Ambleto is a fascinating curiosity in music history: a baroque libretto by Apostolo Zeno on the legend of Hamlet, not based on Shakespeare's tragedy but on it's primary source, the Gesta Danorum by Saxo Gramaticus. This swashbuckling drama has been first set to music by Francesco Gasparini (Venice 1705) - whose version served as the basis for a pasticcio (London 1712) with arias by various composers including Handel - then by Domenico Scarlatti (Rome 1715) and Giuseppe Carcani (Venice 1743). The surviving arias from these lost operas are brought back to life by the Concert de l'Hostel Dieu and the charismatic soprano Roberta Mameli, who lends her supple voice to the titular Danish Prince and to the strong women around him, his courageous lover Veremonda (Shakespeare's Ophelia) and his tormented mother Gerilda (Gertrude).
1 Ambleto-Act II. Scene 9. Son Sdegnato (E Son Geloso)
2 Ambleto-Act I. Scene 8. Nella Mia Sfortunata Prigionia
3 Sinfonia Op. 5 No. 6 in G minor-I. Allegro
4 Sinfonia Op. 5 No. 6 in G minor-II. Andante
5 Sinfonia Op. 5 No. 6 in G minor-III. Allegro
6 Ambleto-Act III. Scene 2. Tu Indegno Sei Dell'allor
7 Ambleto-Act I. Scene 6: Stelle, Voi Che De' Regnanti
8 Ambleto-Act I. Scene 12. Segui Ad Amar Costante
9 Sinfonias (17)-Sinfonia in D minor. I. Presto
10 Sinfonias (17)-Sinfonia in D minor. II. Minuet
11 Ambleto-Act I. Scene 8. Nella Mia Sfortunata Prigionia
12 Ambleto-Act III. Scene 6. D'ire Armato Il Braccio Forte
13 Symphony or Overture in Hamlet in C Major (From L'ambleto (London 1712) Pasticcio)-I. Andante
14 Symphony or Overture in Hamlet in C Major (From L'ambleto (London 1712) Pasticcio)-II. Presto
15 Symphony or Overture in Hamlet in C Major (From L'ambleto (London 1712) Pasticcio)-III. Andante
16 Symphony or Overture in Hamlet in C Major (From L'ambleto (London 1712) Pasticcio)-IV. Presto
17 Ambleto-Act II. Scene 6. Cinto D'amiche Rose Un DÌ Crescea
18 Ambleto-Act II. Scene 5. Più Fido Non Poss'io
19 Ambleto-Act I. Scene 7. Tromba in Campo E Spada in Guerra
Ambleto is a fascinating curiosity in music history: a baroque libretto by Apostolo Zeno on the legend of Hamlet, not based on Shakespeare's tragedy but on it's primary source, the Gesta Danorum by Saxo Gramaticus. This swashbuckling drama has been first set to music by Francesco Gasparini (Venice 1705) - whose version served as the basis for a pasticcio (London 1712) with arias by various composers including Handel - then by Domenico Scarlatti (Rome 1715) and Giuseppe Carcani (Venice 1743). The surviving arias from these lost operas are brought back to life by the Concert de l'Hostel Dieu and the charismatic soprano Roberta Mameli, who lends her supple voice to the titular Danish Prince and to the strong women around him, his courageous lover Veremonda (Shakespeare's Ophelia) and his tormented mother Gerilda (Gertrude).
