Ann Hallenberg; Laura Cherici; Marta Vandoni Iorio; Mary-Ellen Nesi; Carlo Lepore; Zachary Stains; Vittorio Prato

Il Complesso Barocco/Alan Curtis

John Pascoe, director, set & costume designer

NTSC All Region; LPCM 2.0; Dolby Digital 5.1; Color; 16/9; 157 mins. Subtitled in Italian, English, German, French & Spanish

The present DVD is filmed in high definition format the Sferisterio Opera Festival of Macerata in August 2007.

BONUS TRACK: it is contained an introduction to the opera by John Pascoe and Alan Curtis that explain the set and the whole opera plot. We remember them in Vivaldi’s Ercole (recorded by Dynamic – DVD 33525) recorded last Summer at Spoleto Festival.

Founded in Italy in 1992 by Alan Curtis, one of the most acclaimed specialists in the interpretation of pre-romantic music, Il Complesso Barocco, has become a renowned international baroque orchestra with a focus on Italian Baroque opera and oratorio. Their high standard for interpretation, intonation and stylistic accuracy has led to their being requested in the most important concert venues and festivals in Europe. Notes on this opera: on 8th January 1735 at the Covent Garden in London, Georg Friedrich Handel presented his new opera Ariodante. The opera thus conceived did not immediately win public favor, but with time it was to be understood and appreciated and has remained on playbills among the more successful and interesting titles. Each act corresponds to a precise moment, strictly linked to the action: the first is mainly devoted to presenting the characters; the second, set in a gloomier atmosphere, revolves around the episode of the deceit; the third sees the return of the festive mood with the misunderstanding being cleared up. In order to underline the various situations accessory elements are eliminated and specific instrumental timbres are exalted with solo roles. The right importance is attributed to the extraordinary strength of the instrumental composition which again in Ariodante is intended now as support to the voices now as independent, coinciding with steps in the sinfonia and with delightful dance motives. (2 DVDs)