The Ghosts of Hamlet – Lost Arias from Italian Baroque Operas
Arias by Carcana, Handel et al
Roberta Mameli (soprano); Le Concert de l’hostel Dieu/Franck-Emmanuel Comte
Arcana A574 68:04 mins
Clip: Gasparini - Nella mia sfortunata prigionia
Stonking performances and brilliant programming unite in this solo album. Hamlet – not Shakespeare’s character, but the prince of the 12th-century history of Denmark, Gesta Danorum – became, in the 18th century, the hero of a libretto by Apostolo Zeno. This recording brings together numbers from various settings of Zeno’s Ambleto. Roberta Mameli’s singing burns with passion and virtuosity, aided by the inspired direction of Franck-Emmanuel Comte.
Mameli conjures fully realised dramatic characters, some of whose best music is by Francesco Gasparini. ‘Stelle, voi che de’ regnanti’ (1705) is a high point, and illustrative of Mameli’s powers: over lilting triple meter, she weaves in and out of the cello line, showing herself vulnerable to its motions; on the repeat of this music, however, she starts on a pianissimo high B natural and then buries the rest of the melody under cascading diminutions. It’s ravishing. The project’s one repertoire piece, a resetting of ‘Tu ben degno sei dell’allor’ from Handel’s Agrippina, transforms this usually sugary praise song into a jarring accusation.
Comte and Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu are pure joy. Their exchange of ideas gives this performance its febrile energy. Further enriching the recording, Comte inserts rare sinfonia that, aesthetically, could have worked as overtures to these lost Hamlets. It’s next-level programming: the individual tracks are not only musically contrasting dramatic cousins, but clearly the result of an active dialogue with forgotten past music of great subtlety. Berta Joncus
