I do not think that in the Manoel Theatre’s long history there has ever been such a concentration of dazzling coloratura and bravura singing in one evening, as there was when two prime donne  ‘confronting’ each other by re-enacting the real rivalry and true life joint appearances of soprano Francesca Cuzzoni and mezzo-soprano Faustina Bordoni.

When the Cappella Gabetta, under the direction of Andres Gabetta, opened the evening with the overture to Pollarolo’s Ariodante, there was no mistaking the high-quality sound of the delivery with its fresh, supportive crispness, which was maintained throughout the concert.

German soprano Simone Kermes and Alaskan mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux had a field day providing superb musical and histrionic entertainment singing a balanced programme of arias and duets from operas by Handel, Ariosti, Porpora, Torri, Giacomelli, and of course, the very prolific Hasse, who in real life was Bordoni’s husband.

Often, the soprano sang a breeches role in duets (or even arias) that were full of warmly expressed sentiments or equally heated skirmishes in duets with her adamant rival or suffering partner.

At one point, in the duet Se Mai Più Sarò Geloso, they put on boxing gloves and sparred within very close limits, short of actually coming to blows. This was one of the evening’s high points. I did not care much for the soprano’s rather bizarre costume, and the poor mezzo must have kindled memories of her home state given the cold temperature in the theatre.

However, that somehow paled in significance because of the superb rapport between the performers and also with the public. Kermes was the more feisty of the two, although Genaux was always like a seething volcano.

Overall, I found the latter singer a notch more consistent in del­i­very, Kermes’s getting better as the evening moved on.

The performance ended with a very long encore session in which the pair interacted very directly with members of the audience; sang pieces by Abba; performed some modern American works; gave us Offenbach’s famous Barcarolle; and even picked a member of the audience to join them, squeezing him between them as they had to share as a duet an aria composed for Farinelli.

They were sad that this was the last performance in a world tour that started about a year ago, and like all good things it had to come to an end, a very brilliant one too.

English high renaissance and early baroque at its best

Very impeccable delivery was that of Belgian counter-tenor Marnix De Cat, who, with the Hathor Concert, gave an interesting selection of English consort songs by Byrd, Dowland, Gibbons and other works by Farrant, White, Cobbold and Parsons. This was English high renaissance and early baroque at its best, sounding sweetly and often melancholically in the splendid upper hall at the Auberge de Provence.

De Cat proved to be very communicative and provided some detailed insight into the works’ style and technical observation. One could detect that the audience started really warming up to the music half-way through the first half with complete involvement reigning in the second half.

Harry Christophers directing The Sixteen.Harry Christophers directing The Sixteen.

Highlights were Byrd’s The Nightingale and the amusing My Mistress Had a Little Dog; Dowland’s Come Away, Come Sweet Love; and the anonymous sacred piece In Nomine, which was later given as an encore.

The concert also included some lovely instrumental works like some Fantasies, and other pieces, in very accomplished playing by Romina Lischka, Thomas Baeté, John Cheatham and Liam Fennelly.

Surely, The Sixteen is one of the most renowned vocal ensembles, which sometimes from the original 16 singers go up to 20. This is what they did when, under the direction of their founder Harry Christophers, The Sixteen gave a memorable concert at St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral.

Dubbed The Golden Age, the programme included works by Antonio Lotti, Domenico Scarlatti and Antonio Caldara and, for Malta, certainly very rare or never heard works by the Portuguese composers Diogo Dias Melgás and João Lourenço Rebelo.

Some of the works in the programme were sung unaccompanied, such as the Salve Regina antiphon and the Panis Angelicus by Melgás. I was not the only one to be surprised that, given the perfect diction of the singers, the first half of the latter Rebelo work was unexpectedly incomprehensible. There was none of that in all the other pieces, which included Lotti’s and Caldara’s Crucifixus.

The former was unaccompanied, while a number of other works were accompanied by the orbo, harp and organ.

More Melgás was performed with Lamentação de Quinta Feira Santa, the Aleph and Beth verses from the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Beautiful solo work was exquisitely projected by soloists who blended perfectly with the other singers in en­semble. There is no other word other than ‘splendid’ to des­cribe not only the music but its in­terpretation of the evening’s concluding work: Scarlatti’s Stabat Mater.

In what must have been another local first, the festival presented Tenebrae: Lamentations and Responses by the Czech baroque composer Jan Dismas Zelenka. This took place at Ta’ Ġieżu church, featuring Le Banquet Celeste under the direction both musical and artistic of the multi-talented Damien Guillon who, at times, sang the counter-tenor solo parts, as well as in ensemble, with the equally very highly accomplished soprano Céline Scheen, tenor Paul Agnew and bass Benoît Arnould.

The eight-strong strings, oboes and organ ensemble were in very good form. The singing could not be more heartfelt and projected the solemnity and reverential spirit of the work.  It was a pity that the detailed, printed text did not always tally with what was sung, and left many perplexed.

Celine Scheen, Damien Guillon, Paul Agnew and Benoit Arnould.Celine Scheen, Damien Guillon, Paul Agnew and Benoit Arnould.

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