Countertenor and musicologist Randall Scotting returns to WFMT to share a portrait of the celebrated castrato Nicolò “Nicolini” Grimaldi. His new album, Divine Impresario, performed with the Academy of Ancient Music and Laurence Cummings draws on arias and duets written for Nicolini by Handel, Nicola Porpora, Francesco Gasparini, Francesco Mancini, Giovanni Antonio Giaj, and Riccardo Broschi, reviving music closely tied to his stage career across Italy and London. The program highlights Nicolini’s influence as singer, actor, and collaborator, presenting repertoire that shaped early 18th-century opera.
Randall Scotting on Nicolini, a superstar of Baroque opera
Randall Scotting (Photo: Jarek Duk)
Playlist
All selections feature countertenor Randall Scotting.
Riccardo Broschi: “Mostro crudel che fai?” from Idaspe
Giovanni Antonio Giaj: “Pensa se ancor” from Mitridate
Francesco Gasparini: “Porto piagato in petto” from Ambleto
Gasparini: “Per te bell’idol mio” from Antioco†
Francesco Mancini: “È vano ogni pensiero” from L’Idaspe fedel
Nicola Porpora: “Come nave in mezzo all’onda” from Siface
Giovanni Antonio Boretti: “Se per tè lieto mi lice” from Ercole in Tebe*
Daniele da Castrovillari: “Dove m’ascondo” from La Cleopatra
Claudio Monteverdi: “Vorrei baciarti” from Il Settimo Libro de Madrigali*
†Mary Bevan, soprano
*Jorge Navarro Colorado, tenor
Academy of Ancient Music
Laurence Cummings, conductor
