Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, Constantine Orbelian – The Other Cleopatra: Queen of Armenia (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:04:04 minutes | 1,13 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Delos
Yes, there was another Cleopatra! She was married to Tigranes the Great, King of Armenia, and together they created an Armenia that reached from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. The resplendent and regal voice of soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian is perfectly suited to the role of Cleopatra. Bayrakdarian shines in arias from three rarely heard operas about King Tigranes and his queen. Bayrakdarians multi-hued voice relates the passion, drama, and fervor of the love story of Tigranes and Cleopatra. Bayrakdarian sparkles in five arias from Il Tigrane by Baroque master Johann Adolph Hasse, famous in his day as one of the foremost composers of opera. Arias by Vivaldi and Gluck add further excitement to the album.Bayrakdarian is supported by the Grammy-nominated team of Constantine Orbelian the singers dream collaborator (Opera News) and his marvellous Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra.
Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian has sung conventional operatic repertory, and also music connected to her Armenian heritage. Here, she seeks to combine the two, performing operatic arias connected with the Armenian King Tigrane/Tigranes II and embodying the role of his queen, Cleopatra. This was not the Egyptian queen but Cleopatra of Pontus (110-58 B.C.E.), the “other Cleopatra” of the album title. Bayrakdarian sings arias from three Tigrane/Cleopatra operas, one by Vivaldi (1724), one by Johann Adolf Hasse (1729), and one the young Gluck (1743). Hasse is placed first, probably because he gets the lion’s share of the music on the album, but it might have been useful to place the arias in chronological order. Although the three operas were premiered in different cities (Rome, Naples, and Milan, respectively), they all use the same libretto, and it’s entirely possible that the earlier ones were known to the later composers. Although only 19 years separate Vivaldi from Gluck, those two decades were a period of intense stylistic change, and Bayrakdarian has to negotiate the shift from the athletic Vivaldi to the more naturalistic style of Gluck, with Hasse right in the middle. This she generally does well, although her somewhat edgy voice works better in the Vivaldi. The strength of the album is the program, which is original, and which exposes some worthwhile music. The Hasse is especially strong, and the roots of the mature Gluck’s style are audible in the three Gluck selections. Lovers of mid-18th century opera will want this in their collections.
Tracklist:
01. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Tigrane (Excerpts): Vuoi chi’io t’oda? (04:41)
02. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Tigrane (Excerpts): E’i parte… O Dio (02:28)
03. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Tigrane (Excerpts): Che gran pena (06:31)
04. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Tigrane (Excerpts): Strappami pure il seno (03:14)
05. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Tigrane (Excerpts): Del suo duol (00:43)
06. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Tigrane (Excerpts): Degli’ Elisi alle Campagne (05:41)
07. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Tigrane (Excerpts): Parte, parte Tigrane (01:59)
08. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Tigrane (Excerpts): Presso a l’onde (04:58)
09. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Tigrane (Excerpts): Overture (05:21)
10. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Il Tigrane, RV 740 (Excerpts): Lasciatemi in riposo (00:50)
11. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Il Tigrane, RV 740 (Excerpts): Qui mentre mormorando (02:23)
12. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Il Tigrane, RV 740 (Excerpts): Squarciami pure il seno (03:28)
13. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Il Tigrane, RV 740 (Excerpts): Lascierà l’amata (06:10)
14. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Il Tigrane (Excerpts): Nero turbo il ciel imbruna (08:03)
15. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Il Tigrane (Excerpts): Priva del caro bene (05:09)
16. Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra & Constantine Orbelian – Il Tigrane (Excerpts): Presso l’onda (02:17)
