Cross-gender disguises and comic banter liven up the melodrama in this presentation of Antonio Cesti’s famous opera, thanks to a spirited and virtuosic traversal by a mostly Italian cast.
Ottavio Dantone
Opera Album Review: An Extremely Effective Operatic “Pasticcio” Made by Vivaldi from His Own Arias and Those by Other Composers
Vivaldi put this opera together using, in part, arias associated with two famous singers: the “Moorish” (i.e., half-African) Vittorio Tesi and the castrato Farinelli.