Various Composers - La Serenissima (Venetian Silhouettes) (Sophie Junker)

Information

1. Antonio Lotti - Giove in Argo, Act II: Con fiamme, e con straggi (Iside)
2. Antonio Caldara - Temistocle, Act I Scene 6: Chi mai d'iniqua stella (Aspasia)
3. Antonio Vivaldi - Atenaide, RV 702, Act III Scene 7: Qual demone, qual furia (Eudossa)
4. Antonio Vivaldi - La Silvia, RV 734, Act I Scene 14: Mio cor, s'io ti credessi (Nerina)
5. Benedetto Marcelo - Arianna, Parte seconda. Scene 2: Come mai puoi vedermi piangere (Arianna)
6. Antonio Vivaldi - Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 4 No. 4, RV 357: I. Allegro
7. Antonio Vivaldi - Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 4 No. 4, RV 357: II. Grave
8. Antonio Vivaldi - Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 4 No. 4, RV 357: III. Allegro
9. Antonio Vivaldi - Ottone in villa, RV 729, Act II Scene 3: L'ombre, l'aure, e ancora il rio (Caio)
10. Francesco Gasparini - Bajazet, Act I Scene 15: Vendetta sì, farò (Asteria)
11. Francesco Gasparini - Ambleto, Act II: Sì, ti sente l'alma mia (Ildegarde)
12. Tomaso Albinoni - Andromeda liberata, Parte prima: Si, rinforzi in te la spene (Cassiope)
13. Giovanni Porta - Ifigenia in Aulide, Act III Scene 13: Madre diletta, abbracciami (Ifigenia)
14. Antonio Vivaldi - Zeffiretti, che sussurrate, RV 749.21
15. Antonio Caldara - Caio Marzio Coriolano, Act III Scene 7: Per combatter con lo sdegno (Claudia)

Sophie Junker, soprano

{oh!} Orkiestra

Martyna Pastuszka, concertmaster

Date: 2025

Label: Aparté

_____________________

This album celebrates the splendor of 18th-century Venetian opera, where drama and vocal beauty explore the full spectrum of human passions. Alongside Martyna Pastuszka and the {oh!} Orkiestra, Sophie Junker brings these emotions to life, from Vivaldi’s fury to Ariadne’s laments. Pastuszka’s violin shines in a concerto from La Stravaganza—a perfectly fitting title for this extraordinary program.

Eighteenth-century Venice was the epitome of splendour: architectural, pictorial, theatrical, musical and vocal. Venetian opera shone throughout Europe, combining dramatic force with the beauty of the vocal line. Like Canaletto and Guardi, who painted all the sides of the Serenissima in their panoramas, composers sought to explore the spectrum of human passions through opera.

Sophie Junker invites us to meet them, alongside Martyna Pastuszka, conductor of the {oh!} Orkiestra. Her brilliant, acrobatic soprano blossoms in arias of fury and vengeance (Vivaldi or Lotti), or in the heart-rending complaints of an Iphigenia (Porta) or an Ariadne (Marcello). Martyna Pastuszka's violin leads one of the splendid ‘La Stravaganza’ (the extraordinary) concertos: a fine subtitle for this program!

High Resolution 24-bit / 96 kHz