Polifemo - Arias by Händel, Alberti, Caldara, Porpora Luigi De Donato, Václav Luks and Collegium 1704

• George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759): Aci, Galatea e Polifemo: Aria:
• 1 Handel: Aci, Galatea e Polifemo: Aria: Sibillar gli angui d’Aletto 04:18
• Domenico Alberti (1710 - 1740): La Galatea: Recitativo:
• 2 Alberti: La Galatea: Recitativo: Fermati Galatea 00:18
• La Galatea: Aria:
• 3 Alberti: La Galatea: Aria: Sanno l’onde e san l‘arene 03:50
• Giovanni Bononcini (1670 - 1747): Polifemo: Recitativo:
• 4 Bononcini: Polifemo: Recitativo: Intesi oppur sognai 00:56
• Polifemo: Aria:
• 5 Bononcini: Polifemo: Aria: Vanarella, pazzarella 01:39
• Polifemo: Recitativo:
• 6 Bononcini: Polifemo: Recitativo: Or che mi sei fedele 00:41
• Polifemo: Aria:
• 7 Bononcini: Polifemo: Aria: Dieci vacche, otto vitelli 01:14
• Antonio Cesti (1623 - 1669): Cantata:
• 8 Cesti: Cantata: Amante gigante 08:58
• Antonio Caldara (1670 - 1736): Sinfonia in C Major:
• 9 Caldara: Sinfonia in C Major: I. Allegro 05:10
• 10 Caldara: Sinfonia in C Major: II. Andante 03:57
• 11 Caldara: Sinfonia in C Major: III. Allegro 03:37
• Johann Georg Schürer (1720 - 1786): La Galatea: Aria:
• 12 Schürer: La Galatea: Aria: Dalla spelonca uscite 06:20
• 13 Schürer: La Galatea: Aria: Se scordato il primo amore 05:30
• La Galatea:
• 14 Schürer: La Galatea: Sinfonia 04:01
• Domenico Alberti: La Galatea: Recitativo:
• 15 Alberti: La Galatea: Recitativo: No, no, siegua quest’arte 00:36
• La Galatea: Aria:
• 16 Alberti: La Galatea: Aria: Se scordato il primo amore 05:28
• Nicola Porpora (1686 - 1768): Polifemo: Aria:
• 17 Porpora: Polifemo: Aria: M’accendi in sen col guardo 03:33
• George Frideric Handel: Aci, Galatea e Polifemo: Aria:
• 18 Handel: Aci, Galatea e Polifemo: Aria: Fra l’ombre e gl‘orrori 07:18
• Total Runtime 01:07:24

Info for Polifemo - Arias by Händel, Alberti, Caldara, Porpora

Polyphemus, a cyclops of ancient Greek legend with one eye and three fngers on each hand, became a central fgure in many myths and in their musical settings by Baroque composers.

This son of Poseidon, a giant of insurmountable strength, appears in many fables, the best known of which are his encounters Odysseus during the hero's homeward journey and with Theseus, who kills Polyphemus.

The Italian bass Luigi De Donato has the right voice and temperament to represent the ideal embodiment of Polyphemus, and together with Collegium 1704 under the baton of Vaclav Luks he breathes life into ancient Greek legends. This new recording features arias from Handel, Porpora, Alberti and Bononcini. He is a multitalented musician and singer and has distinguished himself as one of the foremost interpreters of the repertoire of the 17th and 18th century working with leading conductors and Baroque ensembles.

Luigi de Donato, bass
Collegium 1704
Vaclav Luks, conductor

Luigi de Donato
was born in Cosenza where he pursued his musical education at the S. Giacomantonio Music Conservatory. Later he studied with Margaret Baker, Gianni Raimondi, Regina Resnik and Bonaldo Giaiotti.

He won several international singing competitions and received the Award for the best Bass Voice at the Francesco Paolo Tosti International Competition for Opera Singers.

Multitalented musician and singer, Luigi has distinguished himself as one of the foremost interpreters of the repertoire of the 17th and 18th century working with leading conductors and Baroque ensembles.

He sang Monteverdi’s Orfeo (Caronte) and Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (Il Tempo and Nettuno) conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini and directed by Robert Wilson for la Scala, and returned to the roles for the Teatro Real in Madrid in a William Christie/Pier Luigi Pizzi production. With Jean-Christophe Spinosi, he took the stage as Seneca in L’Incornazione di Poppea at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

Luigi appeared in Sant’Alessio (Demonio) by Landi with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, and in Campra’s Carnaval de Venise (L’Ordonnateur, Plutone and Le Carnaval) with Le Concert Spirituel under the baton of Hervé Niquet.

His Handel roles include Ariodate (Serse) in Madrid, Moscow and Barcelona under the direction of Jean-Christophe Spinosi as well as in Beaune under Ottavio Dantone; Lucifero in La Resurrezione under Diego Fasolis and Vacáv Luks; Polifemo (Aci, Galatea e Polifemo) with Giovanni Antonini at the Salzburg Festival, and under Ruben Jais at both the Bucharest George Enescu Festival and London Wigmore Hall; Leone (Tamerlano) at the Teatro Real in Madrid with Paul McCreesh and Graham Vick; Argante (Rinaldo) conducted by Ottavio Dantone and staged by Jacopo Spirei in several Italian theatres; The King of Scotland (Ariodante) in a Gianluca Capuano/David Alden production at the Bolshoi Theatre.

In the field of Bel Canto, Luigi De Donato performed the roles of Alidoro in La Cenerentola at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Opéra de Lausanne conducted by Stefano Ranzani and staged by Adriano Sinivia; Podestà in La Gazza ladra at the Frankfurt Staatsoper; Mustafa in L’Italiana in Algeri at the Versailles Royal Opera, Opéra de Rennes and Beaune Festival where he also embodied Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia under the baton of Jérémie Rhorer.

Other career highlights include the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Nice Opera, Le Grand Inquisiteur in Don Carlos at the Hamburg Staatsoper, Alcandro in Vivaldi’s Olimpiade and Astolfo in Orlando furioso both with Jean-Christophe Spinosi at Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte at Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Polyphème in Lully’s Acis et Galatée alongside Federico Maria Sardelli for the Florence Teatro del Maggio Musicale.

For Naïve, Luigi has released Vivaldi’s long-lost opera Argippo under Fabio Biondi, followed by a tour through Europe.

Recent and forthcoming engagements include Handel’s Agrippina (Claudio) under Ottavio Dantone at La Seine Musicale in Paris and Vivaldi’s Olimpiade (Alcandro, Clistene) with Alessandro De Marchi in Innsbruck and alongside Jean-Christophe Spinosi at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

Luigi reunites with Václav Luks for Handel’s Messiah in Prague, Dresden, Bratislava and for the launch of his first solo album “Polifemo, the Baroque Monster” they’ll present on a European tour.

This album contains no booklet.