With Siface: l’amor castrato, countertenor Filippo Mineccia, together with Javier Ulises Illán and Nereydas, presents a short imaginary pasticcio opera reflecting the music-making and life of the contralto castrato known by that stage name. Born Giovanni Francesco Grossi in 1653 in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Siface was acclaimed for his exciting musical performances, yet who became famous also for the tragedy of his love life. He was called upon to sing in operas and oratorios by the likes of Stradella, Pasquini, Bassani, Pallavicino and Agostini. For a long time in the service of Francesco II d’Este in Modena, Siface was an active member of the musical “ducal circuit” in the Italian peninsula, even, on one occasion, additionally being sent to England, where he performed before monarchy, and met and impressed Henry Purcell.

Like all castrati, Gaetano Berenstadt's hormones had gone crazy, but Berenstadtis were particularly strong. With a height of about 185 cm, he is said to have had 130 cm long legs, arms that were far too short and a corpulent belly; a field day for the caricaturists. But when he stood on the opera stage and sang, he was idolised.

Between 1769 and 1773, Mozart made three travels to Italy, under the guidance of his father Leopold. The present program traces the stages especially of his first two trip from 1769 to 1771, during which the young Mozart played an important role in Milan's musical life, and reconstructs the most important musical encounters. Arias from Mitridate, Ascanio in Alba (written for the Teatro Regio Ducale Milan) and Betulia liberata (written for Padua) can be heard here. The program is rounded off by the musical background that Mozart found on the peninsula, illustrated by arias from operas by Guglielmi, Myslivecek and Gluck - all representatives of a style and a search for language that was precisely the reason why the "viaggio in Italia" was an essential stage in the training of a young composer.

The innovations of Niccolò Jommelli (1714 74) transformed mid-18th-century Italian opera just as much as Gluck’s slightly later so-called reforms, but his tercentenary passed by largely uncelebrated; this recital album was recorded in 2014 after a concert tour around Spain and presents a cross-section of arias from seven different cantatas, oratorios and operas written between 1749 and 1768.

Ercole su’l Termodonte was Vivaldi’s 16th opera, appearing in 1723 in Rome. There was a Papal ban on women appearing on stage at the time and so the opera was sung by seven castrati and a male tenor, the latter singing the title role, Hercules. Portraying either the Amazons of myth or Greek warriors, the castrati must have been quite a scene and made quite a sound. Conducted by a Catholic priest–Vivaldi himself–with red hair, the entire proposition boggles the mind.

Les Castrats furent les premières « stars » de l'histoire de la musique. Ils tenaient souvent le rôle-titre (et à Rome tous les rôles féminins des opéras), créant sur le plateau une véritable compétition de virtuosité et d'émotion entre les chanteurs, dont le public était l'arbitre par ses demandes de bis. Et si trois des meilleurs interprètes de notre temps faisaient eux aussi ce Concours de Virtuosité ? Voici Valer Sabadus (Arad, 1986), Filippo Mineccia (Florence, 1981), et Samuel Mariño (Caracas, 1993). Airs virtuoses, duos d'amour et trios combatifs faisaient triompher les Castrats : à chacun de trouver son vainqueur !

During his lifetime, Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816) was in fact more famous than Mozart, and his operas were veritable hits. Nowadays, it is in the hands of experts such as Florence native Filippo Mineccia to restore his unjustly neglected compositional output. With his fine countertenor voice, Mineccia presents a collection of outstanding opera arias in a recording which for sure will quickly deserve a prominent place in the shelves (or hard drives) of the many Italian Baroque opera lovers. Mineccia has found in the Lisbon-based ensemble Divino Sospiro under the direction of Massimo Mazzeo an exquisite support. Born in Florence, FIlippo Mineccia began his musical studies very early in the prestigious School of Music of Fiesole, singing in the polifonic choir.

Carlo Ipata, inveterate searcher out of unjustly forgotten musical scores, directs Il Bajazet, the important three-act opera by Francesco Gasparini - which shows marked influences of the Roman Arcadian School of the Baroque. Ipata conducts the orchestra of his own Auser Musici for this new Glossa recording, made in conjunction with performances which took place at last year’s Opera Festival in Barga.

Naples was famous throughout Europe in the 17th century for the variety of musical performances that took place during the course of the church year. Christmas was one of the feasts that was celebrated with particular splendour. On the present CD, the Ensemble Odyssee under the direction of Andrea Friggi introduces Nocturnes and Pastorals composed by Gaetano Veneziano (1656-1716) for the liturgy of Christmas services.

Two countertenors for Pergolesis Stabat Mater: this is the resurrection of the first performance in France of this work, introduced by two Italian Castratos from the Royal Chapel of Louis XV, who were enthusiastic propagators of it both at Court and at the Concert Spirituel. Paris was conquered and saw in it the revolutionary mark of a Neapolitan genius, who alas passed away so young. Pergolesi, shortly before his death at the age of 26 and affected by illness, expressed the Virgins suffering with the language of passion more typical of opera.

These Stabat maters represent a deep-rooted exploration of the solemnity of the sacred and the operatic aspect of musical writing, both in the sombre and plaintive tonality of F minor. Comparing these masterpieces, that of Antonio Vivaldi (1712) and that of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1736), allowing them to resonate in the acoustics of the Royal Chapel of the Château de Versailles, just as they could have been heard in the 18th century, inspires and awakens a desire for balance between internalised faith – spirituality, and externalised faith – splendour. Pergolesi's work was very popular in France. Given on the occasion of the feast of the Virgin, the Stabat mater dolorosa is based on a 13th century liturgical text by Jacopone da Todi, reintroduced by Pope Benedict XIII in 1727.

Thanks to this tenth recording by Accademia Bizantina in the central core of the Vivaldi Edition, Il Tamerlano can now take its justly earned place in the Vivaldi catalogue, helping to renew the name and reputation of Timur, the Tartar emperor whose memory was later overshadowed by the Ottoman sultan. Vivaldi's opera was first performed during the Venice Carnival of 1735, and resurrected in 2005 under the title Bajazet. Here, under the musical direction of Ottavio Dantone, we have a sextet of dramatically engaged virtuoso soloists, and an orchestra that is perfectly aware of Vivaldi's musical dialectic. All the soloists are superbly well equipped to deal with the Red Priest's acrobatic and inventive writing here seen in the context of several of his contemporaries.

En 1516 Ludovico Ariosto publicó su poderosa epopeya Orlando furioso, una secuencia de aventuras heroicas entrelazadas. La historia del caballero Orlando, enloquecido por un amor decepcionado por la princesa Angélica, sirve a toda la gama de emociones y rápidamente alcanzó un gran éxito en toda Europa. Se crearon decenas de óperas en torno a Orlando y otros personajes de la epopeya de Ariosto. El contratenor Filippo Mineccia ha reunido un variado programa de arias de óperas de Steffani, Porpora, Vivaldi, Handel, Mele, Wagenseil y Millico en torno a la figura de "Roland el Furioso", en el que despliega brillantemente todas las facetas creativas de su voz.

This exciting studio recording is the second project resulting from the collaboration between Marie-Nicole Lemieux Karina Gauvin and conductor and harpsichordist Alan Curtis' award winning Complesso Barocco. Giulio Cesare is one of Handel's most renowned operas and the role of Giulio Cesare is considered to be one of the most beautiful roles in the baroque opera. The full vocal cast is stunning and Alan Curtis shows once again why he is considered one of the world's leading Handel specialists.