An all-Vivaldi program to be played in London on 23 October, in Bologna on 28 October, in Florence on 23 November, and in Vilnius on 21 December

And with Handel’s Rodelinda at the MusikTheater an der Wien on 18 November and at Santa Cecilia in Rome on 22 November

In his double role as countertenor and musical director, over the coming months Raffaele Pe will be touring with the baroque ensemble he created, La Lira di Orfeo, and performing in some of the most important European concert halls, like the Wigmore Hall in London, the MusikTheater an der Wien, and Santa Cecilia in Rome. 

On Wednesday 23 October the Italian singer will be returning to London’s prestigious hall, after his success of two years ago with a program titled #solomonteverdi, this time with another monographic concert dedicated to Antonio Vivaldi.

«Known for his instrumental music, and increasingly, in recent years, also for his theatre works, our choice to focus on Vivaldi’s more intimate and less performed repertoire aims at spreading his composing skills also in this area – says Raffaele Pe. These works don’t center on the violin, his favorite instrument, but are just as equally able to highlight the virtuoso qualities of his interpreters and create lively musical polyptychs in which the charisma and exuberance of his writing are vivid and unconventional, both in the melodic and in the harmonic spheres».

The European tour, with the music of the “red priest”, continues at the Teatro Auditorium Manzoni for the Fondazione Musica Insieme in Bologna on 28 October; at the Teatro Niccolini for the Amici della Musica in Florence on 23 November; and on 21 December at the Philharmonie in Vilnius for the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society.

On the other hand, the Theater an der Wien and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia are the two venues hosting the performance of Rodelinda Regina de’ Langobardi, one of the most important operas written by Georg Friedrich Handel – a composer which earned Raffaele Pe and La Lira di Orfeo the Abbati Prize for a Recording in 2019. The countertenor will be the protagonist on stage in Vienna on 18 November and in Rome on 22 November, playing the role of Bertarido, while also acting as concertmaster for his orchestra, together with Elisa Citterio. The other performers completing the cast of the concert version of the show are Karina Gauvin (Rodelinda), Giuseppina Bridelli (Eduige), Luigi Morassi (Grimoaldo), Mirco Palazzi (Garibaldo), and Rafal Tomkiewicz (Unulfo).

Rodelinda won’t be the only engagement for Pe and La Lira di Orfeo during the 2024/2025 season of Vienna’s concert hall. In May he will be making his debut in the complex title-role of Ambleto, a virtuoso work by Francesco Gasparini on a libretto by Apostolo Zeno and Pietro Pariati, based on the Danish chronicles Gesta Danorum which also inspired Shakespeare. Ilaria Lanzino will be the stage director of the new production.

(E. T.)

Photo credits: La lira di Orfeo ©Noah Shaye