A. Scarlatti - Opera Mitridate Aria 'Dolce stimolo al tuo bel cor' by Elizabeth Watts

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 - 1725)

Con eco d'amore
Arias from operas and cantatas

Opera Il Mitridate Eupatore
Tragedia in musica in cinque atti.

Libretto: Girolamo Roberti Frigimelica

The first performance at San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice, on 5 January 1707.

Aria: 'Dolce stimolo al tuo bel cor'

Dolce stimolo al tuo bel cor
sia il valore, e la pieta.

Pieta forse, ne valor
non ha mai gloria maggior,
che in dar vita, e liberta.


Elizabeth Watts, soprano

Performers:
Violins I: Huw Daniel (leader), Sophie Barber, Graham Cracknell, Therese Timoney
Violins II: Walter Reiter, Elizabeth MacCarthy, Iona Davies, Almut Schlicker
Violas: Alfonso Leal del Ojo, Lousie Hogan
Violoncellos: Joseph Crouch, Piroska Baranyay
Double-bass: Peter McCarthy
Theorbo: William Carter
Trumpet: Mark Bennett, solo
Timpani/Percussion: Robert Howes
Harpsichord & Organ: Claire Hammett

Laurence Cummings, director & continuo
The English Concert

[on period instruments]

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Artwork: Love of Cupid and Psyche by Jacob Jordaens, 1644