Il Tamerlano

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. To meet

the wishes of the Accademia Filarmonica that gave him the commission, Vivaldi chose to set a libretto by Agostino Piovene, who was famed throughout Italy (and even in England - for Handel also set his Tamerlano), and the composer decided on the form of the pasticcio, enabling him to profile his principal singers by bringing in arias from his own works (eight of them), also from operas by other com-posers such as Giacomelli (three), Farinelli's brother Bros-chi, (two), and Hasse (three).

Bernardo Ticci's edition used in this recording also inserts five further insertion arias that were definitely sung at the 1735 performance, but are absent from the score. (All the recitatives however are in Vivaldi's hand.)

In spite of the composite nature of the work, Il Tamerlano is an accomplished musical drama presenting a wide pa-lette of emotions and colours inspired by elements of love and war. Particularly moving is Irene's famous aria of des-pair 'Sposa son disprezzata' from Act II of Giacomelli's opera, sung here by Sophie Rennert, also Timur's impassioned 'Dov'è la figlia?' (Vivaldi's own aria from Act II, sung by Bruno Taddia), and 'Barbaro traditor', Bajazet's Act III aria by Broschi, sung here by Filippo Mineccia in

the role of Bajazet.