ALBINONI / CALDARA / GASPARTINI / VIVALDI
Venezia - Opera arias of the Serenissima Max Emanuel Cencic (countertenor) / Il Pomo d'Oro, Riccardo Minasi [ Erato Classics / CD - released 15/Feb/2013 ] "If the Vivaldi items here seem generic, they are undoubtedly show stoppers. Yet it is the slow arias from forgotten operas by Giovanni Porta and Francesco Gasparini that show Cencic's plush, beautifully integrated timbre and yearning, soulful... |
AULETTA / LEO / PERGOLESI / PORPORA / SCARLATTI / VINCI
Arie Napoletane Max Emanuel Cencic (countertenor) / Il Pomo D'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev [ Decca / CD - released 27/Jan/2016 ] Gramophone Magazine - Editor's Choice - December 2015 |
HASSE
Rokoko: Hasse Opera Arias Max Emanuel Cencic (countertenor), Armonia Atenea, George Petrou [ Decca / CD - released 20/Jul/2014 ] "Whatever the piece, one hears Cencic at his best, in quality of voice and in his control of it...These Hasse arias would make a worthy introduction to Cencic's abilities for anyone who has yet to make his acquaintance and are confirmation for his ad |
GLUCK / VIVALDI / HANDEL / MONTEVERDI / PURCELL / BELLINI / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Altus - From Castrato to Countertenor [3 CD set] Andreas Scholl, Alessandro Moreschi, Philippe Jaroussky, David Daniels, Max-Emanuel Cencic, James Bowman, Alfred Deller, Gérard Lesne, René Jacobs, et [ Virgin Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2008 ] All these artists are exponents of 'authentic' performance, but - fortunately for the gentlemen in question - true authenticity is restricted to the track performed by Alessandro Moreschi...the only known audio memento of a genuine castrato. |
ROSSINI / VIVALDI / SCHUBERT / VERDI / GLUCK / HANDEL / etc
Fantastic Cencic [3 CD set] Max Emanuel Cencic (counter-tenor) / I Barocchisti, Concerto Koln, Il Pomo d'oro, etc / Norman Sheiler, Kazuhiro Hofstetter (piano) [ Warner Classics / Erato / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2016 ] "Fasolis gives a vibrant account of a fine score with supple rhythms, well-judged tempos and dramatically charged recitative imparting character at every turn...Cencic enlivens [the title-role] with expressive virtuosity." (BBC Music on 'Farnace' Fi |
LEONARDO VINCI
Vinci: Artaserse (complete opera) Max Emanuel Cencic, Philippe Jaroussky, Franco Fagioli, Valer Barna-Sabadus / Concerto Köln, Diego Fasolis [ Erato / 3 CD Box Set - released 25/Jan/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Baroque Vocal |
CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK
Gluck: Ezio (complete opera) Sonia Prina, Ann Hallenberg, Max Emanuel Cencic / Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis [ Erato Classics / 2 CD - released 5/Sep/2011 ] Alan Curtis, described by the New York Times' as "one of the great scholar-musicians of recent times", conducts a brilliant cast including Sonia Prina, Ann Hallenberg, Max-Emanuel Cencic and Topi Lehtipuu in the original, 1750 version of Gluck's... |
NICOLA PORPORA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Porpora: Opera Arias Max Emanuel Cencic (countertenor) / Armonia Atenea, George Petrou [ Decca Records / CD - released 15/Aug/2018 ] "Porpora's gift for characterisation pales beside Handel's, but his vocal fireworks bring modest delight, especially when backed by the bustling musicians of George Petrou's Armonia Atenea" The Times |
SCARLATTI / MARCELLO / PORPORA / MANCINI / BONONCINI
Duetti da Camera Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor) / Max Emanuel Cencic (countertenor) / Les Arts Florissants / William Christie [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 19/Dec/2011 ] Two star countertenors, Philippe Jaroussky and Max Emanuel Cencic, join William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, for a programme of chamber-scale duets and arias by Italian composers of the early 18th century. As Jaroussky says, these are "duets of... |
VIVALDI / HANDEL / HASSE / GLUCK / MOZART / J. C. BACH / ROSSINI
Angel Voices. The Magic Of The Castrato Philippe Jaroussky, James Bowman, René Jacobs, Max Emanuel Cencic, Gérard Lesne, David Daniels [ Erato Inspiration / CD - released 2/Feb/2011 ] The fascination engendered by castrati is a remarkable phenomenon of music history. From Handel's time up to the days of Mozart and Rossini, these vocal prodigies were the leading attraction of the world of opera. |
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione di Poppea (complete opera recorded in 2012) Le Concert d'Astrée / Sonya Yoncheva (Poppée), Max Emanuel Cencic (Néron), Ann Hallenberg (Octavie), Tim Mead (Othon), Paul Whelan / Emmanuelle Haim [ Erato / Warner Classics DVD / 2 DVD - released 14/Jun/2013 ] "[Haim leads with] a fine sensitivity towards the urgent, tensile springiness of the melodic lines; and a superb handling of the instrumental forces" (BBC Music) |
LEONARDO VINCI
Artaserse (complete opera recorded in 2012) Lorraine National Opera / Philippe Jaroussky, Franco Fagioli, Max Emanuel Cencic, Valer Barna-Sabadus / Diego Fasolis (director) [ Warner Classics DVD / 2 DVD - released 10/May/2014 ] "This magnificent production is a complete and blissful success. Don't miss it." Those were the words of the French website Classique News when Leonardo Vinci's rediscovered Artaserse was staged by Silviu Purcãrete at the Opéra National de Lorraine... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Arminio (complete opera) Max Emanuel Cencic, Layla Claire, Ruxandra Donose, Vince Yi, Juan Sancho, Xavier Sabata, Petros Magoulas / Armonia Atenea, George Petrou [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 11/May/2016 ] "Petrou's direction keeps the drama moving, animated by clean articulation from Armonia Atenea . . . On balance, this "Arminio" is probably now the best out there." Gramophone May 2016 |
VIVALDI (AND OTHERS)
Andromeda Liberata (Serenata Veneziana) Venice Baroque Orchestra / Andrea Marcon / Simone Kermes / Max Emanuel Cencic / Katerina Berenova [ Archiv / 2 CD - released 25/Jul/2006 ] World premiere recording of a "serenata veneziana" by a variety of mostly anonymous composers including Vivaldi. |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Ottone (complete opera) Max Emanuel Cencic, Lauren Snouffer, Pavel Kudinov, Ann Hallenberg / Il Pomo d'Oro, George Petrou [ Decca / 3 CD Box Set - released 11/Sep/2017 ] "this new recording is emphatically the version to have of an opera whose dramatic flaws are redeemed by magnificent individual scenes and any number of good tunes." Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice, September 2017 |
NICOLA PORPORA
Porpora: Germanico in Germania (complete opera) Max Emanuel Cencic (countertenor), Julia Lezhneva, Mary-Ellen Nesi, Juan Sancho / Capella Cracoviensis (on period instruments), Jan Tomasz Adamus [ Decca / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2018 ] THE WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING OF A LOST MASTERPIECE |
LEONARDO VINCI
Catone in Utica (complete opera) Max Emanuel Cencic, Franco Fagioli, Valer Sabadus, Martin Mitterutzner / Il Pomo D'oro, Riccardo Minasi [ Decca / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Aug/2015 ] "Sancho's beefy tenor aptly characterises Cato's scepticism about reaching a diplomatic resolution...Il Pomo d'Oro, directed by Riccardo Minasi, vividly characterise each scene with theatrical zest." (Gramophone) |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Faramondo (complete opera) Max Emanuel Cencic, Philippe Jaroussky, Sophie Karthäuser, Marina de Liso / Choeur de la Radio Suisse, Lugano & I Barocchisti, Diego Fasolis [ Erato / Virgin Records / 3 CD Box Set - released 23/Mar/2003 ] "The cast is notable for the flamboyant contributions of the impressive young countertenors Max Emanuel Cencic and Philippe Jaroussky. Strongly recommend to diehard Handel fans." The Telegraph |