Arne: Artaxerxes

The Classical Opera Company, Ian Page - Director; Christopher Ainslie Artaxerxes; Elizabeth Watts Mandane; Caitlin Hulcup Arbaces; Andrew Staples Artabanes; Rebecca Bottone Semira; Daniel Norman Rimenes

Overture (Poco più che andante - Larghetto - Gavotta); Recitative: Still silence reigns around; No.1, Duettino: Fair Aurora, prithee stay; Recitative: Alas, thou know'st that for my love to thee; No.2, Air: Adieu, thou lovely; youth; Recitative: O cruel parting! How can I survive?; No.3, Air: Amid a thousand racking woes; Recitative: Be firm, my heart; No.4, Air: Behold, on Lethe's dismal strand; Recitative: Stay, Artaxerxes, stay; No.5, Air: Fair Semira, lovely maid; Recitative: I fear some dread disaster...; No.6, Air: When real joy we miss; Recitative: Ye Gods, protectors of the Persian Empire; No.7, Air: How hard is the fate; Recitative: Whither do I fly?; No.8, Air: Thy father! Away, I renounce the soft claim; Recitative: Ye cruel Gods, what crime have I committed; No.9, Air: Acquit thee of this foul offence; Recitative: Appearance, I must own, is strong against me; No.10, Air: O too lovely, too unkind; Accompanied recitative: Dear and beloved shade; No.11, Air: Fly, soft ideas, fly; Recitative: Guards, speed ye to the tower; No.12, Air: In infancy, our hopes and fears; Recitative: So far my great resolve succeeds; No.13, Air: Disdainful you fly me; Recitative: Why, my dear friend, so pensive, so inactive?; No.14, Air: To sigh and complain; Recitative: How many links to dire misfortune's chain; No.15, Air: If o'er the cruel tyrant love; Recitative: Which fatal evil shall I first oppose?; No.16, Air: If the river's swelling waves; Recitative: Ye solid pillars of the Persian Empire; No.17, Air: By that belov'd embrace; Recitative: Ah me, at poor Arbaces' parting; No.18, Air: Monster, away; Recitative: See, lov'd Semira; Accompanied recitative: At last my soul has room; No.19, Air: Thou, like the glorious sun; No.20, Air: Why is death for ever late; Recitative: Arbaces! Gracious Heav'n, what's this I see?; No.21, Air: Water parted from the sea; Recitative: That face, secure in conscious innocence; No.22, Air: Though oft a cloud with envious shade; Recitative: My son, Arbaces... where art thou retir'd?; No.23, Air: O let the danger of a son; Accompanied recitative: Ye adverse Gods!; No.24, Air: O, much lov'd son, if death; Recitative: Perhaps the King releas'd Arbaces; No.25, Air: Let not rage, thy bosom firing; Recitative: What have I done? Alas, I vainly thought; No.26, Air: 'Tis not true that in our grief; Recitative: Nor here my searching eyes can find Mandane; No.27, Duetto: For thee I live, my dearest; Recitative: To you, my people, much belov'd; No.28, Air: The soldier, tir'd of war's alarms; Recitative: Behold, my King, Arbaces at thy feet; No.29, Finale: Live to us, to Empire live

"Fresh, diverse, insightful and illuminating." Gramophone

"The Classical Opera Company has developed an enviable reputation." Sir Charles Mackerras

o Following the highly acclaimed production at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, The Classical Opera Company presents Artaxerxes, recorded to celebrate the 300th anniversary of composer Thomas Arne.
o This is the first complete recording of one of the most important and successful of all English operas, with the lost Finale realised most effectively by Duncan Druce.
o Composer Thomas Arne, most famous for composing 'Rule Britannia', also won fans in Mozart and Haydn with his opera Artaxerxes that remained in the London repertoire almost continuously from its premiere in 1762 until the 1830s.
o This stunning, but rarely recorded, opera has many well-known arias including 'The soldier tir'd', originally made famous by Joan Sutherland and sung here by Elizabeth Watts ("A lyric soprano as ravishing as one could possibly want" IRR).

o The Classical Opera Company was founded in 1997 by conductor Ian Page. It specialises in the music of Mozart and his contemporaries, performing with its own period-instrument orchestra, and is emerging as one of Britain's most exciting and highly regarded young arts organisations.
o Their debut recording, "The A-Z of Mozart Opera", was released in 2007 to widespread critical acclaim.