A Muse for Metastasio: Marianna Benti Bulgarelli known as: “la Romanina”

Giuseppina Bridelli mezzo-soprano

Concerto de’ Cavalieri

violins I

Paolo Perrone*, Rossella Croce, Marialuisa Barbon

violins II

Antonio De Secondi*, Giancarlo Ceccacci, Laura Corolla

viola

Piero Massa

cello

Giovanna Barbati*

Double bass

Luca Cola

harpsichord

Federica Bianchi

*solos and concertino

Marcello Di Lisa conductor

Programme

 – Leonardo Vinci           

Arias of Emira from the Siroe

Benché s’asconda

Vedeste mai sul prato

 – Alessandro Scarlatti   

Concerto grosso n. 3 in F major

 – Francesco Feo             

Arias of Viriate from the Siface

Viriate, che pensi? –  Sordi numi

Tu mi vorresti misera

 – Alessandro Scarlatti   

Concerto grosso n. 1 in F minor

 – Domenico Sarro           

Arias of Didone from the Didone

Non ha ragione, ingrato

D’ogni amator la fede

 – Alessandro Scarlatti   

Concerto grosso n. 2 in C minor

 – Nicola Porpora            

Arias of Angelica from the Angelica

Io dico all’antro addio

Costante e fedele 

Giuseppina Bridelli Mezzo-soprano

Born in Piacenza in 1986, she graduated with full marks and honors at the age of 21 under the guidance of Maria Laura Groppi. She specializes in the Baroque repertoire with Sonia Prina.

In 2007 the young mezzo-soprano won the As.Li.Co. and made her debut as Despina in “Cosi fan tutte”, in the theaters of Brescia, Cremona, Como and Pavia under the direction of conductor D. Fasolis and the direction of M. Dammacco.

From the autumn of 2008 she joined the Scuola dell’Opera Italiana, at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, with which she established an intense and lasting collaboration: Lucia in “La gazza ladra” by G. Rossini, Mercedes in “Carmen “By G. Bizet, Flora accanto a Mariella Devia, under the baton of M. Mariotti and directed by A. Antoniozzi, Idamante in” Idomeneo “by WA Mozart under the direction of conductor M. Mariotti and the direction of D. Livermore, Zerlina in “Don Giovanni” under the direction of Pier Luigi Pizzi. She also participated in Tournèe in Japan, as Enrichetta in “I Puritani” and Mercedes in “Carmen”.

Her activity in the field of chamber and contemporary music was also intense: she interpreted Luigi Dalla Piccola’s “Cinque fragmenti di Saffo” and Mahler’s Ruckert Lieder at the Comunale di Bologna, the monologue “Le bel Indefferent” by M. Tutino and the Mahler’s “Das Knaben Wunderhorn” cycle at the 36th Festival della Valle D’Itria.

Particularly predisposed to the Baroque repertoire, she interprets Poetry and Love in Cavalli-Stradella’s “Novello Giasone”, conducted by Antonio Greco, at the 2011 Valle D’Itria festival, Ottavia in the “Coronazione di Poppea” at the 2012 festival directed by Massimiliano Toni , Clori in “Gli equivoci nel sembiante” in Barga and at the Scarlatti Association of Naples with Auser Musici.

She has performed at the Festival de st Michel en Thierache, with music by Scarlatti Vivaldi and Gasparini, and recently in Paris, at the Eglise des Billettes with Auser Musici; at the 2013 Froville Festival, and at the Baroque et plus Festival in Lyon, with Le concert de l’Hostel de Dieu on a Vivaldi program.

She won the 1st prize at the Fatima third baroque singing competition in Vicenza, the 2nd prize at the 2012 Concours international de chant baroque de Froville, the 1st prize at the 2012 “F. Provenzale” international baroque singing competition, and the 2nd prize at the Moniuszko international singing competition 2013.

In 2013 she was a guest of the Festival de Beaune and the Festival de Bremen for Vivaldi’s “Coronazione di Dario” with the Byzantine Academy directed by Ottavio Dantone, with Naive recording.

Recent engagements include her debut at the San Carlo theater in Naples as Flora in “La traviata” (with tour in Hong Kong in March 2013).

Future engagements will include Zaida in “The Turkish in Italy” at the Nantes Opera, Ernesto in Haydn’s “The World of the Moon” at the Monte Carlo Opera, Ippolita in Cavalli’s “Elena” at the Opera de Lille, Despina in “Cosi fan tutti” at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Orontea in “Orontea” by Cesti at the Innsbruck Festwochen.

Marcello Di Lisa and Concerto de’ cavalieri 

Marcello Di Lisa  graduated in 2000 in Classical Literature at the University of Pisa and, in 2004, he obtained the PhD in Greek and Latin Philology and Literature at the same university with Prof. Antonio Carlini, with a thesis on the manuscript tradition of Archimedes’ works. In the same years he collaborated with prestigious journals of studies on ancient thought, with particular interest in the issues of Greek mathematics.

As for musical training, he studied composition with Francesco Vizioli, and then musical philology, harpsichord and fortepiano with Andrea Coen. Later bringing together some of the best Italian instrumentalists dedicated to the Baroque and classical repertoire on period instruments, he set up the Concerto de’ Cavalieri ensemble at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, which has established itself as one of the most interesting ensembles in the panorama of Italian early music, present in some of the most important concert seasons in Italy and abroad, also in collaboration with renowned soloists, with a repertoire ranging from the late 17th century to the early Romanticism.

Concerto de’ Cavalieri records for Sony and its recordings have been very well received by international critics. The ensamble is currently engaged, for Sony Classical, in a multi-year recording project on the 18th century Italian opera.

On the side of musicological research, he dedicated himself to the rediscovery of the Roman musical heritage of the 17th and 18th centuries, with particular attention to the unpublished scores by Alessandro Scarlatti. To deepen this research path, he started a collaboration with the Pietà de’ Turchini Foundation.