Barnes & Noble
All but forgotten today, Johann Georg Conradi was the musical director in the early 1690s of Hamburg's Theater-am-Gänsemarkt -- an important locus of German Baroque opera. Of the nine works Conradi wrote for that house, only Ariadne has survived, the long-lost score unexpectedly turning up at the Library of Congress in 1970. Yet despite the explosion of interest in early music in recent decades, German opera has remained stubbornly on the margins. It took the perspicacity of the Boston Early Music Festival to revive Ariadne in 2003 -- an event that led to this important and splendid 2004 recording -- and for that, opera lovers should give profuse thanks. "Hidden gem" is the perfect description for this wonderful score. Conradi cleverly melded Italian, French, and German elements in his music; arias and recitatives borrow from lyrical Italian models (except for the laugh-out-lound comic scenes, which take after German folk songs), while the instrumental interludes and dances owe a debt to Lully and the French style. But that's merely academic without the composer's masterful expressive skill, as well as the keen dramatic sense of his librettist, Christian Heinrich Postel, who depicts the well-known mythical story in a direct and psychologically penetrating manner. Lutenists Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs direct a rock-solid Baroque band of strings, continuo, a few winds, trumpets, and percussion, but the excellent singing is the main attraction, with Karina Gauvin's Ariadne the standout. It may be hard to believe that three discs of early opera wouldn't contain some dry patches, but there's not a dull moment to be found on this major addition to the Baroque discography.
EJ Johnson
All Music Guide
This CPO issue of Johann Georg Conradi's 1691 opera "Ariadne" is based out of a revival of this obscure work produced in 2003 as part of the Boston Early Music Festival. One might be surprised to see the name of Conradi above the title of such a large opera set -- has anybody really heard of this guy? What is up with this opera?
German Baroque opera has spent centuries in the shadows. At one time this entire historical genre was considered of only marginal value when held up to the shining example of George Frideric Handel. Closer examination of the topic reveals that this was one man's opinion, namely that of nineteenth century musicologist Friedrich Chrysander. Nevertheless, such opinions can travel a long way, especially when it comes to musical works that come from an obsolete milieu, the nature of which relatively few would take the time to understand. "Ariadne" was a very popular opera in the days before Handel, well regarded enough that it was revised and revived two decades after its composer died. Then it disappeared again until 1970, when the score was rediscovered and the performance was captured on the CPO set led by lutenists Stephen Stubbs and Paul O'Dette, the first given since 1722. From the scant color images included in the booklet, this Boston Early Music Festival performance looks like it was a sumptuous one.
However, the music is the main thing that impresses one about Ariadne; no Baroque opera can be this good. Nevertheless, it is; Conradi's music is achingly beautiful and the libretto a concise and emotionally satisfying rendering of the familiar plot. The band is just of the right proportions and plays exquisitely well, with the music paced for maximum effect. While the star of the show, soprano Karina Gauvin, is excellent, everyone in the cast does a great job of portraying these roles in characterizations that help keep this long opera moving, and therefore, interesting. The book is in three languages and includes the complete text of the opera.
Sometimes one is compelled to take the good with the bad in order to get to know an oddball and completely unfamiliar work such as "Ariadne." With CPO's set, there is literally nothing to complain about -- it's first tier all the way, and should be essential listening for anyone who is interested in Baroque opera. Uncle Dave Lewis
All Music Guide
This Cpo issue of Johann Georg Conradi’s 1691 opera Ariadne is based out of a revival of this obscure work produced in 2003 as part of the Boston Early Music Festival. One might be surprised to see the name of Conradi above the title of such a large opera set – has anybody really heard of this guy? What is up with this opera?
German Baroque opera has spent centuries in the shadows. At one time this entire historical genre was considered of only marginal value when held up to the shining example of Georg Frederic Handel. Closer examination of the topic reveals that this was one man’s opinion, namely that of nineteenth-century musicologist Friedrich Crysander. Nevertheless, such opinions can travel a long way, especially when it comes to musical works that come from an obsolete milieu, the nature of which relatively few would take the time to understand. Ariadne was a very popular opera in the days before Handel, well regarded enough that it was revised and revived two decades after its composer died. Then it disappeared again until 1970 when the score was rediscovered, and the performance captured on the Cpo set, and led by lutenists Stephen Stubbs and Paul O’Dette was the first given since 1722. From the scant color images included in the booklet, this Boston Early Music Festival performance looks like it was a sumptuous one.
However, the music is the main thing that impresses one about Ariadne, so much so that the reviewer had to set the disc aside at first hearing in disbelief – no Baroque opera can be this good. Nevertheless, it is; Conradi’s music is achingly beautiful and the libretto a concise and emotionally satisfying rendering of the familiar plot. The band is just of the right proportions and plays exquisitely well, with the music paced for maximum effect. While the star of the show, soprano Katarina Gauvin, is excellent, everyone in the cast does a great job of portraying these roles in characterizations that help keep this long opera moving, and therefore, interesting. The book is in three languages and includes the complete text of the opera.
Sometimes one is compelled to take the good with the bad in order to get to know an oddball and completely unfamiliar work such as Ariadne. With Cpo’s set, there is literally nothing to complain about – it’s first tier all the way, and should be essential listening for anyone who is interested in Baroque opera.
David Lewis
Gramophone
[An] invigorating performance. This singing is of exceptional quality.... Hugely enjoyable, making 176 minutes fly by without a mediocre moment. David Vickers
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