Sacrificium - Cecilia Bartoli / Il Giardino Armonico - Barbican, 24 November 2009
Cecilia Bartoli's annual trip to the Barbican was this year tied in with her new CD of rare castrato arias, Sacrificium
Instead, with Il Giardino Armonico's sprightly strings sawing away behind her, she sprang on mid-intro in full highwayman gear - well it is panto season - and launched into straight into a fearsome stretch of trademark coloratura like a runaway sewing machine, thigh boots planted manfully, cloak swirling behind her. A layer came off each couple of songs until she was left standing in nothing but shirt, boots and leggings. Then it was time for a costume change - a golden frock with its red skirts hitched up to show the man-pants still in place.
Last year she was so confident in the power of her bel canto offerings, she didn't even bother to buy a new frock, sporting the same one as the year before.
Were this year's theatrics a tacit acknowledgement that the material on the new CD is less strong than her previous offerings? A selection of display arias by Handel's less talented contemporaries, their original purpose was to showcase the talents of the greatest castratos - rapid coloratura, trills, long-breathed phrases, messa di voce and so on. In the writing at least, the art took second place to the craft. When la Ceci gave us Handel's simple yet touchingly lovely Lascia la Spina as an encore, the difference between sound workmanship and true genius was made painfully obvious.
Nevertheless, she gave the flawed offerings her considerable all, and as a display of her skills it was hard to fault. Fantastic breath control and agility are combined with unmatched warmth and expressiveness. Once or twice the tuning went awry in the faster passages, but it hardly mattered. A tendency to close her eyes and shut out the audience in the slower arias was more of a problem than it might have been with stronger material. In the faster ones, the exhilarating vocal gymnastics and Bartoli's sheer exuberance were enough disguise for any lack of inspiration in the writing. No-one can match her for commitment to her material, nor for the passion she puts into every note. But I was pleased to see from the programme that her next project is the considerably more worthy Giulio Cesare.
After the short-change divas of the South Bank, it's worth pointing out that there were two full hours of music, at least half of it (probably more like three quarters) featuring the headline singer - and the tickets were cheaper, too.
Say what you like about Cecilia Bartoli, she knows her audience, she knows exactly what they expect, and she gives it to them time after time.
******* more photos, and programme, on next page *******
The programme:
Nicolò Porpora Sinfonia from “Meride e Selinunte” Allegro
Nicolò Porpora "Come nave" aria of Siface from "Siface"
Antonio Caldara “Profezie, di me diceste” aria of Sedecia from “Sedecia”
Nicolò Porpora “In braccio a mille furie” aria of Mirteo from “Semiramide riconosciuta”
Nicolò Porpora Ouverture from “Germanico in Germania” [Allegro] – Adagio – [Allegro]
Nicolò Porpora “Parto, ti lascio o cara” aria of Arminio from “Germanico in Germania”
Francesco Maria Veracini Ouverture No. 6 g minor Allegro
Leonardo Vinci “Cervo in bosco” aria of Climaco from “Medo”
Leonardo Leo “Qual farfalla”, aria of Decio from “Zenobia in Palmira”
Francesco Araia “Cadrò, ma qual si mira”, aria of Demetrio from “Berenice”
Nicolò Porpora "Usignolo sventurato", aria of Siface from "Siface"
Carl Heinrich Graun "Misero pargoletto", aria of Timante from "Demofoonte"
Francesco Durante Concerto per archi No. 2 g-minor Allegro affettuoso
Antonio Caldara “Quel buon pastor”, aria of Abel from the “componimento sacro” "La morte d’Abel"
Nicolò Porpora Ouvertures from Cantatas “Gedeone” and “Perdono, amata Nice” Adagio – Spiritoso andante – Allegro
Leonardo Vinci “Quanto invidio la sorte… Chi vive amante” Recitative and aria of Erissena from “Alessandro nelle Indie”
Nicolò Porpora "Nobil onda" aria of Adelaide from "Adelaide"
