Telemann: Flavius Bertaridus – review

Beaumont/Solvang/Academia Montis Regalis/De Marchi (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi) "A wretched hotchpotch" is how one eminent scholar described Telemann's Flavius Bertaridus, first performed in 1729. It's sometimes dubbed his only opera seria. In fact, it's a one-off hybrid that mixes German counterpoint with Italian lyricism by setting a text that whirls bizarrely from one language to the other depending on the momentary mood. The plot, depicting the exiled King Bertaridus's attempts to rescue his wi...

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