GLORIA AND IMENEO

music by A.Vivaldi

EUROPE GALANTE

Sonia Prina, mezzosoprano
Vivica Genaux, mezzosoprano
Fabio Biondi, direction

INAUGURAL CONCERT
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for strings in G minor RV152
Concerto for violin in B flat major RV 367
Concerto for violin in D Major RV222 ‘for Signora Chiara’ (1738)
Cantata “La Gloria e Imenao” for 2 voices and BC RV68

Commissioned in 1725 by the french ambassador in Venice, on the occasion of the wedding of Louis XV with the Polish princess Maria Leszczynska, the serenade Gloria and Imeneo contains some of Vivaldi’s most refined pages, alternating virtuosity and pathos with elegance and dramatic fervor. Hymenaeus and Gloria duel in celebrating the radiant future of the French monarchy and in celebrating the young royal couple, and then join in a grand finale. The inaugural battle of the Festival will be fought by two formidable baroque heroines, Sonia Prina and Vivica Genaux, accompanied by the sparkling Europa Galante by Fabio Biondi.