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About Monteverdi: L'Orfeo
Amazon.com History's first great opera--the story of Orpheus descending to Hades to retrieve his bride Eurydice from the dead, only to lose her again--gets a fine performance (the best overall version currently available) from John Eliot Gardiner and his musicians. Anthony Rolfe Johnson performs the title role with all the beautiful sound you'd expect from an Orfeo; he negotiates virtuoso passages flawlessly and sings passionately without overwhelming Monteverdi's music with too much voice. Julianne Baird as Eurydice and Anne Sofie Von Otter in a gripping appearance as the Messenger are the standouts in a cast without a weak link. Everyone involved, including the chorus and orchestra, performs with such energy, beauty, and precision that even long stretches of recitative never pall. --Matthew Westphal Product description Monteverdi: L'Orfeo / Gardiner, Rolfe-Johnson, Baird . Release Date: 10/25/1987 . Label: Archiv Produktion (Dg) . Catalog #: 419 250 . Spars Code: DDD . Composer: Claudio Monteverdi . Performer: Lynne Dawson, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Anne Sofie von Otter, John Tomlinson, ... Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner . Orchestra/Ensemble: English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, His Majesties Sagbutts and Cornetts . Number of Discs: 2 . Recorded in: Stereo . Length: 1 Hours 46 Mins. Works on This Recording: 1. L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi Performer: Lynne Dawson (Soprano), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Tenor), Anne Sofie von Otter (Mezzo Soprano), John Tomlinson (Bass), Nancy Argenta (Soprano), Mary Nichols (Soprano), Diana Montague (Soprano), Willard White (Bass), Mark Tucker (Tenor), Nigel Robson (Tenor), Simon Birchall (Bass), Michael Chance (Countertenor), Howard Milner (Tenor), Nicholas Robertson (Tenor), Julianne Baird (Soprano) Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner Orchestra/Ensemble: English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, His Majesties Sagbutts and Cornetts Period: Baroque Written: 1607; Mantua, Italy Date of Recording: 12/1985 Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studios, London Length: 105 Minutes 43 Secs. Language: Italian
