Join period instrument ensemble 'Les Bougies Baroques’ and singers Thalie Knights & Cenk Karaferya on an 18th-century journey shedding light on one of the greatest singers in the history of opera: the castrato Farinelli. Covering Farinelli's dazzling career spanning almost four decades – during which his virtuosity & refined style of singing charmed & astonished not only the connoisseurs and enthusiasts of the age, but also the likes of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, Frederick Prince of Wales, King Louis XV, and Philip V of Spain – this concert paints a vocal profile of the castrato (backed up by instrumental numbers penned by composers who wrote music for Farinelli) through the rarely-performed music of composers Araja, Porpora, Giacomelli, Hasse, Vinci, Leo, Galuppi, Ariosti, and Broschi.

'Les Bougies Baroques'

Conductor | Ian Peter Bugeja

Leader | Piotr Jordan

Mezzo-soprano | Thalie Knights

Countertenor | Cenk Karaferya

PROGRAMME:

F. Araja: Sinfonia in D major

N. Porpora: 'In braccio a mille furie' from 'Semiramide Riconosciuta'

G. Giacomelli: 'Mancare Dio mi sento' from 'Adriano in Siria'

J. A. Hasse: Sinfonia in G minor [Op. 5, No. 6]

N. Porpora: 'Se pietoso il tuo labbro' from 'Semiramide Riconosciuta'

L. Vinci: 'Alma grande' from 'Astianatte'

L. Leo: Sinfonia in A major

N. Porpora: 'O volesser gli Dei... Dolci freschi aurette' from 'Polifemo'

N. Porpora: 'Alto Giove' from 'Polifemo'

B. Galuppi: Concerto a quattro No. 1 in G minor

A. Ariosti: 'Fortunate passate mie pene' from 'Artaserse'

R. Broschi: 'Son qual nave' from 'Artaserse'