Search - Daniela del Monaco, Guiseppe Naviglio, Francesco Cavalli :: Cavalli: Statira, Principessa Di Persia

Worth discovering

Nico Deloddere | Belgium | 02/11/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"René Jacobs made me discover Cavalli. 'Calisto', 'Xerse' and 'Giasone' are all recordings I often return to. So I knew what to expect: a wealth of arioso's, aria's and lamento's in a story with a lot of dressings-up, misunderstandings and comical touches.

My expectations were greatly met, although the libretto is not so strong as 'Calisto', and also not so funny as 'Xerse'. But there is a wealth of great music, especially for Statira. Her entrance aria 'Notte ascondi e tesori' is first-rate Cavalli.

And the third act lamento 'Se mi fuggi il mio ben' is another highlight. Of course, these arias could not be better interpreted as Roberta Invernizzi does. She is a truly gifted singer and gives a touching portrayal of the Persian princess. I knew Invernizzi's Proserpina on the Garrido 'Orfeo' recording and she was the main motivation for me to buy these CD's.

The other singers were all new to me, and they are up to the task. There are no weak links, and special mention must go the Giuseppe Naviglio who takes the three bass roles and Maria Ercolano who plays a warrior who disguises himself as a woman, and then goes to battle dressed up as a man. She gets the best aria in the second act, another lamento 'Menfi, mia Patria'.

Other typical feature of the Venetian opera is the funny old lady, sung by a tenor. However, the black servant Vaffrino has the best comic lines. What do you think of his answer 'I would gladly heap my coals on her lovely white lilies, how fine would it be to see snow turn to coal through my black ink.' when asked if he likes Ermosilla?

So there is much to enjoy here, although I would recommand to start with Jacobs' Calisto if you are new to Cavalli.

But if you love Venetian opera of the 17th century, you can't go wrong with this Statira."

Deleitable Cavalli

Maria Isabel Rivera | Puerto Rico | 05/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Amantes de la ópera barroca encontrarán en "La Statira" una

grabación formidable y de corte muy auténtico. En Statira hayamos un argumento cuajado de amor, erotismo, pasión y coraje, creando el contraste típico de la época entre una deliciosa sofisticación dramático-musical y la comedia del vulgo. Darío y su hija, personajes históricos, se mezclan en un argumento lleno de identidades desconocidas y líos amorosos con príncipes egipcios, reyes árabes, moros esclavos, y enfermeras ninfómanas para crear una obra llena de vigor y musicalidad.

Capella de Turchini se encarga de proveer un acompañamiento musical íntimo pero bien compuesto, muy diferente a los que estamos acostumbrados a escuchar con Jacobs y sus versiones del gran Cavalli. La música es, simplemente, hermosa. Desde el prólogo al coro final, los cantantes, todos italianos se encargan de representar de manera genuina y más que competente a los personajes y las situaciones representadas. No todos serán de primer orden, pero sí buenos actores y cantantes. Hay que destacar la genial colaboración de Roberta Invernizzi como Statira; una voz sensual y melancólica que hace del papel un tour de force. Giusseppe Naviglio, un bajo más que imponente con su genial interpretación de Darío y Giusseppe de Vittorio, tenor, que nos deleita con su participación en el papel de la Elissena, la enfermera vieja y ocurrente que se lamenta de sus achaques y su mala suerte amorosa. En fin, Statira es una joya que debe formar parte de la colección de cualquier fanático de Francesco Cavalli..."

Love Aspirations Unlimited

John D. Pilkey | Ottawa, KS USA | 02/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A brilliant performance of an amazing work of art, this recording ranks near the top of my collection of about 100 opera CD sets. Despite the usual early reliance on high-pitched voices to sing male as well as female parts, a number of male singers add variety to the parts of King Darius, the blackamoor Vaffrino and his master Nicarco and Elissena, an old woman sung by a tenor. The political plot is simple. Darius' Persia is hard-pressed by hostile Armenia and needs the help of Arabia to defend itself. This simplicity is counterpointed by a bewildering concatenation of aspiring love relationships. Darius' daughter Statira is beloved both by Cloridaspe King of Arabia and Usimano King of Egypt, who is dressed incognito as Statira's female servant Ermosilla. Cloridaspe is loved both by Statira and the servant Floralba. As though that were not enough, Ermosilla--the specious female--is beloved by both Vaffrino and his master Nicarco.

Throughout the libretto these love aspirations are delivered in a fine frenzy of poetry in keeping with the Monteverdi-Cavalli tradition. I approached Cavalli as the stylistic link between Monteverdi and Lully; but Cavalli remains much closer to Monteverdi than to anything in the French Baroque Lully dating two decades later than "Statira." The performance is notable for the lucid Italian enunciation of all the singers. In a comic part as Vaffrino, Rosario Totaro is especially entertaining."