In the last concert of 2014, on 18 December, the Accademia Filarmonica Romana proposed a masterpiece, the oratorio Giuditta by Alessandro Scarlatti , in an enthralling performance by Alessandro Quarta , at the helm of the ensemble he founded, Concerto Romano .
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 - 1725) wrote two versions of Judith one in 1693, the other in 1697 is called "of Cambridge" , where the manuscript of the score is kept in the Rowe Music Library of King's College, was performed by Roman concert . Alessandro Quarta dedicated the concert to Lino Bianchi , the famous musicologist who oversaw the revision and publication of Alessandro Scarlatti 's oratorios and works .
This version with the libretto by Antonio Ottoboni , father of the famous patron, Cardinal Pietro, has only three characters: Judith, the Nurse and Holofernes, a solution that concentrates the dramatic action, the dramaturgical outcome of this choice is effective and engaging. The by now mature mastery of the operatic Scarlatti manifests itself overwhelmingly in setting the text to music. The musician uses all the means of his sumptuous and polychrome instrumental and vocal writing to underline the dramatic passages, which the direction of Alessandro Quarta has rendered very well.
The Concerto Romano musicians provided an excellent performance, effectively contributing to the success of the performance. The fulcrum character of all the action is Giuditta, the soprano Francesca Aspromonte , she was an excellent interpreter, under her vocal profile, she has a velvety voice, agile in her virtuosity and expressive in the more lyrical and meditative passages. In this oratorio, which in its intensity is similar to a sacred drama, she was also theatrically effective, proving to be an ideal interpreter for the role.
The contralto Hilary Summers played the Nurse, the voice, which we thought had an androgynous timbre, is soft and fluid and she tackled the role with ease and confidence. The tenor Luca Cervoni was a convincing Holofernes. The audience applauded this enthralling performance for a long time, a splendid Christmas gift from the Roman Philharmonic Academy to the crowd
