Teuzzone [Box set]

Teuzzone is set to a libretto set in China in an indeterminate time in the past. 18th century operagoers were fascinated with exotic settings and scenery, and China was plenty exotic in that era. There were many such productions from lots of composers. That does not mean that there is anything Chinese about the music. There isn't.

I bought the MP3 download of this album, which comes without notes or libretto. The performance is well played and well sung and could well be from a live performance; there is no audience noise but there is a bit of stage noise in one or two spots. The singers are fine and their recitativo characterization seems well done enough. The ambience is mildly reverberant--about ideal, actually.

However, the performance seems a bit flat and uninvolving. Some of the arias especially sound like the singers are just reading them through. Jordi Savall's live 2001 Farnace from Madrid is pretty sensational, so I am perplexed about this performance. This isn't really that interesting. So I give it 4 stars.

Is this the most inspired Vivaldi? Not really. The opera is one of his earlier ones (1719), and his later ones seem less instrumental than this one in their vocal writing. I think Farnace, L'incornzaione di Dario and Motezuma are stronger works. At the very least, the recorded performances of them strike more fire and are more engaging.

The price for the MP3 is quite a bargain for 2.6 hours of music, but as I said, no libretto.

There was a 2007 release of this work by the Guastalla Theater Baroque Opera Orchestra under Sandro Volta.
It appears that this live performance was recorded in 2001 (same year as Farnace).
The cast is interesting, not merely for the sake of the singers (who are all superb, though new names abound), but the way the composer set the voices:
TEUZZONE
Paolo Lopez (male soprano)
ZELINDA
Raffaella Milanesi (contralto)
ZIDIANA
Delphine Galou (contralto)
SILVENIO
Furio Zanasi (baritone)
CINO
Roberta Mameli (soprano)
EGARO
Antonio Giovannini (male alto)
TRONCONE
Makoto Sakurada (tenor)
Le Concert des Nations / Jordi Savall (conductor)
It should be pointed out that Raffaella Milanesi is not a soprano but a contralto.
The father (deceased king) Troncone is a 'tenor' role (sung by Japanese tenor Sakurada, with only an accompagnato, but wonderfully rendered), the son (heir apparent) Teuzzone, however is a 'soprano', sung here by male sopranist Paolo Lopez with real aplomb.
The other major character, the ambitious queen, Zidiana, is a 'contralto', so is the major female protagonist the Tartare princess Zelinda.
So, it is evident from the casting in this opera, that the 'divas' are contralto roles!
What is more interesting is that the other vile male character Cino is ALSO a soprano role! (Sung here by Roberta Mameli).
The singers are really ALL fine. I hate to be preferential here, but the ONLY singer that I have known and heard prior to this is the young French (not Italian) contralto Delphine Galou, who sings the ambitious (but young) widow of Troncone queen Zidiana. Galou is a wonderful singer, and this recording fully affirms this.
The other contralto is hitherto unknown to me, but she sings Zelinda with equal finesse: just savour her lovely 'Ti sento, sì, ti sento'.
The only 'male' fach is Silvenio's baritone, and Zanasi is fully comeptent.
After a whole lot of counting, one must not forget that the titlerole is a male soprano role, sung here by new(?) male sopranist Paolo Lopez. If you want to pick a 'showpiece' in this work as being representative, Teuzzone's aria 'Come fra turbini' should be sufficient to drop your jaw, with Lopez's spitfire changes in register and wonderful interpretation.
Savall's conducting is fully period, and, with the highly unusual casting of voices, the entire recording smacks of the baroque authenticity of Vivaldi.

We're big fans of Vivaldi and especially is operas and other vocal music. This is a stunning performance by Jordi Savall and the music is glorious.