Sonia Prina, laBarocca & Ruben Jais - Heroes in Love (2017)

There is definitely no lack of heroic roles in the Gluckian repertory apart from the very well-known Orfeo from Orfeo ed Euridice: many memorable parts were assigned by this composer for the alto voice (either male castratos or female contraltos) - and it is precisely this repertory, written for excellent interpreters and yet still rarely performed today, which is celebrated on this album. As a consequence of a specific historical st of circumstances, Gluck had the good fortune to work with the final alto singers of his generation: not only Gaetano Guadagni, but also Giovanni Carestini, Vittoria Tesi and many others. Until the beginning of the 18th century, the contralto register was the one especially favored for heroic male roles and for those of heroines en travesti. Much of this repertory remains unexplored and of course unrecorded: with this new programme, Glossa tries to help filling a somewhat unexplainable gap. Sonia Prina, one of the leading altos of her generation, teams up with the fine Milanese laBarocca orchestra, conducted by Ruben Jais, for her first full-scale opera recital album: and this after having sung the leading role in Handel's pasticcio Catone, very recently released on Glossa, and anticipating her mind-blowing performance in Silla, another Handelian opera, with Fabio Biondi.

TRACKLIST
01. La Sofonisba, Wq. 5: Se in campo armato - Sonia Prina, laBarocca & Ruben Jais
02. Demofoonte, Wq. 3: Sperai vicino il lido - Sonia Prina, laBarocca & Ruben Jais
03. Cleonice, Wq. 2 (Demetrio): Dal suo gentil sembiante - Sonia Prina, laBarocca & Ruben Jais
04. La Semiramide riconosciuta, Wq. 13: Sinfonia - laBarocca & Ruben Jais
05. La Sofonisba, Wq. 5: Nobil onda - Sonia Prina, laBarocca & Ruben Jais
06. Ezio, Wq. 15: Se fedele mi brama il regnante - Sonia Prina, laBarocca & Ruben Jais
07. Ippolito, Wq. 9: Se tu vedessi come vegg'io - Sonia Prina, laBarocca & Ruben Jais
08. La Semiramide riconosciuta, Wq. 13: Tradita, sprezzata - Sonia Prina, laBarocca & Ruben Jais
09. Ipermestra, Wq. 7: Sinfonia - laBarocca & Ruben Jais
10. La Sofonisba, Wq. 5: M'opprime, m'affanna - Sonia Prina, laBarocca & Ruben Jais
11. Telemaco, Wq. 34: Ah! Non turbi il mio riposo - Sonia Prina, laBarocca & Ruben Jais
12. Ezio, Wq. 15: Se il fulmine sospendi - Sonia Prina, laBarocca & Ruben Jais