L'Incoronazione di Poppea is renowned not only as Monteverdi's last work but also his most affecting. Almost equally famous, however, is the historical oddity that it's sublime conclusion is almost certainly not his work. Sung as Nero and his new wife drift off in amoral bliss, 'Pur ti miro' has been attributed to various of Monteverdi's Venetian contemporaries. However, among the most plausible candidates is Filiberto Laurenzi. Very little is known of his life except for his encounter with the soprano Anna Renzi, considered the first diva in the history of opera. She not only studied under Laurenzi, but also let him manage her career, following him when he left Rome for Venice. The duet is featured here alongside excerpts from an entertainment conceived when the genre of opera was still in it's infancy. Like Poppea, La finta savia was first performed during the 1643 Venetian carnival season. It may be counted an early example of the pasticcio genre, in which a dramatic piece is the work of several hands, among them in this case Leardini, Pozzi, Ferrari, Giovan Battista Crivelli and Tarquinio Merula alongside Laurenzi. This recording includes five virtuoso arias making use of dance rhythms, some of them intimate in atmosphere and others that are more brilliant, such as 'Tant'armi inventate'. These operatic excerpts are complemented by arias from a 1641 collection dedicated to Laurenzi's work. The highlight is probably 'Così mi lasci ingrato', a deeply affecting lament for lost love on words by Ottaviano Castelli.

UPC > 5028421956855

Format > New CD

Label > Brilliant Classics

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