Attilio Cremonesi, La Cetra, Antonio Abete, Cinzia Forte - Giovanni Paisiello: La Serva Padrona (2007)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 337 Mb | Total time: 60:14 | Scans included
Classical | Label: ZigZag Territoirres | # ZZT0701002 | Recorded: 2006
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 337 Mb | Total time: 60:14 | Scans included
Classical | Label: ZigZag Territoirres | # ZZT0701002 | Recorded: 2006
While Pergolesi’s vivacious intermezzo of 1733 – a crucial staging post in the development of opera buffa – has a toehold in the repertoire, Paisiello’s 1781 setting of the same silly libretto for Catherine the Great is virtually unknown. The more sophisticated Paisiello can’t match Pergolesi for verve and unassuming lightness of touch. His fast arias tend to be more emphatic, less melodically catchy. But there is plenty to admire in the polished craftsmanship, the colourful writing for woodwind (including prominent clarinets) and, in two of Serpina’s arias, a vein of soulful lyricism characteristic of the Age of Sentiment.