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Press Releases
Voice and Viola da Gamba Are Centerstage in Torna vincitor
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Voice and Viola da Gamba
Are Centerstage in
Torna vincitor
New recording by
American Soprano Amanda Forsythe,
Opera Prima,
and Italian viola da gamba player Cristiano Contadin
to be released in United States September 28
All-Johann Gottlieb Graun CD on CPO label features
premiere recording of large-scale cantata
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Acclaimed by the press as "one of the best Baroque sopranos on the scene today," (Boston Classical Review) soprano Amanda Forsythe's latest venture in the recording arena, Torna vincitor, is an historically informed recording for soprano, viola da gamba and strings. It is the fourth release by the acclaimed Italian ensemble Opera Prima, founded and directed by the distinguished viola da gamba player Cristiano Contadin. Recorded at Villa Bolasco, Castelfranco Veneto, Italy, the album, recently released in the UK and Europe, will be available in the United States on September 28. |
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At the center of Opera Prima's work with music from the Renaissance and Baroque period is the keen exploration of viola da gamba repertoire in compelling and unique programs. Comprising three works by the German Baroque/classical composer Johann Gottlieb Graun (1703-1771), who made important contributions to the gamba repertoire and whose virtuosic concertos have been referred to as "a bridge between the works of Bach and Mozart" (he even taught the violin to J.S. Bach's son Wilhelm Friedemann), Torna Vincitor is a warm introduction to this composer's moving creativity. Torna Vincitor presents two love-themed cantatas with settings of texts by the celebrated poet librettist of the time, Pietro Metastasio, sung by Ms. Forsythe that bookend Graun's demanding concerto in A minor for viola da gamba. Detailed liner notes in German and English also include the cantata texts in Italian, German and English. Johann Gottlieb Graun (1703-1771)
Torna vincitor
Recorded at Villa Bolasco, Castelfranco Veneto
cpo 555 284-2
Cantata "O Dio, Fileno"
Recitativo O Dio, Fileno, comincia il prato
Aria Aure amiche
Recitativo accompagnato Ma, che fu mai quell'empio
Aria Va, ma conserva i miei
Viola da Gamba Concerto No. 2 in A minor
Allegro moderato
Adagio
Allegro
Cantata "Già la sera" (recording premiere)
Aria Già la sera si avvicina Recitativo Lascia una volta, o Nice Aria Non più fra i sass Following the recording, Opera Prima is currently preparing for a tour in the United States with the American soprano Amanda Forsythe, dedicated to virtuosic repertoire for soprano and viola da gamba once COVID-19 regulations allow.
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ABOUT Amanda Forsythe
"A voice to remember," (The Independent, UK)American soprano Amanda Forsythe is an acclaimed performer and sought-after recording artistwhose performances on both sides of the Atlantic are highly praised. Equally at home on the concert platform and on the opera stage, she regularly performs with such highly acclaimed ensembles as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO), Apollo's Fire, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Pacific Musicworks, Philharmonia Baroque, the Boston Early Music Festival, Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Tafelmusik, and Les Talens Lyrique.Among her European credits are the Rossin Opera Festival (Pesaro) and major opera houses including Geneva, Munich and London's Royal Opera House.
Highlights of recent seasons include appearances with the Boston Symphony under Andris Nelsons, the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Susanna Mälkki, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Nicholas Kraemer, with Seattle Symphony, with Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Sir Antonio Pappano and with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. A popular recording artist, Ms. Forsythe can be heard on the CPO, Philharmonia Baroque (PBO's own label), Avie, ATMA, ERATO, and Linn labels as well as on Royal Opera DVD recordings (Opus Arte). She sang Euridice on the recording of Charpentier's La descente d'Orphée aux enfers with the Boston Early Music Festival which won the 2015 GRAMMY AWARD for Best Opera Recording. Her CD of Steffani duets with the Boston Early Music Festival was awarded the Diapason d'Or in January 2018. Also among her highly acclaimed CDs is her debut solo album of Handel arias, "The Power of Love," with Apollo's Fire on the Avie label. Torna Vincitor is Ms. Forsythe's first collaboration with Opera Prima. www.amandaforsythe.com |
ABOUT Cristiano Contadin
"A first-rate artist for the sweetness of the sound, the stylistic relevance and the absolute mastery of the instrument" (Musica Magazine), Italian Cristiano Contadin is a celebrated viola da gamba player and the founder of Opera Prima Ensemble (Opera Prima). As a gamba soloist and continuo player, he regularly collaborates with ensembles in Italy and abroad, including Il Suonar Parlante, I Barocchisti, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, La Venexiana, Accademia Bizantina, Arte dell'Arco and Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra Sinfonica La Verdi (Milan) with whom he embraces ancient as well as modern viol music. Mr. Contadin has recorded for Sony, EMI Classical, Decca, Universal (Deutsche Grammophon), Arté, Hyperion, Winter & Winter, Brilliant and cpo. A respected educator, he also teaches Viola da Gamba at the Conservatory "B. Marcello" in Venice and at the summer course of San Vito al Tagliamento.
Since 2019, Mr. Contadin has served as "Consigliere" of the Board of the new "Teatro San Cassiano" project led by Paul Atkin. www.cristianocontadin
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ABOUT Opera Prima
Directed and founded by Cristiano Contadin, Opera Prima was created to bring historically informed concerts and recordings of the Renaissance and Baroque period to life. The heart of the project lies in exploring the repertoire of the viola da gamba in its various styles, and approaching all music with pleasure and enthusiasm, as if each work for this instrument was newly-composed. If, through passionate communication, we can touch the hearts of the public, then the language of early music will be easy to understand.
Opera Prima has performed concerts at festivals in Italy, Greece, and Estonia.
Opera Prima's first recording, "The Complete Telemann Trio Sonatas and Concertos" (Brilliant Classics label), received national and international critical acclaim and was proclaimed by Classic Voice Magazine as the CD of the month in February 2015. The ensemble's second recording, of Corrette's "Les Délices de la Solitude," was praised by Fanfare Magazine as "lively, elegant and warm". Its third recording, of J.Dowland's Lachrimae, has been prized as "Disco del Mese" by Musica magazine. The ensemble's performance was praised by Early Music Review as "wonderfully expressive." Torna vincitor is the ensemble's fourth album. |
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Press Contact:
For interviews, questions or additional materials please contact:
Laura Grant, Grant Communications
917.359.7319; Laura@grant-communications.com
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