George Frideric Handel's stay in Rome in 1707/08 coincided with the last great musical heyday of the time-honoured city with its great patrons such as...

George Frideric Handel's stay in Rome in 1707/08 coincided with the last great musical heyday of the time-honoured city with its great patrons such as the Cardinals Pamphilj and Ottoboni or the Princes and Barberini and Ruspoli. The young Saxon was able to develop his artistic talents wonderfully in Rome and met the exceptional Roman singers of the time. Among them was the tenor Vittorio Chiccheri, whom Handel employed in leading roles in his Roman oratorios, and who presumably not only fulfilled Handel's requirements but also inspired him. The Roman tenor Lucca Cervoni and Alessandro Quarta with his ensemble Concerto Romano have set out on the trail of Vittorio Chiccheri, of whom we have hardly any biographical clues. We only know the roles in which he was heard and these were significant: in addition to Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti and Antonio Caldara, among others, also wrote for Chiccheri, as did Chiccheri himself. With his soft and supple timbre and the great flexibility and agility of his voice, Lucca Cervoni revives Handel's famous tenor and transports us to Baroque Rome in its last great heyday with wonderful arias.