Pergolesi: L’Olimpiade album review

Monaco/Raftis/Colombo/Frigato/Orchestra Ghislieri/Prandi (Arcana) Recorded from a live performance in an 18th-century theatre in Jesi – Pergolesi’s hometown – this is a brain-addling tale of love triangles and long-lost twins set in the ancient Olympics Pietro Metastasio’s tale of dirty doings at the ancient Olympic Games proved so popular that more than 60 composers set it to music, including Caldara (for whom it was written), Vivaldi and Cherubini. Pergolesi’s version, premiered in 1735, resurrected in 1937, is among the finest, presaging what should have been a glorious operatic career if o

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