5 December 2018, 16:11 | Updated: 6 December 2018, 11:15

A glorious collection of Vivaldi’s most beautiful arias from the Italian opera superstar

Listen to Cecilia Bartoli: The Vivaldi Album by Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Cecilia Bartoli, Giovanni Antonini & Il Giardino Armonico on Apple Music. Stream songs including 'Dorilla in Tempe, RV 709: 'Dell 'aura al sussurrar', 'Griselda - Dramma Per Musica, Atto Terzo, Sc. 6: 'Dopo un' orrida procella' and more. The spectacular mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli is joined by the ensemble Il Giardino Armonico in a program of baroque music from composer Antonio Vivaldi, 'The Red Priest'.

It’s been almost 20 years since mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli released her historic recording The Vivaldi Album – and now she’s back with another solo recording of the great Italian composer's music.

Cecilia Bartoli: Antonio Vivaldi pays tribute to many of the Baroque composer’s most beautiful arias and also marks the singer's 30th anniversary with recording company Decca. .

Performed with French Baroque orchestra Ensemble Matheus and conducted by Jean-Christophe Spinosi, the album presents 10 of Vivaldi’s arias – one of which also appeared on Cecilia’s 1999 release.

The album also includes performances by Cecilia with French flautist Jean-Marc Goujon and Baroque trumpet player Serge Tizac.

Speaking about her vocal ability to VRT TV, the singer said: “If you perfect your technique, that’s what gives you longevity.”

In recent years, the mezzo-soprano has earned herself the nickname the ‘Queen of Agility’, owing to her impressive coloratura singing. The album entered the Classic FM chart earlier this week at No. 11.

Cecilia has sold more than 10 million audio and video recordings worldwide, making her one of the most successful classical artist today. Her previous albums have included ‘Italian Arias’(Gluck), ‘The Salieri Album’, ‘Maria’ and ‘Mission’ (Agostino Steffani).

In addition, her list of accolades extends to five Grammys, more than 12 Echo Klassik Awards in Germany, two Classic Brit Awards and the Victoire de la Musique in France.

Cecilia is also performing around Europe – find out more at the Decca website. Some people have already taken to Twitter to share their experience:

#standingovation#ceciliabartoli ⁦⁦@philharmonie⁩ pic.twitter.com/iXyZ8NzcBg

— Julie HOURMANT (@juliehourmant) December 3, 2018

Cecilia Bartoli, ‘Antonio Vivaldi’ tracklisting:

1. Se Lento Ancora Il Fulmine
2. Sol Da Te, Mio Dolce Amore – Cecilia Bartoli, Jean-Marc Goujon, Ensemble Matheus, Jean-Christophe Spinosi
3. Ah Fuggi Rapido
4. Vedrò Con Mio Diletto
5. Quell'augellin Che Canta
6. Leggi Almeno, Tiranna Infedele
7. Solo Quella Guancia Bella
8. Sovvente Il Sole
9. Combatta Un Gentil Cor - Cecilia Bartoli, Serge Tizac, Ensemble Matheus, Jean-Christophe Spinosi
10. Se Mai Senti Spirarti Sul Volto

Listen to ‘Antonio Vivaldi’ on Spotify and on Apple Music.

Review by James Manheim

Cecilia Bartoli Antonio Vivaldi Decca

This is Cecilia Bartoli's second collection of Vivaldi arias; the first appeared in 1999 under the title The Vivaldi Album, and Bartoli continues to record for the same label, Decca, with a stability that's rare these days. The cynics' first question will be about how Bartoli's voice is holding up: she was 52 when this album appeared in 2019. As it happens, she's fine. You can sample 'Combatta un gentil cor,' from Act II of Tito Manlio, RV 738, to assure yourself of her continued combination of flair and pitch precision in the big, high-powered arias. 'If you perfect your technique, that's what gives you longevity,' Bartoli confidently told Flemish television, and it seems she has the chops to deliver on that boast. It's a middle-aged voice, sure, but it's undiminished, and such an approach obscures what's best about Bartoli: her knack for reshaping the repertory and then singing the new music in such a way that you feel it's always been around. In 1999, Vivaldi opera was still fairly new, at least in major-label circles. Now it's more familiar, but with just a few exceptions, the arias and even the operas here will be unknown to all but Baroque enthusiasts. Backed in a sympathetically fiery vein by France's Ensemble Matheus under Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Bartoli delivers standard-setting performances of repertory that she successfully argues has been unjustly neglected.

Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
Argippo
1	Cecilia Bartoli	03:51	Amazon
Orlando furioso
2	Cecilia Bartoli	09:49	Amazon
3	Cecilia Bartoli	02:21	Amazon
Il Giustino
4	Cecilia Bartoli	06:13	Amazon
La Silvia
5	Cecilia Bartoli	04:10	Amazon
Ottone in villa
6	Cecilia Bartoli	05:50	Amazon
La verità in cimento
7	Cecilia Bartoli	02:28	Amazon
Andromeda liberata
8	Cecilia Bartoli	09:44	Amazon
Tito Manlio
9	Cecilia Bartoli	04:01	Amazon
Catone in Utica
10	Cecilia Bartoli	09:48	Amazon

Cecilia Bartoli Cd

blue highlight denotes track pick