The chamber duet for female voices and continuo, usually on amatory or erotic themes, was a popular form during the 17th and early 18th centuries, though one that has not always been given prominence in the current baroque revival. This exceptionally beautiful concert, with Roberta Invernizzi and Sonia Prina accompanied by instrumentalists from the Ensemble Claudiana, redressed the balance with a survey of the genre from Monteverdi to Handel, unearthing some striking rarities along the way.
Invernizzi’s expressive soprano and Prina’s deep, androgynous alto blended exquisitely. Monteverdi’s Interrotte Speranze, opening in unison before the voices glide suggestively between dissonances, was all refined sensuality and languor.
Francesco Durante’s Son Io, Barbara Donna proved a revelation with its operatic overtones: alternating solo recitatives give way to a passage in parallel harmonies that looks forwards to the bel canto composers of the 19th century.
Handel, as one might expect, is more virtuosic. Prina’s coloratura wasn’t ideally even in Sono Liete, Fortunate. Things had settled, however, by the time she and Invernizzi reached Tanti Strali al Sen Mi Scocchi, which dazzled with its bravura and finesse. Instrumental contributions were discreetly effective throughout, with some fine solos from harpist Margret Köll and viola da gamba player Vittorio Ghielmi when the duettists were away from the platform.
The single encore was the closing scene from Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea, breathtakingly sung. It left me, for one, longing to hear Prina and Invernizzi in the opera in its entirety.
