If, like me, you are already sick of the Olympics before they’ve even begun, this disc offers an interesting foray into their antecedent cultural background by adopting the 18th century form of a pasticcio opera in which arias from settings of Metastasio’s text of L’Olimpiade by no fewer than sixteen composers are brought together to form a new opera.
What we get here is essentially a compendium of music from a variety of opera seria composers ranging in time from Caldara to Cherubini. The recording consists entirely of a string of arias, unconnected by any recitative to join up the narrative. Although the plot outline is given in the booklet, the musical performance rather lacks any dramatic context and contrast, ...
