Sydney’s Pinchgut Opera today announced it will present Vivaldi’s Griselda for its 2011 production. The Baroque specialist company has staged one opera annually since 2002, bringing obscure 17th- and 18th-century works by Handel, Haydn, Rameau, Cavalli, and other composers to the attention of opera lovers in Australia. This year’s chosen Italian rarity will receive its Australian premiere under Pinchgut in a new performing edition.  

Written five years before the composer’s death, Griselda is one of the last of more than 40 known Vivaldi operas and benefits from his vast experience in the genre. It features some of his most jaw-droppingly virtuosic vocal writing: the Act 2 aria Agitata da due venti remains a popular Baroque showpiece in the recitals of Cecilia Bartoli, Emma Kirkby, Sumi Jo, and other sopranos up to the challenge. The world premiere recording, starring Philippe Jaroussky and Simone Kermes, was released in 2006 as part of Naïve’s Vivaldi Edition.

Pinchgut Opera last staged Vivaldi for its 2007 production of the oratorio Juditha Triumphans. The all-Australian principal cast of Griselda includes mezzo-soprano Caitlin Hulcup in the title role, countertenors Tobias Cole and David Hansen, and Pinchgut stalwart Miriam Allan.

Cast:

Griselda (mezzo): Caitlin Hulcup

Gualterio (tenor):...