Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
Arsilda RV 700 (1716)
Benedetta Mazzucato (mezzo) – Arsilda
Vasilisa Berzhanskaya (mezzo) – Lisea
Nicolò Balducci (counter tenor) – Barzane
Marie Lys (soprano) – Mirinda
Leonardo Cortellazzi (tenor) – Tamese
Shira Patchornik (soprano) – Nicandro
José Coca Loza (bass) – Cisardo
Vokalensemble Basel
La Cetra Barockocrchester/Andrea Marcon
rec. 2024, Martinkirche, Basel, Switzerland
Includes the full libretto with English and French translations
Volume 74 of the Vivaldi Edition
Naïve OP8676 [3 CDs: 247]
Naïve’s ongoing complete Vivaldi edition has reached number 74 with this new (Jan 2025) release of the world premiere recording of the opera Arsilda, fresh from its first publication in a critical edition in 2024 by Bernardo Ticci. This is the operas’ first commercial recording.
Vivaldi’s operas are beginning to find new audiences after centuries of gathering dust in libraries. There have been quite a lot of wonderful surprises in past issues from this series. Vivaldi is nothing if not filled with variety and invention. Arsilda can worthily sit alongside some of the other highlights in the complete series such as La Verita in Cimento, L’Olimpiade, and own my personal favorite, Motezuma (not yet part of NAÏVE’s series but available elsewhere review).
The plot involves the usual love complications along with royal personages in disguise in ancient Cilicia (also known at one time as Tarsus) which was the capital of the kingdom of Pontus in Asia Minor. Vivaldi’s music has colour and depth not to mention the anticipated requirements of virtuosity and even glamour where required. The Venetian press were not overly welcoming to Arsilda, possibly because Vivaldi was working with a new and relatively untried producer, one Pietro Ramponi. An unnamed critic wrote regarding this opera that it was “A reheated soup”.
The first thing to strike me about this performance is the absolute excellence of the orchestral playing by the period instrument ensemble La Cetra under their music director Andrea Marcon. Hearing the way Marcon launches into the overture with gusto and a very firm attack is representative of their playing here. In the past I have enjoyed several recordings by this team, most especially a stunning album by French soprano Patricia Petitbon on DG called “Nouveau Monde”. Their approach to this music is an equally fine achievement and one of the chief delights of the set. They have been recorded with rather a lot of reverberation inside a Swiss church. It is more noticeable in the recitatives (especially with the harpsichord) than in any of the orchestral pieces or the arias.
The finest of the singers is Vasilisa Berzhanskaya who is a recent bright light on the world stage today. She was the chief asset of in a rather dreadful production of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Sivilgia on a DVD from Vienna (review). It is good to see her fine lyric mezzo being put to good use again as Lisea. She demonstrates an easy virtuosity and a keen sense of musical imagination. Check out her first act aria (Disc 1, track 14) for a good demonstration of her talents.
Benedetta Mazzucato as Arsilda reveals a gentle-toned mezzo which is ideal for lyric roles such as Cherubino, Dorabella and so forth. She is a definite asset here. So too is Marie Lys’s assumption of Mirinda. Her singing is spirited with a tone that glints with a fine, glassy edge while she playfully conquers the pyrotechnics of the role. To a somewhat lesser degree Shira Patchornik demonstrates an effective soprano as Nicandro. Her slightly bottled sound adds a nice contrast to Lys’ brighter tone.
NicolòBalducci is a talented counter-tenor who manages his role as well as any modern counter-tenor could when you consider that it was composed for a soprano castrato. However, his slightly edgy timbre in the highest range is not a sound that I find particularly ingratiating. Leonardo Cortellazzi plays the old King Tamese (who spends much of the opera in disguise as a gardener). Cortellazzi has a slightly dryish tenor which is convincing within the scope of his interpretation of the older man. His vocal gifts include an especially warm timbre in the lower range but as he ascends the staff his voice loses a bit of amplitude. This is not a major concern because the role doesn’t often venture above the staff.
It is a distinct pleasure to encounter the wonderful bass José Coca Loza as Cisardo. His virile sounding bass possesses real flexibility to deal neatly with the coloratura that Vivaldi throws at him. As long ago as 2019 Coca Loza impressed me in a small role for the very first opera review that I wrote for MusicWeb , a Blu-Ray of a Salzburg Festival production of Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri (review).
The box set presents the opera over 3 CDs with an extensive booklet containing the full Italian libretto alongside English and French translations. It might be a stretch to refer to Arsilda as an essential Vivaldi opera but this recording is certainly an important addition to Naïve’s ongoing series.
Mike Parr
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