The Crown: Heroic Arias for Senesino Randall Scotting, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment & Laurence Cummings

• Giovanni Antonio Giaj (1690 - 1764): Eumene, Act II:
• 1 Giaj, Giaj: Eumene, Act II: Ricordati che offesa (Eumene) 04:20
• Attilio Ariosti (1666 - 1729): Vespasiano, Act I:
• 2 Ariosti: Vespasiano, Act I: Lasso! Ch’io t’ho perduta (Tito) 06:27
• Guiseppe Maria Orlandini (1676 - 1760): Olimpiade, Act II:
• 3 Orlandini, Orlandini: Olimpiade, Act II: Se cerca, se dice (Megacle) 02:07
• Attilio Ariosti: Caio Marzio Coriolano:
• 4 Ariosti: Caio Marzio Coriolano: March of the Dead 01:00
• Guiseppe Maria Orlandini: Adelaide, Act III:
• 5 Orlandini, Orlandini: Adelaide, Act III: Adelaide, a te vengo (Ottone) 00:31
• 6 Orlandini, Orlandini: Adelaide, Act III: Vedrò più liete, e belle (Ottone) 07:47
• Giovanni Alberto Ristori (1692 - 1753): Adriano in Siria, Act III:
• 7 Ristori, Ristori: Adriano in Siria, Act III: Di vassallo, e d’amante (Farnaspe) 00:43
• 8 Ristori, Ristori: Adriano in Siria, Act III: Son sventurato (Farnaspe) 07:30
• Giovanni Battista Bononcini (1670 - 1747): Griselda, Act II:
• 9 Bononcini, Bononcini: Griselda, Act II: Dolce sogno (Gualtiero) 05:58
• Giovanni Antonio Giaj: Eumene, Act II:
• 10 Giaj, Giaj: Eumene, Act II: Sì, tu trovasti (Eumene) 00:35
• 11 Giaj, Giaj: Eumene, Act II: Fra l’orror d’atra foresta (Eumene) 05:20
• Guiseppe Maria Orlandini: Adelaide, Act II:
• 12 Orlandini, Orlandini: Adelaide, Act II: Con due pegni (Ottone) 00:33
• 13 Orlandini, Orlandini: Adelaide, Act II: Non disperi peregrino (Ottone) 08:33
• Geminiano Giacomelli (1692 - 1740): Demetrio, Act II:
• 14 Giacomelli: Demetrio, Act II: Non so frenar il pianto (Demetrio) 04:09
• Giovanni Battista Bononcini: Griselda, Act I:
• 15 Bononcini, Bononcini: Griselda, Act I: Affetto gioia (Gualtiero) 04:56
• Guiseppe Maria Orlandini: Adelaide:
• 16 Orlandini, Orlandini: Adelaide: Sinfonia 'Minuet' 01:20
• Attilio Ariosti: Caio Marzio Coriolano, Act II:
• 17 Ariosti: Caio Marzio Coriolano, Act II: So che guarda (Coriolano) 05:34
• Antonio Lotti (1667 - 1740): Ascanio, Act II:
• 18 Lotti: Ascanio, Act II: Non può quest’alma in sen (Ascanio) 07:00
• Total Runtime 01:14:23

Info for The Crown: Heroic Arias for Senesino

The legacy of the celebrity castrato Senesino has endured for centuries. He is known to us today primarily as Handel’s leading man for 13 seasons in London, and he was recognised the world over for his moving dramatic interpretations, fiery singing, and singular, over-the-top divo personality. Yet, Handel’s music for Senesino only shows us a fraction of the numerous virtuosic roles written for the castrato. Here, for the first time, are arias by seven overlooked composers who also wrote showpieces for the (in)famous Senesino. All but one of the arias on this album are modern-day premieres and heard together, they illuminate the talents of an 18th-century operatic icon.

Each of the composers on this album was a genuine musical talent, greatly admired for the refinement and skill of their compositions, but they are almost entirely forgotten today. What a fascinating bunch! One was a part-time spy for the future King of France, another a workaholic recluse, one was accused of plagiarism and banished from London entirely, and another worked a side-gig composing music for Italian comedians.

I can think of no better group of colleagues than Laurence Cummings and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with which to perform this music after it has spent nearly 300 years in the shadows. I am filled with gratitude for their deeply moving and committed contribution to this project which is the culmination of seven years of research and work. Why ‘The Crown’, you may wonder? Nearly every aria on this album was composed for a regal character: impassioned kings, noble heroes on the battlefield, royal lovers, and renowned conquerors. These were the roles that Senesino loved to portray on stage, perceiving a reflection of himself in their valiant power. The impression that remains after hearing this array of remarkable music is that Senesino was a truly robust and versatile singer whose abilities and range far exceeded what we have known... until now.

Randall Scotting, counter-tenor
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Laurence Cummings, conductor

Randall Scotting
has become a sought-after artist by some of the world’s most esteemed opera houses. In 2019 he made a spectacular debut at the Royal Opera House as Apollo in Britten’s Death in Venice, singing to sold-out audiences at Covent Garden, and then he joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera and was soon after invited to sing in Handel’s Xerxes for concerts at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. A dramatically persuasive and intensely musical interpreter, he is recognized for winning over audiences with his stunning vocal beauty, stylish singing, and charismatic stage presence.

As the lead role of the Refugee in Jonathan Dove’s Flight at Seattle Opera, a performance for which he was highly praised in the press, Musical America noted Randall to be ‘marvelous’ with a ‘plangent, rich-toned instrument’ and also a compelling actor. He made his Bayerische Staatsoper debut in 2022 as the role of Michael in the groundbreaking, modern opera Thomas by Georg Friedrich Haas. In early 2023, Randall releases another album on the Signum Classics label, entitled Lovesick, which is comprised of lute and folk songs and recorded with Grammy® award winner and lutenist Stephen Stubbs.

Randall’s past engagements have linked him with major US and European opera houses, orchestras, and venues including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Carnegie Hall, Edinburgh’s Saint Cecilia’s Hall, Italy’s Spoleto Festival, the Göttingen Handel Festival, Boston Baroque, the New York Philharmonic, and many others. He has also been featured singing the music of J.C. Bach and speaking about the young Mozart on the BBC documentary Mozart’s London Odyssey. Operatic roles for which he has received acclaim include the leads in Handel’s Rinaldo, Orlando, and Giulio Cesare; Gluck’s Orfeo; and Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Alongside more traditional repertoire, Randall plunges headfirst into all manner of musical genres, regularly singing art song, new commissions, and even cabaret. He has performed in staged versions of Xenakis’ The Oresteia, Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King, and Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire.

Randall trained at the Royal College of Music in London, the Juilliard School in New York, and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. He made his leading operatic debut at Spoleto’s Festival dei due mondi in Vivaldi’s Ercole su’l Termodonte with the ensemble Il Complesso Barocco (also released on DVD). Randall can be heard on other recordings as the soloist in a modern cantata for chorus and countertenor entitled Dive: A Water Music and as the title role in Antonio Caldara’s oratorio Santo Stefano primo re dell’Ungheria. Remarkably tall with a uniquely muscular build, he breaks the familiar countertenor mold with his warm, full, and resonant sound, defying stereotypes and setting a new standard in the voice part.

Booklet for The Crown: Heroic Arias for Senesino