Il Prigionier Superbo/La Serva Padrona

Following the release of a rarely resurrected opera seria by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–36)—namely, Adriano in Siria, which includes the comic intermezzo Livietta e Tracollo (VL-7/12)—we now have another: 1733's Il Prigionier Superbo (The Proud Prisoner), accompanied by the far more famous intermezzo La Serva Padrona. Both productions presented here were filmed in Jesi—the composer's birthplace—in 2009 and 2011. Although the opera features a convoluted plot, involving a rivalry between Metalce, a tyrannical Gothic king, and Viridate, a Danish prince, for the hand of Princess Rosmene, whose father is Metalce's captive, this is a typically static piece in which characters merely stand and deliver a succession of formulaic arias. La Serva Padrona, by contrast, is a high-spirited farce in which feisty servant Serpina bullies her employer into marrying her. The mostly female casts—Marina de Liso as Metalce, Marina Comparato as Viridate, Marina Rodriguez Cusí as Rosmene, and Alessandra Marianelli as Serpina—deliver stylish vocalism, and receive vigorous orchestral support from the period-instrument band Accademia Barocca de i Virtuosi Italiani, under Corrado Rovaris. Unfortunately, Henning Brockhaus stages Il Prigionier Superbo with the singers in garish modern dress, manipulating puppets to represent the characters, and for some reason situates La Serva Padrona in a traveling circus troupe. In both cases, thankfully, the quality of the performances overrides these drawbacks. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)