While working on my lectures for opera history, I’ve come across a ton of amazing music. A lot of it comes from the operas before Gluck‘s reforms that don’t come from major composers like Handel or Monteverdi. Much of this music is under or un-perfromed, but thanks to intrepid performers some amazing works are being recorded.
Take a listen to Patricia Petibon perform “Se desti pietà” from Antonio Sartorio’s L’Orfeo (1672). This is from a strange take on the Orpheus myth where Orpheus is a jealous husband, but this particular musical moment is a gem.