CD: Vivaldi: Bazajet: D'Arcangelo/ Daniels/ Ciofi/ Genaux/ Mijanovic/ Europa Galante/ Biondi

Another month, and another Vivaldi opera appears on disc for the first time. Those who have been regularly forecasting the demise of the record industry reckoned without the surge of interest in the Venetian composer, whose vast catalogue of works is currently being surveyed at a prodigious rate. Bazajet, a tragedia per musica first performed in Verona in 1735, seems a more worthwhile rediscovery than many before it, however. It's based on the same libretto as Handel's Tamerlano, and the delineation of the characters in this story of tyranny and self-sacrifice seems far more convincing than Vivaldi's operas often are. It helps to have it presented by such a superb cast as this, led by Ildebrando D'Arcangelo in the title role, David Daniels as Tamerlano, and Patrizia Ciofi as Idaspe, and conducted with a nice mix of verve and intimacy by Fabio Biondi.