Contra-Tenor

by Michael Spyres, Il Pomo d'Oro, Francesco Corti

Overview

The title Contra-Tenor for this release by tenor Michael Spyres is a bit misleading. Spyres intended it as a counterpart to an earlier release called BariTenor, but it is likely to indicate for many listeners a countertenor voice. That is not what is happening here; these are tenor arias, pure and simple. This said, what Spyres offers here is something that is much needed, a counterpart to the athletic 18th century opera recitals by sopranos and countertenors that have gained great popularity over the last few decades. If anything, some of the arias here even exceed the countertenors' displays in terms of sheer virtuosity. They are not so much heroic tenors as, in some cases, angry tenors, and the arias are pretty thrilling. Sample "Fra l'ombre un lamp solo" from Domenico Sarro's Achille in Sciro, or "Vil trofeo dun alma imbelle" from Baldassare Galuppi's Alessandro nell'Indie. These will demonstrate that Spyres, an increasingly popular figure, can handle anything these composers throw at him. They also suggest the fact that many of these works are almost totally obscure. There are pieces by Rameau, Gluck, Vivaldi, and Mozart, but they serve to provide a bit of melodic relief between the real firecracker numbers. The Baroque ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro has the heft to stand up to Spyres in the music, and conductor Francesco Corti keeps everything together. This is a vocal display of a kind that has rarely been heard lately, and it was no surprise to see it on classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2023. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	05/26/2023
Label:	Erato
UPC:	5054197293467
Rank:	4690

Tracks

1. Persée, LWV 60~Act 5, Scene 7. Cessons de redouter
2. Persée, LWV 60~Passacaille
3. Tamerlano, HWV 18~Act 3, Scene 9. E il soffrirete, d'onestade, oh Numi?... Empio. per farti guerra
4. Artabano, re de' parti, RV 701~Act 3, Scene 7. Cada pur sul capo audace
5. Catone in Utica~Act 1, Scene 5. Si sgomenti alle sue pene
6. Germanico in Germania~Act 1, Scene 7. Nocchier, che mai non vide l'orror della tempesta
7. Achille in Sciro~Act 1, Scene 5. Fra l'ombre un lampo solo
8. Alessandro nell'Indie~Act 1, Scene 3. Vil trofeo d'un'alma imbelle
9. Siroe, re di Persia~Act 1, Scene 1. Se il mio paterno amore
10. Arminio~Act 1, Scene 2. Solcar pensa un mar sicuro
11. Naïs RCT 49~Act 3, Scene 5. Cessez de ravager la terre
12. Antigono~Act 1, Scene 8. Tu m'involasti un regno
13. Orphée et Eurydice Wq. 41~Act IV, Scene 1. J'ai perdu mon Eurydice
14. Mitridate, re di Ponto K.87~Act 1, Scene 10. Se di lauri
15. Roland~Act 1, Scene 10. En butte aux fureurs de l'orage

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Michael Spyres   Primary Artist,Tenor (Vocal)
Francesco Corti   Primary Artist,Conductor,Conductor
Il Pomo d'Oro   Primary Artist,Orchestra

Technical Credits

Caroline Doutre   Photography
Jacques Fournier   Libretto Translation
Domenico Sarro   Composer
Nicolo Coluzzi   Librettist
Antonio Marchi   Librettist
Morgane Danan   Assistant Engineer
Jacques Pradon   Original Material
Andie Bottrell   Photography
Traude Freudisperger   Libretto Translation
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart   Composer
Antonio Vivaldi   Composer
George Frederick Handel   Composer
Jean-Philippe Rameau   Composer
Jean-Baptiste Lully   Composer
Baldassare Galuppi   Composer
Johann Adolf Hasse   Composer
Nicola Porpora   Composer
David Ylla-Somers   Libretto Translation,Liner Note Translation
Jean Racine   Original Material
Gaetano Latilla   Composer
Niccolo Piccinni   Composer
Leonardo Vinci   Composer
Antonio Mazzoni   Composer
Christoph Willibald Gluck   Composer
Philippe Quinault   Librettist
Agostino Piovene   Original Material
Pierre-Louis Moline   Librettist
Robert Sargant   Libretto Translation
Claudio Pasquini   Librettist
Jean-Daniel Noir   Producer
Louis de Cahusac   Librettist
Alain Lanceron   Executive Producer
Christiane Frobenius   Liner Note Translation
Nicola Francesco Haym   Librettist
Jean-Francois Marmontel   Librettist
Vittorio Amedeo Cigna Santi   Librettist
Gwyn Morris   Libretto Translation
Giuseppe Parini   Transcription
Pietro Metastasio   Librettist
Nicola Dal Maso   Photography
Michael Spyres   Liner Notes
Giulio D'Alessio   Producer
Daniela Wiesendanger   Libretto Translation
Gesine Luebben   Producer