Tiranno

Corruption? Betrayal? Persecution? Tyranny? These subjects resonate with the current events of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. They also provide the subject matter of many seventeenth-century musical works. For their second Baroque recital, Kate Lindsey and Arcangelo turn to the figure of Nero. Scarlatti, Handel and Monteverdi wrote works focusing on this tragic protagonist and his entourage, including his mother Agrippina and his wives (Poppaea and Octavia). Interpreted with incredible intensity by the American mezzo-soprano, the programme features world premiere recordings of two cantatas: Alessandro Scarlatti’s La morte di Nerone (c.1690) and Bartolomeo Monari’s La Poppea (1685). Tenor Andrew Staples and soprano Nardus Williams join Kate Lindsey for duets from L’incoronazione di Poppea, including the sensual ‘Pur ti miro’.

Featured works

• A. Scarlatti: ‘Io son Neron’
• Handel: ‘Agrippina condotta a morire’ HWV110
• Monteverdi: extracts from ‘L’incoronazione di Poppea’
• Monari: ‘La Poppea’
• A. Scarlatti: ‘La Morte di Nerone’

Press & Praise

GRAMOPHONE EDITOR’S CHOICE

“All this compelling music, so vitally performed by Lindsey as she ranges fearlessly from raging outburst to intimate confession, exploring countless shades of colour and dynamic along the way, and all so perfectly accompanied by Arcangelo, is a model of what a recital album can be.”

RES MUSICA

“Kate Lindsey se montre absolument magistrale. La richesse et la variété de ses couleurs vocales, l’ambiguïté qu’elle déploie tout au long de l’album, ainsi que le sens aigu de la théâtralité qu’elle sait mettre en avant dans tous ces extraits musicaux, sont des atouts éminemment appréciables. […] À ses côtés, Jonathan Cohen et les sept musiciens d’Arcangelo se montrent attentifs au moindre détail, déployant mille couleurs en faisant sonner joyeusement les âpretés et les dissonances d’une écriture instrumentale aussi puissante qu’innovante. Un disque détonnant, dont il sera difficile de se lasser.”

OPERA CHOICE, BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

“After their disc of works related to the mythical Arianna, Kate Lindsey and Jonathan Cohen present another remarkable ‘character’ exploration, this time of the tyrant Nero as displayed through works from the 17th and 18th centuries. This is perfect ground for Lindsey and Cohen, both extremely accomplished and transformative performers of Baroque music.”