Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, known mostly for his famous Stabat Mater, also wrote four opera seria before his early death at the age of 26
New love, position, power, revenge, disguise, mistaken identity, complications and passionate devotion the full spectrum of baroque opera seria is here in this brilliant, vivid setting of a powerful and moving story.
Pergolesi - a musical genius cut off in his prime. Famed for his Stabat Mater, even though he died aged just 26 he had already completed four opera seria; Adriano in Siria is the third of these.
Composing for only around a decade before he succumbed to tuberculosis aged 26, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was so well known for his music that the instant that his death was known, all Italy manifested an eager desire to hear and possess his productions ... - [Charles Burney]
With a libretto by Metastasio, Adriano in Siria is a complicated yet understandable and empathetic tale of love, set within a problematic political backdrop.
Adriano in Siria enjoyed a lavish premiere in 1734, starring the great mezzo-soprano castrati, Caffarelli. To play the same role (Farnaspe), Deccas new recording features the modern-day Caffarelli Franco Fagioli.
Featuring a first-rate cast of Romina Basso, Yuriy Mynenko, Dilyara Idrisova, Juan Sancho and Cigdem Soyarslan; accompanied by the exuberant Polish orchestra Capella Cracoviensis under the baton of Jan Tomasz Adamus.