Wigmore Hall: La profezia d’Eliseo nell’assedio di Samaria (part of The A-Z of Italian Baroque)
June 25 | 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Attilio Ariosti (1666-1729), a mendicant monk who found fame as a composer, joined Handel and Bononcini as co-director of their London opera company. Join La Serenissima for a rare chance to hear his rousing oratorio La profezia d’Eliseo nell’assedio di Samaria, (‘The Prophecy of Elisha during the Siege of Samaria’), written in 1705 for Vienna’s imperial chapel.
La Serenissima
Adrian Chandler, director/violin
Hilary Cronin, soprano
Julia Doyle, soprano
Hilary Summers, alto
Alessandro Fisher, tenor
Neal Davies, bass
This concert forms part of ‘The A-Z of Italian Baroque’
The composers of the Italian baroque whose music graces today’s concert programmes are relatively few and far between; Albinoni, Corelli and Vivaldi form the staple diet, with the occasional work by Scarlatti or Torelli thrown in for good measure.
In the 18th Century, things were quite different.
Many other composers were needed to fulfil the needs of the regional courts and churches. Even abroad, no court was complete without its resident Italian maestro or group of Italian string players, a situation that encouraged many Italian musicians to pursue careers north of the Alps.
Whilst some of the usual suspects are included in this series, La Serenissima, celebrating its 30th anniversary this season, features many composers whose music is seldom played today.