L'Olimpiade

 

Pergolesi L'Olimpiade opera to a libretto by Metastasio. Directed by Italo Nunziata in 2011 at the Teatro Valeria Moriconi in Jesi as part of the Pergolesi Festival. Stars Raúl Giménez (Clistene), Lyubov Petrova (Aristea), Yetzabel Arias Fernández (Argene), Jennifer Rivera (Licida),  Sofia Soloviy (Megacle), Antonio Lozano (), and Milena Storti (Alcandro). Alessandro De Marchi conducts the Academia Montis Regalis. Sets by Luigi Scoglio; costumes by Ruggero Vitrani; lighting by Patrick Latronica. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in Italian. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+

Mark Mandel wrote a detailed, balanced, loving, and glowing review of this rather obscure work in the July 2013 Opera News at page 62. Mark reports that the production was presented and filmed (in the round) in the 200-seat Teatro Valeria Moriconi, which was a church in the 12th century! Pergolesi died at 26 and is famous mostly for comic works. But this is a serious opera which, per Mark, is a "drama in which friendship, romantic love and familial love are shown to be powerful forces that together overcome all obstacles." Mark warns that similarities in the costumes requires the viewer to stay on his toes in keeping the characters straight (two trousers roles). But he praises every other aspect of the production including the singing, acting, and conducting of a fine period-instrument orchestra. I may never get to watch this title. But based on Mark's review (one of the best I've read), I'll give this title the grade of B+.