VIVALDI: Juditha Triumphans

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

Judith Triumphans

For all the popularity of his orchestral music, Vivaldi’s operas and his sole surviving oratorio, of at least four, have been passed over and left neglected for the most part. Australia’s most exciting opera company, Pinchgut Opera has attracted rave reviews since making its debut with Handel’s Semele in 2002. ABC Classics now presents Pinchgut’s performance of Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans. Enter a world of musical ecstasy with the exquisite voices of Pinchgut and the subtle beauty of rare Baroque instruments in Vivaldi’s gripping tale of virtue, passion and revenge.

Fiona Campbell (mezzo-soprano)
Sara Macliver (soprano)
Renee Martin (mezzo-soprano)
Sally-Anne Russell (mezzo-soprano)
David Walker (countertenor)
Cantillation, Pinchgut Opera.

"Holofernes is taken here by smooth-toned counter-tenor David Walker. Sally-Anne Russell sings Juditha with a cultivated tone, while Sara Macliver's sound is captivating as the higher-voiced Abra. Renee Martin brings a well-coloured and dramatic edge to the priest, Ozias, and Fiona Campbell as Vagaus gives a clear and fiery reading of her revenge aria after discovering her headless boss."
(CD review, Sydney Morning Herald, January 2009).