Amore Dolore (2023)

The musical world is crawling with young countertenors hoping to inherit the crowns of Jaroussky and Scholl. Nicolò Balducci, who, with Amore Dolore, releases his second album, stands out from the crowd, and here, he has picked material that showcases his voice and style to maximum advantage. There are several attractive features to this album. Except for a few Handel hits, the material is fresh, with compositions by Riccardo Broschi (brother of Carlo Broschi, otherwise known as Farinelli) and Egidio Romualdo Duni, plus ... Read More

The musical world is crawling with young countertenors hoping to inherit the crowns of Jaroussky and Scholl. Nicolò Balducci, who, with Amore Dolore, releases his second album, stands out from the crowd, and here, he has picked material that showcases his voice and style to maximum advantage. There are several attractive features to this album. Except for a few Handel hits, the material is fresh, with compositions by Riccardo Broschi (brother of Carlo Broschi, otherwise known as Farinelli) and Egidio Romualdo Duni, plus some not-overly-familiar Vivaldi arias. The orchestral work by the Baroque Academy Gothenburg Symphony is exceptionally lively; the orchestra is directed by Dan Laurin, better known as a recorder virtuoso and stepping into that role as well (hear Vivaldi's "Sol da te, mio dolce amore," from Orlando Furioso). However, the main attraction is Bal Read Less