Editor: Curtis, Alan This anthology is the result of a collaboration between the mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and conductor Alan Curtis. Comprising works by well-known composers such as Handel and Vivaldi alongside such lesser-known figures as Orlandini and Porta, the selection of royal arias from the 17th and 18th Centuries is undoubtedly electrifying. The album Drama Queens was released towards the end of 2012 and fast became a best-seller. DiDonato, currently embarking upon a sell-out tour across Europe with Drama Queens, says “High drama, profound emotion, fearless vocal writing, time-stopping passages, historical significance and real discovery … What more could I ask for?” This anthology is the ideal companion product to Joyce DiDonato’s CD. It is aimed towards all interested performers of intermediate to advanced standard seeking emotive and dramatic rediscoveries from the Baroque and Classical periods. Content - Giuseppe Maria Orlandini: Da torbida procella (from Berenice, 1725)* - Giovanni Porta: Madre diletta, abbracciami (from Ifigenia in Aulide, 1738)* - Georg Friedrich Händel: Ma quando tornerai (from Alcina, 1735) - Reinhard Keiser: Lasciami piangere (from Fredegunda, 1715)* - Johann Adolf Hasse: Morte col Fiero aspetto (from Antonio e Cleopatra, 1725) - Georg Friedrich Händel: Piangerò la sorte mia (from Giulio Cesare in Egitto, 1724) - Antonio Cesti: Intorno all'idol mio (from Orontea, 1656) - Georg Friedrich Händel: Brilla nell'alma (from Alessandro, 1726) - Reinhard Keiser: Geloso sospetto (from Octavia, 1705) - Claudio Monteverdi: Disprezzata regina (from L'incoronazione di Poppea, 1643) - Geminiano Giacomelli: Sposa son disperezzata (from Merope, 1734) - Giuseppe Maria Orlandini: Col versar, barbaro, il sangue (from Berenice, 1725)* - Franz Joseph Haydn: Vedi se t'amo (from Armida, 1784) - Reinhard Keiser: Lasciami piangere (from Fredegunda, 1715 (transposed version))* - * First publication