Bruno de Sá - Roma Travestita
0190296619809 (Erato, CD)
FIRST RELEASE (16 September 2022)
Playing time: 73'45"
Tracks: 13
Booklet pages: 44
℗ 2022 Parlophone Records Ltd
© 2022 Parlophone Records Ltd
Main country of recording: Italy
Reviewer: John Dante Prevedini
Review of Bruno de Sá - Roma Travestita published on 3 November 2022
Bruno de Sá, male soprano
Il Pomo d'Oro
Francesco Corti, conductor
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725):
1 Dì, che sogno, o che deliro (Griselda, Op 114, 1721)
2 Mi rivedi, o selva ombrosa (Griselda, Op 114, 1721)
Leonardo Vinci (1690-1730):
3 Lascerò d'esser spietata (Farnace, 1724) (first recording)
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741):
4 Per noi soave e bella (Giustino, RV 717, 1724)
5 Senza l'amato ben (Giustino, RV 717, 1724)
Rinaldo di Capua (c1705-c1780):
6 Nell'orror di notte oscura (Vologeso, re de' Parti, 1739) (first recording)
Giuseppe Arena (1713-1784):
7 Del sen gl'ardori nessun mi vanti (Achille in Sciro, 1738) (first recording)
Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785):
8 Qual pellegrino errante (Evergete, 1747) (first recording)
Gioacchino Cocchi (c1712-1796):
9 Timida pastorella (Adelaide, 1743) (first recording)
10 Nobil onda (Adelaide, 1743) (first recording)
Nicola Conforto (1718-1793):
11 Padre, germano ... Vadasi pure a morte (Livia Claudia vestale, 1755) (first recording)
Francisco Javier García Fajer (1730-1809):
12 Grato oblio, soave pace (Pompeo Magno in Armenia, 1755) (first recording)
Niccolò Piccinni (1728-1800):
13 Furie di donna irata (La buona figliuola, o La Cecchina, 1760)
The young Brazilian singer Bruno de Sá, a rare example of a natural male soprano, was described by Opera as 'astounding ... with a high register of soprano purity'. His Erato debut, Roma Travestita, explores a period when men habitually assumed female operatic roles on the public stages of Rome. Recorded with Il Pomo d'Oro and conductor Francesco Corti, the programme has been researched and assembled by the musicologist Yannis François. The album comprises arias written between 1721-1760, featuring compositions by well-known composers (Vivaldi, Alessandro Scarlatti, Vinci, Galuppi and Piccini) and rarities by Capua, Arena, Cocchi, Conforto and Garcìa Fajer. For eight of the thirteen arias, this album represents their first recording.
Recorded 23 February–2 March 2021 at Villa San Fermo, Lonigo, Italy.