Vivaldi: Tito Manlio (Tesori del Piemonte, Vol. 28)

If such title like "Tito Manlio" is not a hint, Vivaldi made it clear to exalt the male voice here. This opera is beautifully simple, and abundant in arias for basso. For a genius like Vivaldi who prided himself in composing faster than the copyists could handle, Tito Manlio, or the cinque giorni opera, asserts this prowess as he started and finished it in 5 days. The vocal fireworks are the signature Vivaldian pyrotechnics in arias like Liquore Ingrato, Orribile Lo Scempio, L'intendo E Non L'intendo, Se Il Cor Guerriero, Brutta Cosa, the resounding No Che Non Vedra Roma, and Mi Fa Da Piangere. The aria Orribile Lo Scempio must have been a Vivaldi's favorite as he recycled it as Terribile Lo Sento, and Gl'otraggi Della Sorte in two other operas. The powerful No Che Non Vedra Roma has a vocal pull impossible to resist, and the perfect climax to Nicola Ulivieri's performance in the role of Tito. Debora Beronesi is brilliant in the role of Lucio, and does a phenomenal execution of Fra Le Procelle, the most technically challenging aria of Tito Manlio. If one would think that only endowed voices like Bartoli's could handle this aria, Debora Beronesi proves one wrong. She does baroque at its best! Her casting as Lucio is flawless, and leaves me longing for more after Combatta Un Gentil Cor, and Non Ti Lusinghi La Crudeltade. Karina Gauvin as Manlio delivers the most beautiful and hypnotizing Sonno, Se Pur Sei Sonno as one of the last arias to seal this outstanding operatic experience.

This recording is a part of the Complete Vivaldi Edition the Instituto per I beni musicali in Piemonte began a couple of years ago with the Naive label. Once again, there is the opportunity to discover a work out of the traditional repertoire that shows the great operatic talent of Lucio Antonio Vivaldi. The recording is great: each recitativo has been reconstructed very carefully by Ottavio Dantone showing that, in baroque Opera, the recitativo is much more than a mere link to the arias, but a powerfull way to communicate the action and the dramma to the audience. And the arias: pure beauty! The singers are excelent: all of them, giving a great ornamentation in the da cappo section... This is a reccording to treasure: Enjoy it!

Today, opera is the sole part of Vivaldi's output that suffers from neglect. This is somewhat surprising, given the determination to rescue every facet of his music from obscurity. Prejudice against his operatic work has a long history, however. Tartini claimed that Vivaldi, despite wanting the same success as a vocal composer that he enjoyed as an instrumental one, 'always got himself hissed' for his efforts in this sphere. But we should be on our guard. After all, Vivaldi's sacred vocal works represent some of his most inspired compositions. Might not the same be true of at least some of the operas?

In the case of Tito Manlio this would certainly seem to be the case. It is an opera in which the writing is sustained at a consistently high level with a constant succession of numbers showing invention, contrast and interest. The work it resembles most closely, perhaps, is not another opera but the highly distinguished oratorio Juditha Triumphans, written only three years earlier. It shares the same lavish range of instrumentation, thematic material (the closing numbers of both works have more than a little in common) and consistency of quality. Tito Manlio was written for the Mantuan carnival of 1719 - during the early period of Vivaldi's opera writing, in other words. These early operas have been described as 'orchestra-dominated' by Michael Talbot. Melodies are profuse and attractive, and solists and ensemble are at least as prominent as vocalists. Those who know the orchestral works well will recognise elements from them, sometimes whole movements (eg the Concerto funebre). Such self-borrowing is hardly surprising - Vivaldi reputedly had only five days to write the complete score!

The Accademia Bizantina make the most of all the opportunities given to them with several accomplished solo passages. Their playing is committed and inspired enough to bring out Vivaldi's trademark polychromy. Two other things are worth mentioning. First, the imagination found in other Naïve releases also features here. In particular, the recitatives are considerably enlivened by the contributions of plucked instruments and bass strings. (Harpsichord-only recitatives can be very wearisome over nearly three hours.) And, as already noted, there is plenty of variety to be found in the instrumentation of the arias themselves, with cello, viola d'amore, flute and piccolo all playing important and memorable roles. Second, although the Naïve label isn't an especially budget one, Amazon's digital download is heavily discounted and represents fine value. All in all, those wanting to sample Vivaldian opera could do very much worse than to start right here.