Nicola Porpora was in London when he composed Polifemo, enlisted by the Opera of the Nobility in a bid to outshine Handel and satisfy the public appetite for Italian opera. A leading singing teacher as well, Porpora was well versed in shaping and writing for the star voices of the day, and this 1735 opera became a vehicle for two of the most dazzling castrati of the era, Farinelli and Senesino. It was a hit with the audience, but Handel still won the operatic war – both in his lifetime and with his legacy. Porpora is far from a household name today.

Still, his Polifemo is full of deep emotion and is a wonderful discovery, especially when performed with a modern-day starry cast headed up by Franco Fagioli and Julia Lezhneva. Fagioli has form with Porpora too, having released a cracking album of his arias a few years ago. Here he takes the role of the mortal Aci, with whom the goddess Galatea (Lezhneva) has fallen in love, rousing the jealousy of the eponymous cyclops (an authoritative José Coca Loza), with whom Calipso (a rich-toned Eleonore Pancrazi). 

 Fagioli and Lezhneva give impassioned and often moving performances, full of virtuosic fireworks and dramatic crackle. And the countertenor rivalry is on for Fagioli, with Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian turning up the heat as a scintillating Ulisse, marking him out as an exciting voice in a new generation of singers.

 Recorded at the Opera-Royal at the Chateau de Versailles in December 2024, there is an accompanying DVD, while CD listeners can hear some of the live performance atmosphere and applause and enjoy a flavour of the Christian Lacroix costumes in the booklet photos. Conductor Stefan Plewniak has a firm hand on the dramatic highs and lows of this tale of love and jealousy and encourages playing full of flair from the Académie de danse baroque de l’Opéra Royal.

Listen on Apple Music

Composer: Porpora
Work: Polifemo
Performers: Julia Lezhneva s, Franco Fagioli ct, Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal/Stefan Plewniak
Label: Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS159 (3CD)