the music’s formal contours, you will succumb to its expressive grace, especially with interpreters as persuasive as Mehta and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin under René Jacobs.

February 2014

Always acutely alive to text and dramatic situation...Mehta's dramatic involvement elevates some rather routine invention in the items by the teenage Mozart...The most enjoyable, intelligently planned countertenor recital to have come my way in years.

April 2014

Mehta’s phrasing is impeccable in the melodically captivating ‘Pensa a serbarmi, o cara’ while the assertive ‘Se il fulmine sospendi’ affords another opportunity for heroic display with its trumpet-like coloratura. Raphael Alpermann supplies imaginative continuo support on a period piano without straying beyond the bounds of propriety. Highly recommended.

14th November 2013

Mehta shows how [coloratura passages] can have real expressive point and dramatic purpose, while his purity of line in quiet passages is ravishing...René Jacobs's meticulous accompaniments with the Akademie für Alte Musik add the finishing touches.

Opera Now

Mehta tackles the tumultuous emotions and bravura technicalities of the great accompanied recitatives and arias that these innovative composers provided for the finest singers of the age. He provides solid style and a strong sense of purpose.

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