Scarlatti : Oratorio per la Passione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) Oratorio per la Passione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo or La Colpa, il Pentimento, la Grazia The Oratorio per la Passione, also known as La Colpa, il Pentimento, la Gra

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)

Oratorio per la Passione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo or La Colpa, il Pentimento, la Grazia

The Oratorio per la Passione, also known as La Colpa, il Pentimento, la Grazia, is one of the lesser-known gems created at the court of Cardinal Ottoboni, who penned the libretto, for Holy Week 1708 in Rome. It represents the peak of old Scarlatti's expressiveness, but its legacy was overshadowed by young Handel's La Resurrezione, an oratorio premiered just days apart in the same Roman palace. For this rediscovery, Hemiolia partners with the Neapolitan theatre company Teatri 35. Accompanied by the orchestra, three allegorical sung figures – Guilt, Grace, and Repentance – like the three women witnessing Christ's resurrection, respond to three actors who create chiaroscuro tableaux vivants inspired by Caravaggio's paintings. The extreme passions painted in music by Scarlatti find their full tragic meaning in this performance, illustrated by the raw images of the master of Italian Baroque.