Day 56: L’Infedelta Delusa (Act II)

HaydnCD56Today’s musical selection is Act 2 of L’Infedelta Delusa, a Haydn opera set in the Tuscan countryside. It may have premiered on 26 July 1773. If so, Haydn was 41.

As I found with Act I, the vocal performances are superb, and the recording is likewise excellent, despite it being recorded some 40 years ago. Brilliant Classics does nothing half-assed. They have a world-wide reputation for offering high-quality recordings at extremely reasonable prices.

And, no, they’re not paying me to say that. (I sure wish they would.)

Act II opens with Sinfonia, a wonderful musical composition that sets the stage for the story that follows.

Track 3 (“Recitative: Sbrigati! – Vengo”) and Track 4 (“Aria: Ho un tumore”) feature some truly expressive, over-acted-even-for-the-stage performances. I’m not sure what the story is at this point (it’s in Italian, remember?). But the soprano performances (especially in Track 4 from Magda Kalma as Vespina) are Continue reading