PENTATONE is delighted to announce that Italian soprano Francesca Aspromonte has signed an exclusive, long-term deal with the label. Her first solo album, titled “Prologue”, is due to be released in May next year. It features prime period-ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro, led by Enrico Onofri, in an exquisite collection of instrumental and vocal prologues, gems taken from some of the earliest operas ever written, including Monteverdi’s founding masterpiece, L’Orfeo.
Quote from Francesca Aspromonte
“As an artist, it’s always been essential for me to be surrounded by people who share the same drive, the passion to seek beauty. I strongly believe that Pentatone is the perfect partner for this new journey: we’ll explore the unknown and portray the known from a different angle…pursuing beauty, every step of the way. A new adventure is about to start. Stay tuned!”
Quote from Renaud Loranger, Vice President Artists and Repertoire, PENTATONE
“Francesca Aspromonte counts among the most dazzling talents to have emerged on the vocal scene in recent years. She is quickly establishing herself as a shining star in the Baroque firmament. We are honoured to accompany her from the onset of her solo recording career and look forward to bringing musical treasures to her growing audience.”
Florence, 1607: Monteverdi, the myth of Orfeo and the birth of a new artistic genre, opera!
“Prologue” is a true voyage to the origins of the operatic form. It takes us to the roots of Italian musical theatre and explores, besides the fundaments laid by Monteverdi, how his contemporaries Cavalli, Scarlatti, Stradella, Rossi, Caccini etc. created a modern form of expression inspired by the great tradition of the “tragedia greca”, the Greek antique tragedy, and which resonated throughout the peninsula.
Program Overview “Prologue”:
Claudio Monteverdi – L’Orfeo: Toccata and Prologue ‘Dal mio Permesso amato’
Giulio Caccini – L’Euridice: Prologue ‘Io che d’alti sospir’ (La Tragedia)
Francesco Cavalli – La Didone: Sinfonia and Prologue ‘Caduta e’ Troia’ (Iride)
Francesco Cavalli – L’Eritrea: Prologue ‘Nelle grotte arimaspe’ (Iride)
Stefano Landi – Il Sant’Alessio: Sinfonia and Prologue ‘Roma son io’ (Roma)
Luigi Rossi – Il Palagio d’Atlante overo La guerriera amante: Prologue ‘Vaghi vivi’ (La Pittura)
Francesco Cavalli – L’Ormindo: Sinfonia and Prologue ‘Non mi è Patria l’Olimpo’ (L’Armonia)
Pietro Antonio Cesti – Il pomo d’oro: Sinfonia and Prologue ‘Amore e Imeneo’ (La Gloria Austriaca)
Alessandro Stradella – Sinfonia a due violini e basso
Pietro Antonio Cesti – L’Argia: Sinfonia e Prologo ‘De’gotici splendori’ (Amore)
Alessandro Stradella – La Pace incatenata che dorme, si risveglia e dice: Prologo per musica ‘Con meste luci’
Alessandro Scarlatti – Gli equivoci in amore, o vero La Rosaura: Sinfonia and Prologue ‘Cessate, oh fulmini!’ (Venere)
ABOUT FRANCESCA ASPROMONTE
Francesca Aspromonte was born in 1991. After her studies in piano and harpsichord, she entered the singing class of Maria Pia Piscitelli. She graduated from the Mozarteum in Salzburg under the guidance of Boris Bakow, and she specialized at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with Renata Scotto. She furthered her interpretation of the XVIIth century repertoire taking part in the 20th Academie Baroque Européenne d’Ambronay. Francesca Aspromonte is now specializing under the guidance of Fernando Cordeiro Opa.
Ms. Aspromonte has already performed in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Opéra Royal de Versailles, Wigmore Hall, Wiener Konzerthaus, Teatro La Fenice, Wiener Musikverein, Royal Albert Hall, Grand Théâtre du Luxembourg, Opera de Nancy, Bozar de Bruxelles, Opéra National de Montpellier, and at prestigious festivals in Ambronay, Aix-en-Provence, Bremen. She sang with renowned conductors such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Christophe Rousset, Enrico Onofri, Leonardo García Alarcón, Raphaël Pichon, Giovanni Antonini, Vaclav Luks, Stefano Montanari, Alessandro Quarta.
Recent engagements include: Vivaldi’s Laudate pueri with the Bochumer Symphoniker under Enrico Onofri; La Musica and Messaggiera in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and Vespers conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner by the 121st edition of the BBC Proms; Rossi’s L’Orfeo (Euridice) with Ensemble Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon in an acclaimed production on tour in France (filmed in DVD by Harmonia Mundi), Cavalli’s Erismena (title role) at the Festival d’Aix en Provence and Versailles with Leonardo García Alarcón; Don Giovanni (Zerlina) in Nancy and in Luxembourg.
Plans include: Pasquini’s La sete di Christo with Alessandro Quarta and Concerto Romano at the Accademia Filarmonica Romana and Malta; Caldara’s La Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo with Vaclav Luks and Collegium 1704 in Prague and Dresden; Il Giasone at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and in Versailles; Johannes- Passion at the Wiener Konzerthaus; Vivaldi’s Orlando Furioso (Angelica) at La Fenice in Venice under Diego Fasolis; revivals of Cavalli’s Erismena in St. Denis and Luxemburg; Hasse’s Semele (title role) at the Innsbrucker Festwochen; Porpora’s Jole (title role) at the Musikfesten in Bremen; Handel’s Serse (Atalanta) with Il Pomo d’oro (studio recording and European concert tour); Rinaldo at the Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona with Accademia Bizantina and Ottavio Dantone; Mozart’s Requiem at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano.