Cavalli
Il Xerse
Carlo Vistoli, Ekaterina Protsenko et al; Baroque Orchestra Modo Antiquo/Federico Maria Sardelli
Naxos 8.660536-37 152:56 mins (2 discs)
Cavalli’s Il Xerse is something of a landmark opera. Composed mid-career in 1655, it was chosen (in a revised form, with additional music by Lully) to celebrate the marriage of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa of Spain in 1660. Its libretto, by Nicolò Minato, was later set by Handel. Unfortunately, I’m afraid this is no landmark recording.
The performance comes from the 2022 Valle d’Itria Festival in Martina Franca, which saw the opera’s prologue cut and several scenes removed. The production was staged in the town’s restored 1930s cinema, and sound engineers have done little to remove audience and on-stage noise.
