The Tiranno (or tyrant) of this release by mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey is the Roman emperor Nero, whose over-the-top reign of corruption and debauchery never failed to excite the imaginations of Baroque opera composers. Here, he is viewed through various lenses, focusing on himself, his wife, Poppea, and his mother, Agrippina, in a series of familiar and not-so-well-known cantatas and opera arias. Baroque buffs may be interested in the album for its unusual repertory, including La Poppea, a kind of sequel by Bartolomeo ...
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The Tiranno (or tyrant) of this release by mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey is the Roman emperor Nero, whose over-the-top reign of corruption and debauchery never failed to excite the imaginations of Baroque opera composers. Here, he is viewed through various lenses, focusing on himself, his wife, Poppea, and his mother, Agrippina, in a series of familiar and not-so-well-known cantatas and opera arias. Baroque buffs may be interested in the album for its unusual repertory, including La Poppea, a kind of sequel by Bartolomeo Monari to Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, here receiving its world recorded premiere, and from Handel, a little-recorded cantata called Agrippina condotta a morire, HWV 110, a kind of preparatory essay for his Agrippina opera. The main attraction here is Lindsey's performance. Overheated emotions are the order of the day, and Lindsey nails them all, displaying explosive vocal athletics, growled semi-speech, and overall, a truly impressive range of sounds. Consider her duet with...
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