Vaga sei ne’ sdegni tuoi (from Catone in Utica)

Il Complesso Barocco Edition

Variations for the da capo of the arias - Aria 4. (Cesare)

Catone in Utica, Antonio Vivaldi's 1737 opera with one of the most dramatic libretti by Pietro Metastasio, contains some of Vivaldi's finest, most mature, and most original arias. They evince a potential dramatic intensity that makes us regret all the more the loss of the first act. Only one aria of Act I can be definitely recovered from a surviving opera, but the rest has now also been successfully reconstructed by Alessandro Ciccolini, whose intimate knowledge of Vivaldi’s working methods, combined with brilliant stylistic insight won universal acclaim for his work on Vivaldi’s Motezuma and Ercole sul Termodoonte.

Ciccolini's complete cadenzas and da capo variations for all the arias are available as a bundle from the Digital Music Store and as a print publication from The Shop at Boosey.com.