Francesco Cavalli: L'Artemisia | Ardo, sospiro e Piango

Ardo, Sospiro e Piango from L'Artemisia, Act I Scene xviii (Venice, 1657)
Francesco Cavalli (1602 - 1676) libretto by Nicolò Minato (1627 - 1698)
One of Cavalli's greatest laments, sung by Artemia in response to her unrequited love. L'Artemisia was one of several collaborations with librettist Nicolò Minato; together, they hoped to be able to depict interaction between characters with as realistic a fluidity as possible. The result was, in the case of L'Artemisia, an opera centred on fluid, highly emotive and dramatic recitative, moving in and out of brief arioso and duet, and with only a handful of 'showstopper' arias, of which Ardo, Sospiro e Piango is the longest.
This aria is often mistakenly described as being from Cavalli's better-known opera La Calisto, thanks to Raymond Leppard's inclusion of it in his revival for Glyndebourne in 1970.
Musica Antica Rotherhithe
www.musicaantica.org.uk
Camilla Seale, mezzo-soprano
Flora Fontanelli, violin
Rebecca Köhler Baratto, violin
Harry Buckoke, viola da gamba
Peter Martin, theorbo
Oliver Doyle, harpsichord
The performing edition used for this recording can be found in "Arias, duets and ensembles from the operas of Francesco Cavalli, Volume 1", prepared by Oliver Doyle and released on the public domain thanks to a generous grant from the Cavalli Charity. The edition can be downloaded in-full via Musica Antica Rotherhithe's website.
Recorded at Holy Trinity Church, Rotherhithe, London
Ed Aldred - sound engineer
Jay Notley - videographer
Maria Luz Tremsal - editor

[@micheled2069]

SUPERBE !!!

[@ilariascarponi2477]

Very well done!

[@MusicaAnticaRotherhithe]

Thank you!

[@ZinderBest]

What a beautiful air, so beautifully sung!

[@dmitrysofronov8624]

A terribly demanding aria, like you would expect from the 17th century... Marvelously performed!