Pygmalion Pichon - Stravaganza D'amore - DVD

Francesco Cavalli, a natural successor to Monteverdi, was the most famous and influential Italian opera composer during the mid-17th century. Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister to the king, commissioned Cavalli to create a Parisian spectacle to celebrate the wedding of the 'Sun King' Louis XIV and the Infanta of Spain. Ercole amante ('Hercules in Love') was the flattering subject chosen for this regal extravaganza combining larger-than-life characters with mythology, and genuine human emotions with natural and cosmic phenomena. The result is a sumptuous Baroque spectacle, conceived on a vast scale in this lavish production by directors Valerie Lesort and Christian Hecq.

The first masterpiece of sacred music is undoubtedly the mythical Vespers of Monteverdi, first published in Venice in 1610. Quintessential of the great Italian polychoral style of writing, with it's choirs, initially distributed throughout the entire volume of the Basilica San Marco for spectacular effects, the Vespers are here raised to the heavenly spheres by Raphael Pichon every aspect of the Royal Chapel of Versailles (1710) is being put to use to magnify the music echoing from the Royal Tribune to that of the Great Organ. The Pygmalion choir and orchestra stands flawless, the soloists are overwhelming and the emotional power released by this interpretation set in space and light is stunning it's beauty seems never ending. The choral monumental piece by Monteverdi, which crystallizes the height of the baroque, meets the highest standards defended by Raphaël Pichon. To be more intimate with God than ever before

Two very rare operas in one act. Pigmalione was Gaetano Donizetti's first opera, written to a libretto by Simeone Antonio Sografi in just two weeks at the age of nineteen. The Inchlyrical sceneInch Pigmalione, as Donizetti himself defined it, is the composer's only approach to a mythological subject and tells the story of a sculptor whose statue becomes alive. The main role is sung by Antonino Siragusa, who gives a masterful interpretation, especially in the long and significant recitatives, and displays a polished and colourful voice. Excellent also is the Japanese soprano Aya Wakizono, Galatea, whose enticing voice well suits the requirements of her short part. Che originali! Is a little-known farce in a single act on a libretto by Gaetano Rossi, and was, from the very beginning, one of Giovanni Simone Mayr's most successful operas. The opera tells the story of a music fanatic, Don Febeo in his house everybody must know and love music. Emanuele Sinisi's beautiful sets are almost surreal but well suited to Febeo's bizarre affair. The direction is humorous, often verging on the grotesque, in line with the style of the farce but always elegant and well-structured from a dramaturgical point of view. The protagonist, Febeo, is entrusted to Bruno de Simone, an excellent actor endowed with a clear and precise voice, and a master in the fast spelled-out passages.