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Mozart's oratorio Betulia liberata, K. 118 (he called it an "azione sacra"), is one of his least-often-performed works, and on those grounds alone this attractive performance by L'Orfeo Barockorchester and conductor Michi Gaigg is worthy of notice. Mozart composed it when he was 15 and on the road, probably for a small-scale performance in Padua, and the 27-piece orchestra used here, with natural brasses that don't overwhelm the rest of the group, has the right dimensions. The neglect of the work is a bit odd in that much less competent pieces of Mozart juvenilia have received more attention. A certain Mozartian voice is lacking, but the work could have competed (it was apparently never performed during Mozart's lifetime) with any number of Italian sacred pieces of the day; it resembles the sacred music of Johann Adolf Hasse, with well-shaped arias whose vocal acrobatics are toned down in respect for the sacred material. The weakness is probably the libretto, although it was set many times and remained in use into the 19th century. It is by Pietro Metastasio, the foremost operatic librettist of the middle 18th century, and it tells the story of the biblical Judith of Bethulia and her decapitation of Holofernes. Unfortunately, Metastasio, apparently motivated by academic Aristotelian considerations of dramatic unity, relegates the high points of the story, including the actual decapitation, to recitative narration. What's left are some rather pious arias that the cast of little-known singers, led by alto Margot Oitzinger as Judith, execute very well; Oitzinger has a light voice with an unusual timbre, and it's perfectly suited to this chamber oratorio, even if a blood-and-guts treatment rather than a chamber treatment is what the story demands. Gaigg's brisk tempi and clear textures are also entirely appropriate for this repertory, and the performances are in general at a very high level. Recommended for deep Mozart collections and for the growing legion of devotees of the Judith story.
© TiVo
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L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
DISC 2
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, MainArtist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Michi Gaigg, MainArtist
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
Album review
Mozart's oratorio Betulia liberata, K. 118 (he called it an "azione sacra"), is one of his least-often-performed works, and on those grounds alone this attractive performance by L'Orfeo Barockorchester and conductor Michi Gaigg is worthy of notice. Mozart composed it when he was 15 and on the road, probably for a small-scale performance in Padua, and the 27-piece orchestra used here, with natural brasses that don't overwhelm the rest of the group, has the right dimensions. The neglect of the work is a bit odd in that much less competent pieces of Mozart juvenilia have received more attention. A certain Mozartian voice is lacking, but the work could have competed (it was apparently never performed during Mozart's lifetime) with any number of Italian sacred pieces of the day; it resembles the sacred music of Johann Adolf Hasse, with well-shaped arias whose vocal acrobatics are toned down in respect for the sacred material. The weakness is probably the libretto, although it was set many times and remained in use into the 19th century. It is by Pietro Metastasio, the foremost operatic librettist of the middle 18th century, and it tells the story of the biblical Judith of Bethulia and her decapitation of Holofernes. Unfortunately, Metastasio, apparently motivated by academic Aristotelian considerations of dramatic unity, relegates the high points of the story, including the actual decapitation, to recitative narration. What's left are some rather pious arias that the cast of little-known singers, led by alto Margot Oitzinger as Judith, execute very well; Oitzinger has a light voice with an unusual timbre, and it's perfectly suited to this chamber oratorio, even if a blood-and-guts treatment rather than a chamber treatment is what the story demands. Gaigg's brisk tempi and clear textures are also entirely appropriate for this repertory, and the performances are in general at a very high level. Recommended for deep Mozart collections and for the growing legion of devotees of the Judith story.
© TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 32 track(s)
- Total length: 02:02:37
- Main artists: L'Orfeo Barockorchester Michi Gaigg
- Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Label: Challenge Classics
- Genre: Classical Opera
(C) 2013 Challenge Classics (P) 2013 Challenge Classics
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