Pergolesi: Livietta e Tracollo / La serva padrona 1986

Premiered in 1733, Pergolesi's La Serva Pedrona is a Major event in the history of opera. Due to the lightheatedness of the plot and the ordinariness of the characters – not to say their coarseness – La Serva Pedrona launched what is known today as "the Quarrel of the Comic Actors" ("la Querelle des Bouffons" in French), a quarrel that brought into conflict the advocates of the French tradition against the proponents of the Italian music, the latter gathered behing the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. If what they were fighting about seems trifling to the modern observer, the quarrel occasioned fierce reactions wavering between jingoistic arguements and unjustified critics of the French style. Be that as it may, La Serva Pedrona is a masterpiece, all the more so with the charmismatic Donato Di Stefano in the role of Uberto and the delightfull Patrizia Biccirè giving life to the mischievous Serpina.

J.S. Bach Christmas Oratorio 2014

In the historic Weimar Herder Church Sir John Eliot Gardiner finds the perfect setting for his recording of the Bach Christmas Oratorio. Against the backdrop of the dramatic altar and Lucas Granach paintings, the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists perform Gardiner's new interpretation of this classic piece. For the renowned conductor, this Weimar concert is a special performance, marking the start of his Bach Cantata Pilgrimage. With this new interpretation of the Christmas Oratorio, Gardiner shows himself once again to be an incontestible specialist of Bach's music. Including two complementary documentaries: J.S. Bach: Jauchzet, frohlocket! An Introduction to the Christmas Oratorio presenting the best performers in their field, including John Eliot Gardiner, the Monteverdi Choir founded by him, the English Baroque Soloists, as well as other internationally-known vocal soloists.

Christmas in Rome 2007