It is wonderful to have such an intense musical life as Theresia’s: travelling, working with great masters, playing new music. But the excitement of the stage and the applause of the audience are linked to the moment: it is important that something remains, to relive the emotions, to mark our milestones. Also, not all of our supporters can follow us around Europe, so having a record of our work helps us to share it.
We’re fortunate to be able to have an intense collaboration in place with CPO, a major record company dedicated to early music, and that is eager to rediscover forgotten treasures, and attentive to the practice of performing on period instruments.
Find here all Theresia’s recordings with CPO
This particular recording is particularly dear to our hearts because it bears witness to a special and prestigious experience when we performed under the baton of Christophe Rousset at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music in the summer of 2023.
Shaping the music… Christophe Rousset during the live performance of Traetta’s Rex Salomon in Innsbruck
Rex Salomon is an oratorio in two parts, based on a libretto by Domenico Benedetti (1766), and was premiered on August 15, 1766 at the Ospedaletto dei Derelitti, Venice. The edition we based on was supervised by Simone Laghi, artistic advisor to Theresia. As Simone Laghi explained us, “The Rex Salomon was composed to be performed at the Ospedale dei Derelitti in Venice by the ‘Putte’, i.e. the girls residing in this charitable institution. Precisely because it was intended to be performed within the Ospedale dei Derelitti, the vocal ensemble is female only, making it a rather special work within this genre.” Indeed, the vocal cast is entirely female: Salomon is soprano Suzanne Jerosme, Abiathar soprano Eleonora Bellocci, Queen of Sheba is soprano Marie-Eve Munger, Sadoc is mezzo-soprano Grace Durham and Adon is contralto Magdalena Pluta.
As we said, one of the most exciting aspects of the experience was working with Christophe Rousset, an extraordinary musician who founded the ensemble ‘Les Talens Lyriques’ over 30 years ago and who is an inexhaustible explorer and discoverer of forgotten musical gems. At the time of the concert, he told us of his passion for discovering hidden treasures: Rex Salomon’s project with Theresia is also in this vein, as it is the first modern performance of this masterpiece.
Christophe Rousset: bringing to life forgotten pieces is my specialty
Theresia’s new CD is available for purchase on the CPO website and can be listened to directly on various streaming platforms: find out more here!
Listen to Theresia’s new CD
