Niobe, Regina di Tebe.

It look very like there will be soon a new CD !  

Spoiler:

 

Brilliant!!   Merci infiniment, mon!  

A.

I had yesterday concert myself, so I don´t know exactly whether there was a live broadcast. Was it?

Now, I hope, this link will work  eventually...

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Here is a little piece to listen :

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The video will be in the web from 17th November, 10 a.m. on

Update in the  Extra Gallery  

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Karina Gauvin, Niobe
Philippe Jaroussky, Anfione
Amanda Forsythe, Manto
Christian Immler, Tiresia
Aaron Sheehan, Clearte
Terry Wey, Creonte
Jesse Blumberg, Poliferno
José Lemos, Nerea

Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Leitung Paul O´Dette und Stephen Stubbs.

Hurrah! - The waiting is almost over! The 5. of January 2015 is the release date...

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M-wah! Tusen takk, Morten!

A.

You're very welcome, Artemis!

Agostino Steffani · Niobe, Regina di Tebe

The new CD · Recension on Radio WDR  (German) · 14.01.2015

WDR · listen to: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

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A small overview > the concerts > January 2015 Live !

18  January 2015 Spain · Madrid, Auditorio Nacional
20  January 2015 France · Mérignac, Le Pin Galant
22  January 2015 France · Versailles, Opéra Royal
24  January 2015  Paris · Theatre des Champs Elysées
27  January 2015 Netherlands · Amsterdam (Pays-Bas), Concertgebouw
29  January 2015 France · Toulouse, La Halle aux Grains
31  January 2015 Germany · Dortmund, Konzerthaus
= hopefully, correctly?

(I wish I could go to a concert).

I found a small video on Warner Classics (with costumes):
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Oh, what a delight it is to finally being able to listen to the recording of "Niobe Regina di Tebe" in all it's splendor! The triple CD arrived through the post today! What a fantastic opera this is! Shear bliss to the nervous system! It's been more than three years of waiting, since I first heard the music of Agostino Steffano for the first time, through the streaming of the original Boston staging in 2011. Then came the recording in Bremen in 2013, but nothing was released then, but finally, now in 2015 we can hear the results. Pure magic, I must say! It's been worth the wait. The biggest of many highlights is the spheric aria that Philippe sings in his role as Anfione "Sfere Amiche".                                                                                      Good things come to those who wait!

Here are a couple of great reiews.

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As Anfione, Philippe Jaroussky was phenomenal. The French countertenor demonstrated his impeccable coloratura in the fiendishly difficult “Trà bellici carmi” but it was the contemplative aria “Dell'alma stanca… Sfere amiche”, all delicately chiselled phrases, exquisitely accompanied by the violas, that showcased his vocal qualities at their best. This was the highlight of the whole evening


The article includes this. Is there another recording?
Maarten Engeltjes’ bland alto miscast as the martial Creonte

Temp,

The Bachtrack review is for a concert performance in Amsterdam. On the recording, Creonte is sung by Terry Wey.

A.

Thank you, Artemis. That explains it. Mind you, I find Terry Wey rather bland too (to my taste). Did you see the concert performance that was on youtube for quite a long time? I thought that was the recording for the CD but it doesn’t seem to be. There are quite a few arias in the CD that I don’t recognise, and the instrumentation sounds different in places.

And what a beautifully presented CD this is!!

Anfione could have been written for Philippe but it is a little worrying that Philippe is almost becoming typecast.

Temp,

I'm pretty certain that the concert version (from Bremen??) available on You Tube was abridged.  

I like Terry Wey's voice but I don't think he is ideal casting for Creonte either.  Where's Iestyn Davies when you need him?  (Iestyn was an excellent Creonte at the ROH a few years ago).  The ROH version was probably heavily cut too and compared with the "Boston" recording seems almost like a different opera!  I must say that I'm completely blown away by the beauty of the music in this recording and Philippe and Karina Gauvin are nothing short of miraculous!

A.

Artemis
I am sure you are right (re: the video being edited). I couldn’t match the arias on the video with the synopsis on the BEMF’s site.

Terry Wey has a beautiful voice. He is excellent in a work like Zelenka’s cantata but I don’t think his voice is quite character-ful. Iestyn Davies would have been fantastic (he is in almost everything!!) but if they couldn’t have him, the BEMF’s original Creonte, Matthew White would have been very good. His voice is very dramatic and the final aria would have been much more effective.

I salute to Amanda Forsythe. She was in effect, demoted from the Queen to a mere maiden, which couldn’t have been an easy decision to swallow even for an experienced professional like Amanda, yet her Manto is perfect. As for Philippe and Karina Gauvin, you’ve said it Everything about this recording is…WOW!!!

By the way, this is a wrong thread but what do you think about Green?