Leonardo García Alarcon – Antonio Draghi & Leonardo García Alarcon: El Prometeo (2020) [FLAC 24bit/176,4kHz]

Leonardo García Alarcón – Antonio Draghi & Leonardo García Alarcón: El Prometeo (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/176,4 kHz | Time – 02:06:11 minutes | 4,08 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Alpha

The original score of El Prometeo (Prometheus) is held in the Leopoldine Library in Vienna. It dates from 1669 and was written by Antonio Draghi, a composer who was also a singer, notably in the operas of Cavalli. For the first time in history, an Italian set a text in Spanish. The last act of El Prometeo has disappeared. But since the libretto of this act has survived, Leonardo García Alarcón decided to rewrite all the music for it. ‘I immersed myself in Draghi’s music in order to understand his style, his favourite intervals, the type of melody he composed and the type of basso continuo he was fond of, so as to try to produce a score that is worthy of him. So I hope that this third act will measure up to his music, his intentions and his creativity!’ says the Argentinian conductor. Directing a brilliant cast (Fabio Trümpy, Mariana Flores, Giuseppina Bridelli, Scott Conner, Borja Quisa, Zachary Wilder, Ana Quintans), Leonardo García Alarcón brings this Baroque opera to life in Spanish, an opportunity to show his love for his mother tongue, ‘a supremely musical language’!

The multitude of incomplete manuscripts of so many baroque operas and oratorios offers a very tempting playground for today’s performers and musicologists. However, it is quite rare for a 21st century artist to compose an entire act from scratch. This was what has happened with El Prometeo by Italian composer Antonio Draghi, who was active at the Habsburg court in Vienna.

Composed in 1669, it is one of the few operas from that time written in Castilian, which gives this discovery a vital historical importance. Draghi is a direct heir to Monteverdi and Cavalli, whose works he sang in his youth and whose style he carried forward. As was the style in his day, his music is made up of a deft mixture of comic scenes. This was a tradition that would stretch all the way down to Mozart, via the Jommelli operas that the young composer so admired.
Convinced that what he had discovered was the complete manuscript, Leonardo García Alarcón had found himself trapped when he realised his mistake just as the work was due to open at the Dijon Opera. So he was obliged to either cancel the production, or to assemble other works into a “pasticcio” of the style of the 18th century. The conductor wasn’t paralysed by the fear of a blank page: he put himself into Draghi’s shoes to compose a whole third act: the densest, most dramatic part of the artwork, the original of which was irretrievably lost.

Going beyond mere plagiarism, García Alarcón had some fun, paying tribute to Austrian opera, borrowing from Draghi of course, but also from Cesti, Caldara, and all the way up to Mozart. The result of this tour de force is a perfect illusion: his assimilation of different styles allows him to create music that’s inspired by and in perfect harmony with the rest of the score. The Namur Chamber Choir, the many soloists and the bewitching colours of the Cappella Mediterranea all contribute greatly to a production whose success you can feel on this new album. – François Hudry

Tracklist:
01. Overture (0:28)
02. Act I Scenes 1 & 2: Soberana Hermosura (6:36)
03. Act I Scene 3: Bueno Has Quedado Corazon Amante (1:33)
04. Act I Scene 3: Amante de Prometeo (7:05)
05. Act I Scene 4: À del Falado Reyno (5:02)
06. Act I Scene 5: Tetis Felice, y Hermosa (2:35)
07. Act I Scene 6: Si en Medio de Se Divìna (4:41)
08. Act I Scene 7: En Fin Con Doña Estatua Embelesádo (1:18)
09. Act I Scene 8: Que Siempre Llegue (1:41)
10. Act I Scene 9: Prometeo (5:34)
11. Act I Scene 10: Tus Bodas, Gran Tonante (5:36)
12. Act I Scene 11: Ya Tetis, Gran Nerèo (5:20)
13. Act II Scene 1: Que Firme, Que Esento (3:22)
14. Act II Scene 2: Que Roban, Que Llevan (1:54)
15. Act II Scene 3: Padre (1:24)
16. Act II Scene 4: Tu Mercurio Vuela (2:43)
17. Act II Scene 5: Quando Fin Darà el Deséo (2:35)
18. Act II Scene 6: Tu Padre, Tetis, Señores (2:06)
19. Act II Scene 7: A Fama (4:43)
20. Act II Scene 8: O Fuego Soberàno (4:38)
21. Act II Scene 9: Quien de los Cielos Profano (0:44)
22. Act II Scene 10: En Busca de Mi Amante (3:03)
23. Act II Scene 11: A Adorar las Cenizas de Mi Amada (2:30)
24. Act II Scene 12: Ay de la Vida (2:30)
25. Act III Scene 1: No Ha de Rendirte Parias (8:20)
26. Act III Scene 2: Dioses, Pues no Hay Remedio (4:12)
27. Act III Scene 3: Pues Fuiste en Mi Mal (4:17)
28. Act III Scene 4: Hasta Quando, Amorosos Desaciertos (4:38)
29. Act III Scene 5: Sentida (4:27)
30. Act III Scene 6: Si la Vista Real, al Deliquente (2:18)
31. Act III Scene 7: A Imperio Fulminante (1:39)
32. Act III Scene 8: Satyro Fiel, Consuelete Mi Pena (3:40)
33. Act III Scene 9: Araña Se Mira Aragne (5:04)
34. Act III Scene 10: Pues Toco, Pues Miro (1:19)
35. Act III Scene 11: O Suma Deidad (2:18)
36. Act III Scene 11: Y a Tus Plantas (2:48)
37. Act III Scene 11: Levantad (1:51)