Forse, o caro, in questi accenti from the opera Farnace, RV 711by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Julia Böhme, alto
La Folia Barockorchester under Robin Peter Müller
Forse, o caro, in questi accenti
col tuo labbro mi favela qualche Nume,
o qualche stella che rigor più non avrà
Qualche Nume che vorrà, qualche stella che saprà raddolcire
I miei tormenti consolar la fedeltà.
Can it be, my love, that in your tone of voice,
and with your lips, some numinous spirit or lucky
star is telling me that your anger will be no more?
Some spirit that has the will,
some lucky star that has
the power to ease my torment and console my loyalty.
available from Accent: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical… from the back of this CD, titled Seconda Donna: Handel, Vivaldi: In all other respects, the primadonnas, the title figures and central heroines, stand at the centre of the spotlight. Handel and Vivaldi also had a special affection for the “women in the shadows“ – for the queens, the servants or the spurned lovers, mostly sung in female alto voice. They were given breathtakingly beautiful arias: full of lament, sensuality, vengefulness or fury.
Art in the video by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912)