Cavalli: Sospiri d'amore - Opera duets and arias. Venice, 1644-1666

Two bright talents to have emerged from Italy recently, Giulia Semenzato and Raffaele Pe, join forces for a dazzling collection of operatic arias and duets by that Baroque master of amorous emotions, Francesco Cavalli. Soprano and countertenor are supported by the modern master of Italian Baroque style, Claudio Cavina, who directs La Venexiana.

Working in Venice with some of the best Italian librettists around in the mid-17th century, Cavalli mined rich emotional seams in his operas conjuring up a stream of productions which enjoyed great artistic and financial success. His influence travelled far and wide, and this included Rameau, Lully, Handel and Purcell in the Baroque period alone. With five full-scale duets amongst solo arias, ariosos and recitar cantando, this new Glossa recording gloriously shows off the talents of the Venetian, Semenzato, and the Lombard, Pe, who have been gathering important stage experience in the operas of Cavalli. Space is also found for one of the vocal genres which Cavalli can lay claim to instigating - the dramatic lamento, here in the form of 'Lassa, che fò' from 'Statira'. A further intriguing picture of Cavalli and his operatic inspiration is to be found in the booklet essay written by Olivier Lexa.