Geminiano Giacomelli - Cesare in Egitto (Ottavio Dantone)

Information

Composer: Geminiano Giacomelli

• Cesare in Egitto

Arianna Vendittelli; Emőke Baráth

Filippo Mineccia; Margherita Maria Sala

Valerio Contaldo; Federico Fiorio

Accademia Bizantina

Ottavio Dantone, conductor

Date: 2025

Label: Alpha Classics

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Italian conductor Ottavio Dantone presents the world premiere recording of Cesare in Egitto, Geminiano Giacomelli’s (1692–1740) operatic masterpiece, with Accademia Bizantina and leading soloists at the Innsbruck Festival, where Dantone has served as music director since 2024. Set to a libretto by Domenico Lalli, with contributions from a young Carlo Goldoni, the work exemplifies Giacomelli’s celebrated drammi per musica, once popular across major Italian and European centers. Giacomelli’s influence reached even Vivaldi, who borrowed his arias for Bajazet. With this revival, Dantone restores vitality to a long-forgotten gem of the early 18th-century operatic tradition.

Ottavio Dantone (b. 1960), Italian conductor, harpsichordist, and organist, trained at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan and quickly distinguished himself in Early Music, winning first prizes at the Paris (1985) and Bruges (1986) international harpsichord competitions. Since 1996, he has been music director of Accademia Bizantina, performing in leading halls worldwide. His opera career began in 1999 with Sarti’s Giulio Sabino and has since encompassed Baroque, Classical, and Romantic works at major venues including La Scala, Glyndebourne, Teatro Real, Salzburg Festival, and Zurich Opera. Known for reviving rare repertoire, he records extensively for Decca and Naïve, combining scholarship with vibrant performance.