Nicola Porpora (1686-1758)
L’Angelica (1720)
Orlando – Teresa Iervolino (mezzo-soprano)
Medoro – Paola Valentina Molinari (soprano)
Angelica – Ekaterina Bakanova (soprano)
Licori – Gaia Petrone (mezzo-soprano)
Titiro – Sergio Foresti (baritone)
Tirsi – Barbara Massaro (soprano)
La Lira di Orfeo/Federico Maria Sardelli
rec. live 30th July – 3rd August 2021, 47th Valle d’Itria Festival, Palazzo Ducale, Martina Franca, Italy
Italian libretto with English translation enclosed
Reviewed as download from press review
Dynamic CDS7936.02 [2 CDs: 140]
Once a celebrated composer hailed as the equal of Handel, today largely forgotten and marginalised, Porpora is still remembered for his achievements as singing teacher. Among his pupils were two of the most famous castrati: Farinelli and Caffarelli. He also trained the young Joseph Haydn. In recent years some of Porpora’s music, mostly arias, has popped up in various recitals with premium singers like Cecilia Bartoli, Franco Fagioli, Andreas Scholl, Max Emanuel Cencic and others. I have become rather fond of his music and hope for more. There is no imminent lack of material; he composed more than fifty operas. L’Angelina, which here gets its premiere recording, is, strictly speaking, not an opera but a serenata, according to Wikipedia “a typically celebratory or eulogistic dramatic cantata for two or more singers and orchestra, performed outdoors in the evening by artificial light. Often these were large-scale works performed with minimal staging, an intermediate between a cantata and an opera. The main difference between a cantata and a serenata, around 1700, was that the serenata was performed outdoors and therefore instruments could be used which would be too loud in a small room (for example, trumpets, horns, and drums)”. L’Angelica was performed on 28 August 1720 (according to one source – the booklet says 4 September) in the Palazzo del Principe di Torella in Naples. Whether it was played outdoor or in some spacious venue I do not know. The libretto was written by Metastasio in the beginning of his illustrious career; there would be almost ten further collaborations between the two. He based it on Ariosto’s story of Angelica and Medoro but also inserted passages from Ariosto’s most famous work, Orlando furioso.
The structure of the work is in traditional Neapolitan style: a short Sinfonia, marked Spiritoso, followed by a number of arias interspersed with secco recitatives, sometimes quite extended but briskly delivered and with commendable involvement. The only departure from this pattern is the end of Part One, where Angelica and Medoro sing a duet before the curtain falls. Part Two opens with an even shorter sinfonia, Allegro. There is a break in the pattern a couple of times, however, where there are accompanied recitatives, and the intensity of the drama becomes tighter. This happens in Orlando’s “Perfidissima donna … Mi proverà spietato” (CD 2 tr. 13-14) and also in his mad scene which is the conclusion of the whole work (CD 2 tr. 23-26). Between these two examples there are another two pieces that stand out as exceptional. The first is Medoro’s eleven-minutes-long lamentation, or rather prayer to the moon “Bella diva all’ombre amica” (CD 2 tr. 20) which begins with a long cello solo and continues as a dialogue between the singing voice and the cello. It is very moving and displays Porpora’s keen sense for psychology and atmosphere. The second is Angelica’s long aria “Io dico all’antro addio” that follows immediately after Medoro’s lamentation. It is certainly one of the musical highlights in this work.
Generally speaking, the musical level is high, even though it may not be as memorable Handel’s. On the other hand, Handel’s operas have got so much more exposure, live or on records, so we (at least I) have learnt the music. Repeated exposure of Porpora’s works may change that. I do recommend lovers of Baroque opera to give L’Angelica a chance, especially since the performance is so excellent. Six young – OK, baritone Sergio Foresti is past 50 but still in youthful condition – singers on the threshold to international stardom, and the superb playing of La Lira di Orfeo under the versatile Baroque expert Federico Maria Sardelli is a guarantor of high standards. It should be pointed out that the orchestration is very colourful with lots of exposition of the wind instruments, that the live recording is good and that the audience is well-behaved and make themselves heard only with disciplined applause after the arias. The booklet is informative with two long essays in Italian and English, a libretto with translation and a few photos from the performance, which reminds us that there is also a DVD version available.
I wouldn’t mind if Dynamic or any other adventurous record company would fish out some more Porpora. While waiting for that, this world premiere recording is an appetising taster.
Göran Forsling
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