Milanese baritone Renato Dolcini’s Australian Brandenburg Orchestra debut performances in 2022 were limited to Sydney thanks to COVID. He’s back, now in three capitals, with a program exploring works from four prominent Italian cities.

The Brandies’ third outing for the 2026 season is a delightful, varied journey featuring acclaimed composers of the Italian Baroque as well as less familiar names such as Giovanni Lorenzo Gregori.

Two of his pioneering concerti grossi bookend the concert’s opening Florentine bracket, which otherwise recalls the courtly formality and pared-back orchestration of the Renaissance. A highlight of this sojourn in Florence is Luigi Cozzolino’s take on the ciaccona, which evolved from a 17th-century dance style.

Renato Dolcini and Australian Brandenburg Orchestra: Italian Serenatas. Photo © Laura Manariti

It’s a rare chance to hear Assistant Principal Violin Matthew Greco as soloist, in a charming conversation with a handful of instruments often overshadowed in full orchestra mode: theorbo, guitar, harp, cello and Artistic Director Paul Dyer’s harpsichord. It’s not the only time Brian Nixon’s precise and diverse percussion adds a pleasant layer of intrigue to the performance.

The most memorable moment in Florence is Dolcini’s first appearance for a Benedetto Ferrari song offering wry advice about love, Amanti, io vi sò dire. His playfully dramatic interpretation reveals a man who can really sell a song.

Dolcini’s expressive arsenal includes nuanced dynamics and discreet vibrato. His baritone is warm and pure across a broad range, nudging into bass territory but also displaying remarkable lightness, so that his notes sometimes seem to float.

This is even more apparent in his next, more serious contribution, Ombre oscure from Porpora’s serenata Deianira, Iole ed Ercolein. It’s part of the Nepalese bracket, which concludes with the Pizzica di San Vito. A tarantella whose folk origins are lost, its accelerating rhythm showcases both the virtuosic Dolcini and Principal Second Violin Ben Dollman. It’s a thrilling duel.

Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s Shaun Lee-Chen: Italian Serenatas. Photo © Laura Manariti

Moving deeper into the Baroque period after interval, we experience its more majestic, sparkling flourishing starting in Rome. After Dollman and Concertmaster Shaun Lee-Chen play a formidable game of melodic tag in the Allegro of Corelli’s Concerto Grosso in D major, Dolcini returns, once again in a new combination of slim suit and T-shirt.

Each Tshirt depicts the bracket’s city with a simple graphic of an iconic scene, but that glimpse of the Colosseum is soon forgotten when the star of the show starts singing Homo fugit velut umbra.

Another anonymous work, with a mesmerising looping bassline and lyrics about the inevitability of death, it sees Dolcini stroll among the orchestra, confident as ever despite the occasional glimpse at a note in his hand. We feel the grim resignation in every lilting phrase.

Following arias from Agrippina – a surprise appearance by Handel who lived in Rome for three years before his London heyday – and Caldara’s sacred oratorio La Castità al Cimento, Italian Serenatas concludes in Venice.

Renato Dolcini and Australian Brandenburg Orchestra: Italian Serenatas. Photo © Laura Manariti

It’s an all-Vivaldi affair, including Gelido in ogni vena from the opera Farnace. Dolcini expresses ever greater depths of grief in the few words of this da capo aria about deadly cold, while the strings convey the pulsing drama of music the composer lifted from his Winter concerto.

Wiping away tears, Dolcini bounces back for the concert’s bravura finale, Per lacerarlo from Teuzzone. It’s a masterclass of Baroque singing, with rapid ornamental runs and vibrato that sees him almost winding up his body, dynamic variation and flawless breath control.

With the very welcome encore, Sì dolce è’l tormento by Monteverdi, the father of Italian Baroque, this two-hour concert (including interval) offers 19 works. Many slip from one to the next without room for applause, so time flies and the audience is back to reality all too soon – perhaps slightly breathless after this adventure through the Italian Baroque led by a voice of rare grandeur.

The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra presents Italian Serenatas at Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne until 21 June; City Recital Hall, Sydney, 24–30 June; and Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane, 2 July. Tickets and information here.