Rating : - V is for Verve
Dr. Glidden's review sets forth the historical context of La Senna Festeggiante very eloquently, so here's a quick musical impression: this is an "opera" that you don't need super-titles to enjoy. The music conveys everything you could possibly find in the words. One of the three characters is "The Golden Age" (L'Eta del Oro) and her message is festivity. Concerto Italiano has enhanced the festival atmosphere by "re-orchestrating" Vivaldi's score to make use of the woodwinds - oboes and flutes, especially - and Rinaldo Alessandrini conducts with proper verve throughout. This is Vivaldi, the virtuoso entertainer, in his sunniest mood. Dr. Glidden is absolutely correct that Sonia Prina steals the party; her final aria "cosi sol nell'aurora" is as stunning as daybreak over fields of flowers, which is precisely what the words portray. Juanita Lascarro is technically near perfect, though less expressive. My only reservation concerns the voice of the Seine, Nicola Ulivieri. His baroque technique is more than adequate, even in "coloratura bassa" passagework, but his basso profundo just isn't profound enough, either in timbre or in tuning of his lowest notes. Even so, this is a "must buy" recording; you can have no idea what an inventive composer Vivaldi was unless you do.