Arie napoletane: the fire of the South
For his new programme Arie napoletane, Max Emanuel Cencic has delved deep into the passionate musical history of this mysterious and fascinating metropolis of the Italian South. With the brooding shadow of Mount Etna forever looming over Naples, it is little wonder that these arias seethe with passionate emotion, and explode with the brilliant virtuosity that made Neapolitan baroque opera famous.
From the late seventeenth century Naples was one of the venues for any Italian (or Italianate) composer or singer in search of fame and fortune. Great castrati like Farinelli, Senesino and Caffarelli intoxicated audiences, four conservatoires churned out star singers trained to the utmost, and composers like Alessandro Scarlatti, Leonardo Leo, Leonardo Vinci, Nicola Porpora and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi vied for public attention and private patronage. It was a heady musical mix of unequalled richness and variety, and a place where a composer might be murdered by a jealous nobleman, or a singer be thrown into prison for public lasciviousness.
Like Rokoko, his award-winning debut recital disc for DECCA (Melómano de oro, Diamant de l’Opéra, Diapason d’or), Max Emanuel Cencic’s Arie napolitane brings together world-class scholarship and world premiere recordings of forgotten masterpieces. He is joined by the world-beating ensemble Il pomo d’oro under the baton of Maxim Emelyanchev: an irresistible combination!
Listen to the CD being introduced on French Radio “France Culture” between minute 36 and 39.
Countertenor: Max Emanuel Cencic
Conductor: Maxim Emelyanychev
Orchestra: Il Pomo d’oro
