Juditha Triumphans
is Vivaldi’s only surviving oratorio.
It has done reasonably well on disc,
partly because it fits neatly onto two
CDs. Its success is also because it
is a remarkable work, luxuriously orchestrated
and designed to impress its original
audience. Written for the Ospedale dell
Pieta’s annual Lenten performances,
it would surely have persuaded the wealthy
Venetians into supporting the work of
the Ospedale. Not only would the work
have showcased the talents of the Ospedale’s
female singers (as both chorus and soloists)
but the instrumentalists are given a
multiplicity of opportunities to display
their talents in obbligato passages.
A pair of clarinets helps characterise
the dissolute Assyrian soldiers, breezes
are characterised via a pair of recorders
and there is even a quartet of theorbos.
In one of Judith’s arias a chalumeau
imitates a turtle dove and her other
arias benefit from mandolin, viola d’amore
and viole all’inglese obbligatos.
But Juditha Triumphans
is not just a luxuriantly orchestrated
showpiece. Vivaldi manages to create
a significant dramatic situation within
his two acts using just five singers.
The city of Betulia is being besieged
by an army of Assyrians led by the general
Holofernes (Judit Nemeth, mezzo-soprano).
His steward, Vagans (Annette Markert,
mezzo-soprano), warns him of the approach
of a noble widow from Betulia, Judith
(Gloria Banditelli, mezzo-soprano).
Judith is accompanied by her servant,
Abra (Maria Zadori, soprano) who gives
her confidence. She has come to sue
for peace, but Holofernes is immensely
smitten with her and asks her to dine
with him. The high priest, Ozia, (Katalin
Gemes, mezzo-soprano) predicts the overthrow
of the pagan armies. Judith feigns love
for Holofernes and when he falls asleep
from too much drink she cuts off his
head with his own sword.
This rather grisly
biblical story was beloved of painters
and resurfaced in Mozart’s ‘La Betulia
Liberata’. But whereas Mozart depicts
that action simply in narrative, Vivaldi
chooses to dramatise the actual seduction
and beheading. The result is highly
dramatic and reasonably stageworthy
– I remember it being staged at the
Camden Festival.
Regarding the allocation
of roles, for once there are no problems
with looking for castrato replacements
– Vivaldi wrote all the roles for female
singers. He took care with his characterisation
so that Judith has music of a noble
and lyrical cast. This displays Gloria
Banditelli’s fascinating dark voice,
she makes a fine Judith but perhaps
lacks a little in élan; though
this is partly Vivaldi’s fault as by
the end of the piece we are troubled
by her rather callous behaviour towards
a man who seems to have loved her. Somehow,
by the end of the recording I would
have liked Banditelli to make rather
more of Judith’s nobility.
As Holofernes, Judith
Nemeth displays a slightly lighter toned
voice than Banditelli, something that
can be confusing at first. Nemeth makes
a dramatic Holofernes, but she is not
always convincing in her use of coloratura,
never making it count dramatically enough.
In the important role of Judith’s servant
Abra, Maria Zadori is a delight. Not
only is she the only soprano in the
cast, but her singing of Vivaldi’s sometimes
complex vocal lines is both stylish
and convincing. Katalin Gemes and Annette
Markert provide firm support as Ozias
and Vagans. Whilst the singing on the
disc is always capable and convincing,
I sometimes felt that it was only Zadori
who had a really firm grasp of baroque
sense and style.
The Capella Savaria
under Nicholas McGegan provide stylish,
flexible support and their various instrumentalists
shine in the obbligato arias and the
Savaria Vocale Ensemble make a strong
contribution in their choruses.
Though the performance
is a musical one, it does not always
convey the work’s drama. For a more
dramatic reading you might be best to
look at one of the more recent recordings
and for a truly fascinating reading
look for Alessandro Marchi’s performance
on Opus 111 where he transposes the
chorus tenor and bass parts up an octave
(something that Vivaldi is believed
to have done when performing works with
he all female chorus as the Pieta).
Overall, though, this is a perfectly
acceptable performance and anyone looking
to explore this work will not go far
wrong.
Robert Hugill
See also review
by Jonathan Woolf