Ars Minerva’s sophomore outing on May 21–22, Carlo Pallavicino’s The Amazons in the Fortunate Isles, promises an equally satisfying excavation of a Venetian tragicomedy. Bursting with catastrophe, innuendo, blatant lies, sex, humor and, first and foremost, excellent music, Amazons has not been seen since its premiere in 1679.
A Conversation with Ars Minerva’s Céline Ricci
This revival of Castrovillari’s La Cleopatra was a rare treat for San Francisco audiences
And getting to the heart of the matter: the music is extremely beautiful, in that austere, 17th c. Italian style. If you've heard any of the Monteverdi operas, well, you have some familiarity with what La Cleopatra sounds like. I counted three separate rage arias, which might be some kind of record, not to mention love duets, quite a bit of hilarious flirtiness from the nurse, and a gorgeous lament from Cleopatra
Roesner’s Doristo gives not only his splendid resonant voice to the plethora of female sound but its weight. And we welcome it. Round and luxuriant, from opening scene [...] to Finale, [...] Not a drop of unnecessary chastity, even in idea, here.
In any case, the role of Doristo was robustly sung by German bass-baritone Malte Roesner. His deep, dark voice was powerful.