L'Olimpiade

The latest release in the series of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's operas from the composer's birthplace of Jesi presents his final opera seria of 1735, based on the same libretto that Vivaldi had employed just a year earlier. Lycidas asks his friend Megacles to win the Olympic Games in his name and thereby the hand of Princess Aristea of Sicyon, who has been promised to the victor. Megacles agrees, even though he and Aristea are in love. This is only the beginning of a chain of events that include an attempted assassination, a threatened execution, and an unexpected-recognition scene, all leading to a double wedding at the joyous conclusion. Pergolesi's rich and varied score is beautifully played on original instruments by the Academia Montis Regalis, which responds to Alessandro De Marchi's conducting with uncommon sensitivity and—when required—jauntiness. The cast is composed of young but exceptional singers, with Jennifer Rivera and Sofia Soloviy standing out in the demanding roles of Lycidas and Megacles. Italo Nunziata's 2011 staging at the Teatro Valeria Moriconi is done in-the-round, with the small audience surrounding a raised platform on which the singers take their place in costume, with masked extras manipulating mirrors and false walls for effect and the orchestra in full view. The result is inevitably somewhat static but also appropriately intimate. A splendid addition to a series showcasing the work of a neglected baroque master, this is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray. Extras include an illustrated booklet. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)