23rd July 2024
Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom
MONTEVERDI 'E pur io torno qui' from L'incoronazione di Poppea
MONTEVERDI Voglio di vita uscir
MARINI 'Passacaglia' from Per ogni sorte di strumenti musicale
CACCINI 'Amarilli, mia bella' from Le nuove musiche
FRESCOBALDI 'Così mi disprezzate' from Arie musicali, Book I
KERLL Sonata for two violins and continuo in F major
STROZZI 'L'amante consolato' from Cantate, ariette e duetti, Op. 2
CAVALLI 'Incomprensibil nume' from Pompeo Magno
PALLAVICINO 'Sinfonia' from Demetrio
NETTI 'Misero core' from La Filli
NETTI 'Sì, sì, sì, scioglia sì' from La Filli
NETTI 'Dolcissime catene' from La Filli
SARTORIO 'La certezza di sua fede' from Antonino e Pompeiano
NETTI 'Quanto più la donna invecchia' from L'Adamiro
NETTI 'Son vecchia, pazienza' from L'Adamiro
JARZĘBSKI 'Tamburetta' from Canzoni e concerti
MORATELLI 'Lungi dai nostri cor' from La faretra smarrita
Jakub Józef Orliński (countertenor)
Il Pomo d’Oro
It was hot, and the audience was thirsty. I am, of course, referring to the indoor conditions of the RAH, not some male-modelling, break-dancing, Polish pretty boy by the name of Jakub Józef Orliński singing obscure Italian opera and cantata numbers all night long with his homies from the Baroque ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro. Countertenor is a bit of a rare species, repertoire is limited and it can be difficult for the audience to sit through an hour of male voice singing in falsetto, so modern day marketing has evolved to present the countertenor with "clever" programming, and Orliński is a champion of that. He has so far compiled four albums of Baroque countertenor works mostly by little-known composers. His latest album, Beyond, brought together the works of Monteverdi, Marini, Caccini, Frescobaldi, Kerll, Strozzi, Cavalli, Pallavicino, Netti, Sartorio and Moratelli and tonight's Prom was a semi-staged presentation of this album. With the show providing no surtitles, in almost complete darkness and presented in one continuous flow, unless one had already studied the text in advance or speaks Italian, chances are the majority of the audience had no idea what was being sung, so it was basically a spectacle to see one single, unamplified, angelic voice filling the massive RAH for a good 1.5 h, and what a breathtaking show it was. The music themselves were not necessarily the most ambitious or exciting, but hearing this voice of the highest purity, flexibility and dexterity was a great joy - and how could he sustain that voice whilst lying down or dancing around? It had a wide emotional palette, great rhythmic agility and a massive personality to top it all. I was a bit confused to see a cello in the continuo when they had a gambist as a soloist, plus other odd instrumental and ornamental practices throughout, but who cares, they are making Baroque music fun, fresh and relevant again. The audience braved the possibility of missing the last Tube and stayed for three encores which included an obligatory display of Orliński's breakdancing talent. I don't know who else can pull this off. This is extraordinary. This is the future, baby.
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