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Reviewer:
David Vickers
Sara Mingardo is
the headline act but features in only three out of seven chamber duets. The
unifying element is the expert accompaniments of Cenacolo Musicale, most usually
a trio of theorbo, cello and harpsichord, with some occasional variety of
instrumentation. Steffani wrote more than 70 duets, so three of them are the tip
of the iceberg: Lea Desandre and Silvia Frigato combine sensitively in
Begl’occhi, oh Dio, non più, an accused lover’s imploration for the
suspicious shepherdess Clori to stop weeping; Ribellatevi, o pensieri is
communicated wittily by sopranos Giorgia Cinciripi and Lisa Castrignanò; there
is dancelike zest in Desandre and Loriana Castellano’s playful account of
Testimonianza di Fede, even if their voices are a shade strident for such
intimately scaled and subtle music. Ming ardo and Francesca Biliotti produce a
striking compound of alto sonorities in Lotti’s Crudeltà rimproverata,
which smoulders with unfulfilled erotic longing as an unrequited lover bewails
the hard heart of the cruel Mirtilla. Lotti’s skill at creating interweaving
melancholic lines is to the fore in Mingardo and Castellano’s rapt performance
of Querela amorosa. The audible epicentre of the programme is Mingardo’s
emotive rendition of ‘Fuggi pur, o crudele’, an aria over a descending four-note
ostinato bass from Francesco Lucio’s opera L’Euridamante (Venice, S Moisè,
1654). Gioele Gusberti’s versatile cello takes centre stage in Bononcini’s
Sempre piango/Sempre rido; its depiction of quarre lling lovers is sung with
bittersweet tenderness by Mingardo and Lucia Napoli (whose part demands several
little solo arias). Bononcini’s qualities are done less convincing justice by
Castri gnanò and Cinciripi’s unsteady intonation, somewhat pinched timbres and
rhythm ical looseness in Chi d’Amor tra le cat ene. The revolving door of
eight singers is inevitably a mixed bag, but in general these performances
confirm the indubitable richness of the repertory.
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