A. Scarlatti - Griselda / Röschmann · Zazzo · Cangemi · Fink · Tro Santafé · van Rensburg · Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin · Jacobs
Griselda, the last of Alessandro Scarlatti's 70-or-so operas, was performed only once, in Rome in 1721. Conductor René Jacobs has pared down the original 41 (!) arias to a mere 29--about three hours' worth--and they're splendid and varied in tone, orchestration and tempi, always throwing light on the complex characters. The disgusting plot shows us King Gualtiero, whose shepherdess wife Griselda was disliked by the people, so he gave away their daughter years before the opera begins and claimed that she had died. Now, with the people still disapproving, he puts Griselda through humiliating and hurtful tests, trying to break her, but all she wants is his happiness. The daughter shows up but Griselda doesn't recognize her; Gualtiero demands that their son be killed and that she, Griselda, be given to his slimy courtier, Ottone. That's where Griselda draws the line and the people finally give her the respect she deserves. She's a doormat--but with enough integrity to resist Ottone--and Gualtiero is a sadist who, in asides, feels bad about what he's doing to his wife. Very odd indeed. The performance is riveting enough to make you care about what happens.  Dorothea Röschmann's Griselda is always noble, purposefully belying this character's humble origins; Lawrence Zazzo as Gualtiero is an unusually firm countertenor, and he uses his sound remarkably. The others in the cast--Baroque specialists  Bernarda Fink , Veronica Cangemi and Kobie van Rensburg--are superb, and newcomer mezzo Silvia Tro Santafé is a spicy, nasty Ottone.  The orchestral playing is sharp, incisive, and dramatic. This is very highly recommended.--Robert Levine