Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
Il Bajazet (1735)
Renato Dolcini (baritone) – Bajazet
Sonia Prina (contralto) – Tamerlano
Raffeale Pe (counter tenor) – Andronico
Valeria La Grotta (soprano) – Idaspe
Loriana Castellano (mezzo) – Asteria
Lucia Cirillo (mezzo) – Irene
Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia/Federico Maria Sardelli
rec. live, 9 June, 2024, Teatro Malibran, Venice, Italy
Libretto available from Naxos website
Naxos 8.660616-18 [3 CDs: 159]
How wonderful it is to encounter one of Vivaldi’s operatic works in a recording which is theatrically smeared with greasepaint, figuratively speaking. In the past I have had the occasion to encounter several of the operas that have been released through Naïve‘s ongoing Complete Vivaldi Edition. The one drawback always seems to be that no matter how beautifully sung the operas are they seem to be rather clinical and studio-bound; see Arsilda (review). What we have in this release of Il Bajazet may not be the last word in stylish baroque vocalization, but it is Vivaldi enveloped in the blood, sweat and tears of his passionately creative music. If I was given a choice between this approach and that of beautiful but sterile clinical perfection, I would opt for this every time.
Il Bajzaet is what is normally termed as a pastiche, meaning that Vivaldi cobbled the opera together by reusing arias mostly from his own previous compositions, but also including some music that he lifted from other composer’s operas. For example Bajazet’s opening aria has been taken from Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade (1734); however, there are also compositions here originally by Hasse, Giacomelli and Broschi that have been expropriated. The booklet notes that approximately 80% of the opera is by Vivaldi.
This recording was made live during a single performance in Venice and was advantageously staged in the smaller venue of the Teatro Malibran, rather than the larger La Fenice. The sound engineering here is excellent. The continuo instruments are captured with transparency, while the orchestra is nicely balanced across the sound field and they don’t sound too distant, or lack presence in any way; much the same could be said of the singers, too. It is pleasant to hear them recorded with a feeling of space around the voices, as too often in current recordings one has the uncomfortable feeling that they are very closely situated to the microphones
The vocal achievements of the cast are decidedly mixed. Ultimately, no one singer provides vocal distinction. The rather starry cast on Fabio Biondi’s 2004 Virgin recording (review) possibly provides more vocal thrills than do this cast, but I must admit that I have not heard the Biondi recording so I cannot provide a definite opinion on the matter.
The title role of Bajazet is sung here by Renato Dolcini who wins full marks for really attempting to sing stylishly. His slightly mushy-sounding baritone can’t always manage to keep up to the pace set by the conductor in passages of rapid coloratura, yet, on the whole, I find his vocal and dramatic achievement to be a positive on this set.
Valeria La Grotta’s totally committed performance as Idaspe is another asset. She sings with real confidence throughout and even if her voice is at times a bit blustery, or her runs a little approximated but that is really of no consequence in the face of her fierce, enthralling performance.
Loriana Castellano’s rich mezzo is also quite enjoyable as Asteria, but she is definitely happier with the higher tessitura than in most of the lower passages, where her tone just seems to lose body.
Raffaele Pe offers some of the most dramatically charged singing of the recitatives. His lively delivery of them is a real treat and really holds the listener’s interest. I am less am less happy with his sound in the arias, where edginess and even some sourness start creeping into his voice.
Lucia Cirillo gives a fine account of Irene and she copes on the whole rather well with some extremely florid music which Vivaldi throws at the character.
The most disappointing contribution of all is from the most well known name from among this cast. Sonia Prina has been a valued contralto in some dozens of recordings from the past where her singing demonstrated power, beauty and resonance. However, on the evidence here, her voice has begun a decline from its formerly glorious state. She finds sustained pitch difficult to maintain and the core of her tone has almost deserted her, leaving behind a mostly hollow sound. In spite of this her facility in coloratura is unimpaired and she achieves a success mostly via her experience.
The opera is conducted by Federico Maria Sardelli who is using a critical edition of the score created in 2019 by Bernardo Ticci. Sardelli’s contribution is no small achievement. She binds everything together with dramatic savvy and delicacy, where it is required. Much of the lively atmosphere on this recording is directly attributable to her leadership.
The Naxos booklet offers the customary articles in English, accompanied by a few photos of the production. One is directed to the website to download the libretto which also includes an English translation.
Stage noises, applause and laughter from the audience all register on these CDs but on the whole I would rather hear Vivaldi in a real performance of warmth and life such as this one, rather than something that offers only a cooler standard of musicological perfection. I have not enjoyed a Vivaldi opera this much since last year’s fine CPO release of La fida ninfa (review).
Mike Parr
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