Fago: Works for Solo Voice & Continuo Riccardo Angelo Strano

• 1 All'or ch'in dolce oblio 06:53
• 2 Questo poverto cor 06:20
• 3 Cello Symphony 05:16
• 4 Tormentata 04:01
• 5 Come viver poss'io 08:19
• 6 Libro IV d'intavolatura di chitarrone: Capona 01:55
• 7 Lagrime di cordoglio 09:24
• 8 Quanto invidio la tua sorte 07:02
• 9 Autre chaconne 03:25
• 10 Lusinga di chi pena 02:41
• 11 Qualor non veggio 08:35
• Total Runtime 01:03:51

Info for Fago: Works for Solo Voice & Continuo

Nicola Fago (1677–1745) was one of the leading practitioners of the chamber cantata, a kind of mini-opera for voice and ensemble perfected by several generations of composers working in the aristocratic courts in Naples. The six examples by Fago recorded here – for the first time – reveal him to have been a master of the genre: they are dramatic, full of rhythmic excitement and stuffed with catchy tunes. Fago’s contemporaries called him ‘Il Tarantino’, since he was born in Taranto, in the area now known as Puglia, in the heel of Italy, and this is the first in a series of Toccata Classics recordings of Puglia composers.

Riccardo Angelo Strano, countertenor (on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11)
Claudio Mastrangelo, baroque cello (on track 3)
Giuseppe Petrella, theorbo, baroque guitar (on tracks 6, 9)
Davide Milano, violin
(on track 3) Sabino Manzo, harpsichord, director
Ensemble Barocco della Cappella Musicale ‘Santa Teresa dei Maschi’

Riccardo Angelo Strano
Italian countertenor Riccardo Angelo Strano was born in Catania in 1988 and he graduated in Opera Singing at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of The Hague (Holland) in 2012, after having began singing and hobo studies at Musical Institute “Vincenzo Bellini” in Catania.

He’s rising his career all over Europe and outside, having already performed in prestigious Opera Houses and Concert Halls as Koninklijke Schouwburg (The Hague- Holland, 2009), L.Pavarotti Theater (Modena – Italy, 2009), De Oude Kerk and Italian Cultural Institute (Amsterdam – Holland, 2010/2011), Theatre De Regentes (The Hague – Holland,2012), KoncertKirken and Italian Cultural Institute (Copenhagen,Denmark,2013), Teatro dell’Opera (Rome – Italy,2013), Teatro G.B. Pergolesi (Jesi- Italy,2013), Teatro Sangiorgi (Catania – Italy, 2013), Tonhalle and Centrum Paul Klee (Zurig and Bern – Switzerland, 2014) , Teatro Regio (Turin – Italy, 2014) , Teatro Massimo V.Bellini (Catania – Italy, 2015), Teatro Degollado (Guadalajara – Messico, 2015), Teatro “A.Ponchielli” (Cremona – Italy, 2016).

He collaborated with conductors such as Alessandro De Marchi, Jonathan Webb, Hilary Griffiths, Alevtina Ioffe, Hernan Schwartzman, Stefano De Micheli, Francesco Cilluffo and with stage directors as Laurent Pelly, Laurie Feldman, Juliette Dechamps, Rudolf Frey, Floris Visser, Chiara Muti, Benedetto Sicca, Maria Paola Viano, singing at the side of artists like Sonia Prina, Jessica Pratt, Sara Mingardo, Maria Grazia Schiavo, Giorgio Caoduro.

Among the prizes obtained: II prize at the the International Baroque Singing Competition “F.Provenzale” organized by the Early Music Center Pietà de’ Turchini (Neaples, 2012); Best Singer Prize for two consecutive years at the baroque singing masterclass held by Sonia Prina, his actual teacher (Bari, Italy– 2013/2014); “Honorary distinction” at the VII International Baroque Singing Competition “Principe Francesco Maria Ruspoli” organized by the “Centro Studi Santa Giacinta Marescotti” in Vignanello (Italy, 2015); III prize at the XVIII International Competition for Opera Singers “Città di Alcamo” (Italy, 2015); Special Prize “National Forum of Music & Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra” at the 3rd International Early Music Vocal Competition “Canticum Gaudium” in Poznan (Poland, 2015). Moreover, he was a finalist at International Sacred Music Vocal Competition in Rome (2011) and at the International Baroque Singing Competition in Froville (France, 2015).

His debuts include the following roles and parts: Nerone in G.F.Haendel’s Agrippina (The Hague and Modena, 2009), Soprano II in G.Rossini’s Stabat Mater (Florence, 2012), Sicut Umbra… by L.Dallapiccola (Ravenna, 2012), A Spirit in form of Mercury in H.Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Rome, 2013), L’Innocente in F.Cilea’s L’Arlesiana (Jesi, 2013), Palemone in N.Porpora’s Gli Orti Esperidi (Neaples, 2013 – Italian premiere in modern times), Nisi Dominus by A.Vivaldi (Catania, 2014), Acheloo in A.Steffani’s La lotta d’ercole con Acheloo (Martina Franca, 2014 – world premiere in modern times), Orfeo in C.W.Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice (Martina Franca, 2014), Medoro in G.F.Haendel’s Orlando (Trapani, 2014), Nireno in G.F.Haendel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Turin, 2014), the Swan in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana (Catania, 2015), solo Alto in A. Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater (Genova, 2016). He was also onstage for several international Festivals as Grandezze&Meraviglie Baroque Festival (Italy, 2009), Händelian Jaar Festival (Holland, 2009), Festival N.E.W. in Den Haag (Holland, 2012), Festival Dante 2021 (Italy, 2012), Copenhagen Renaissance Music Festival (Denmark, 2013),Pergolesi-Spontini Festival (Italy, 2013), Early Music Center Pietà de’ Turchini (Italy, 2013), Early Music Foundation Antonio Il Verso (Italy, 2014), 40th Festival della Valle d’Itria (Italy, 2014), Luglio Musicale Trapanese (Italy, 2014), Festival der Jungen Stimmen ’14 (Switzerland, 2014) for a concert tour in Zurich, Bern, Thun and Sigriswil, Martes de Música y Ópera (Mexico, 2015).

He’s always been busy in promoting baroque repertoire in Sicily, singing for the major Music Associations of the Isle: in 2014, with the baroque ensemble Les Elèments he performed in a Sicilian concert tour followed by A.Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus debut in Catania and he was Medoro in G.F.Haendel’s Orlando for Luglio Musicale Trapanese opera festival in Trapani; in 2015 he sang in Catania a Farinelli opera arias recital obtaining a big success.

In April 2015 he recorded his first solo CD for Toccata Classics (London) of never- performed baroque cantatas by Italian composer Nicola Fago (Release in 2016) with the Baroque Ensemble of Cappella Musicale S.Teresa dei Maschi (Bari, Italy). In the same year, the Italian discographic label Dynamic published on DVD and CD the opera L’ Artesiana (role of L’Innocente, Jesi 2013) recorded in world premiere at G.B.Pergolesi Theater. In May 2015 he made his debut at “Vincenzo Bellini” Opera House (Catania, Italy) singing the Swan‘s part in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and being the only soloist of La Nona, dal caos il corpo, a world premiere project with the famous Italian contemporary ballet company “Compagnia Zappalà Danza” based on L.W.Beethoven’s 9th symphony music, in F.Liszt’s piano reduction, where he was singing the main themes of the original 4 soloists and choir. This production was replicated in Cremona (Italy, February 2016) after having gained the prestigious national award “Danza&Danza” as the “Italian production of the year”. In July 2015 he made his Mexico debut at Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara with the Baroque Kings project (sacred and opera arias by Haendel,Porpora,Vivaldi and Broschi), getting a great public and critics success. In February 2016 he sang for the first time the A.Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater with the “Solisti di Genova” Ensemble (Genova – Italy).

This album contains no booklet.