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Landi: La morte d'Orfeo
Francesco Usper, Stefano Landi, Biagio Marini
Landi: La morte d'Orfeo
Genres: Special Interest, Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (14) - Disc #1
  •  Track Listings (10) - Disc #2

"The performers of Akademia are marvelous: the singers are full of character and extremely agile and committed, with a truly noble Orfeo sung by Cyril Auvity." -- Early Music Review UK First new recording of the opera afte...  more »

     
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"The performers of Akademia are marvelous: the singers are full of character and extremely agile and committed, with a truly noble Orfeo sung by Cyril Auvity." -- Early Music Review UK First new recording of the opera after 20 years.
 

CD Reviews

Another Orpheus, this time a different story.
Zaida | Bremerton, WA | 08/26/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Stefano Landi must have a similar relationship with Monteverdi in music history to what François Francoeur was to Rameau. Both of the lesser known composers wrote in a similar style to their respective contemporaries, except both avoided the extremes that the the older composers imparted in their music. What this boils down to is the fact that 'La morte d'Orfeo' sounds much more like Cavalli than it does L'Orfeo. It's still immensely enjoyable (I dare say it's my favorite 17th century Italian work), and this recording will not disappoint. The plot picks up after where most other works on the myth drop off, meaning that Eurydice has died, been retrieved from the underworld, and died again before the action begins. There is a vast number of characters, and these all seem to be well sung. Cyril Auvity is convincing in the title role, but the two highlights are certainly the chorus of infuriated bacchantes in the fourth act, and Caronte's aria in the fifth. There are also various instrumental pieces inserted to the action, these are from other composers from the time. While interesting, I tend to skip over them. But it's still an excellent performance, so don't be afraid to buy it."