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Modo Antiquo a Opera Rara, Krakow
Antonio Vivaldi
Catone in Utica
Date: 19th of January 2012
Place: Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Krakow
Performers:
Magnus Staveland - soloist
Sonia Prina - soloist
Loriana Castellano - soloist
Paolo Lopez - soloist
Nicki Kennedy - soloist
Antonio Giovannini - soloist
Modo Antiquo - ensemble
Federico Maria Sardelli - conductor
Antonio Vivaldi's Catone in Utica is a dramma per musica in 3 acts (only 2 of the acts survive though). The piece is based on Pietr Metastasio's libretto, which premiered at the Venice Teatro Filarmonico in 1737. Characters include the dictator Cesare (soprano), an advocate of Republican principles Catone (tenor), Numidian prince Arbace (soprano), a widow of Pompey defeated by Caesar (soprano), her lover Fulvio (alto) and Katon's daugther - Marcia (alto). Following the premiere, two years later, the opera was staged in Venice and then, in 1740, in Graz. A record of the contemporary version of the opera was prepared by Claudio Scimone in 1984. In 1998, Jean Claude Malgiore presented a new reconstruction of the piece (leaving out acts II and III, with act I being a so-called pasticcio), which he recorded in 2001. Modo Antiquo, along with Federico Maria Sardelli, will now bring to Krakow Acts II and III - an original version of the piece. The Krakow performance will be the Polish premiere of the show, prepared specially for the Opera Rara series and Theater an der Wien.
Modo Antiquo - One of the most famous Italian ensembles specialising in performing Baroque music with historical instruments. Founded by Federico Maria Sardelli, the group is primarily focused on performing instrumental and vocal-instrumental Italian music (particularly by Antonio Vivaldi), combining musicians' virtuoso flair with research on historical performance and linguistic studies. The ensemble brought the forgotten operas by Vivaldi, such as including Atenaida, Orlando furioso, Tito Manlio and Motezuma, back to the repertoire. The group regularly appears in major concert halls and early music festivals of the world. Their records have been released by catalogues of such labels as Naive, Opus 111 and Deutsche Grammophon. Modo Antiquo is a two-times nominee for the the Grammy Award.
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