Mozart in Milan: Sacred Music around the Exsultate, jubilate Robin Johannsen, Carlo Vistoli, Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri & Giulio Prandi

• Johann Christian Bach (1735 - 1782): Dixit Dominus in D Major, W E15:
• 1 Bach: Dixit Dominus in D Major, W E15: I. Dixit Dominus 04:44
• 2 Bach: Dixit Dominus in D Major, W E15: II. Tecum principium 05:10
• 3 Bach: Dixit Dominus in D Major, W E15: III. Juravit 01:18
• 4 Bach: Dixit Dominus in D Major, W E15: IV. Tu es sacerdos 00:50
• 5 Bach: Dixit Dominus in D Major, W E15: V. Judicabit 00:52
• 6 Bach: Dixit Dominus in D Major, W E15: VI. Implebit ruinas 00:52
• 7 Bach: Dixit Dominus in D Major, W E15: VII. De torrente 03:25
• 8 Bach: Dixit Dominus in D Major, W E15: VIII. Gloria Patri 03:37
• 9 Bach: Dixit Dominus in D Major, W E15: IX. Sicut erat 01:54
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Misericordias Domini, KV 222:
• 10 Mozart: Misericordias Domini, KV 222 06:07
• Exsultate, jubilate KV 165:
• 11 Mozart: Exsultate, jubilate KV 165: I. Exsultate, jubilate 04:31
• 12 Mozart: Exsultate, jubilate KV 165: II. Fulget amica dies 00:57
• 13 Mozart: Exsultate, jubilate KV 165: III. Tu virginum corona 06:39
• 14 Mozart: Exsultate, jubilate KV 165: IV. Alleluja 02:36
• Giovanni Andrea Fioroni (1716 - 1778): O sacrum convivium:
• 15 Fioroni: O sacrum convivium 02:41
• Melchiorre Chiesa (1716 - 1783): Caelo tonanti:
• 16 Chiesa: Caelo tonanti: I. Caelo tonanti 11:25
• 17 Chiesa: Caelo tonanti: II. Angustiae cordis mei 00:43
• 18 Chiesa: Caelo tonanti: III. In pace tranquilla 05:37
• 19 Chiesa: Caelo tonanti: IV. Alleluja 01:43
• Anonymous: Exultavit spiritus meus in Deo:
• 20 Anonymous: Exultavit spiritus meus in Deo 00:22
• Johann Christian Bach: Magnificat in C Major, W E22:
• 21 Bach: Magnificat in C Major, W E22: I. Magnificat 03:40
• 22 Bach: Magnificat in C Major, W E22: II. Et misericordia ejus 01:04
• 23 Bach: Magnificat in C Major, W E22: III. Fecit potentiam 03:12
• 24 Bach: Magnificat in C Major, W E22: IV. Gloria Patri 01:14
• 25 Bach: Magnificat in C Major, W E22: V. Et in saecula saeculorum 01:24
• Total Runtime 01:16:37

Info for Mozart in Milan: Sacred Music around the Exsultate, jubilate

The splendour of Mozart’s motet Exsultate, jubilate stands out in a repertoire that has for too long remained in the shadows: the magnificent output of church music composed in 18th-century Milan, the city in which Mozart, then not even 17 years old, wrote his first masterpiece of sacred music precisely 250 years ago. The virtuosity and melodic beauty of that score, conceived for the celebrated castrato Venanzio Rauzzini, can finally be heard alongside the brilliant works – for soloists and choir, in both the stile antico and the new modern manner – composed for the exacting noble patrons of the capital of Austrian Lombardy by musicians of great refinement and talent: names that include the universally renowned Johann Christian Bach, Giovanni Andrea Fioroni, the then maestro di cappella of the cathedral, and the hitherto obscure Melchiorre Chiesa.

Robin Johannsen, soprano
Carlo Vistoli, alto
Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri
Giulio Prandi, conductor

Robin Johannsen
The American soprano Robin Johannsen came to Europe as a scholarship holder at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and soon became a permanent ensemble member of the house. After three years, she moved to the Leipzig Opera and has been freelancing since 2008 with a special affinity for baroque and classical music.

In the 2019/2020 season Robin Johannsen makes her debut with the Accademia nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Haydn's SCHÖPFUNG under Manfred Honeck and with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam under Philippe Herreweghe. She also makes her debut at the Semperoper Dresden with Heinichen's LA GARA DEGLI DEI under Ton Koopman. In Madrid she sings Bach's B-MOLL MESSE with the Orchesta Nacional de España under David Afkam and in Vienna Bach's MAGNIFICAT with the Vienna Philharmonic under Philippe Jordan. She can be heard with the English Concert in Bach's JOHANNESPASSION in London under Harry Bicket, in Handel's JUDAS MACCABEUS with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra under Nicolas McGegan and in Bach's B-MOLL MASSE in Montréal under Andrea Marcon. Together with Martin Haselböck and Musica Angelica, Robin Johannsen performs in California and Florida with a solo programme consisting of works by Handel, Haydn and Mozart. She has also sung Purcell's KING ARTHUR at the Berlin Staatsoper, Brahms REQUIEM and Bach's B-MOLL MESSE under René Jacobs, and continues to tour with the Freiburger Barockorchester, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, La Folia Barockorchester, B'Rock Belgium and Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century.

Highlights of the past seasons have included a new production of Beethoven's LEONORE (Marzelline) with the FBO under René Jacobs, among others. at the Theater an der Wien, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Philharmonie de Paris; Handel's TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO (Piacere) at the Musikfest Bremen and the Festival d'Ambronay; the new production of Mozart's ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL (Konstanze) at the Mozarteum Salzburg with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin under René Jacobs and Andrea Moses (director); the new production of KING ARTHUR at the Staatsoper Berlin and Theater an der Wien; and Fiordiligi in COSÌ FAN TUTTE under René Jacobs on tour in Germany, Spain and Asia. Robin Johannsen has also worked with leading baroque orchestras such as the FBO, Concerto Köln, La Cetra Basel, Ensemble Pygmalion and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

CD recordings include: Die Entführung aus dem Serail under René Jacobs (harmonia mundi), solo CD "In dolce amore" - arias and cantatas by Antonio Caldara with Alessandro De Marchi and Academia Montis Regalis (Sony Classical - dhm); Parnasso in festa with Andrea Marcon and La Cetra (Pentatone); Vinci/Händel: "Didone abbandonata" title part with Wolfgang Katschner and Lautten Compagney (Sony Classical/dhm); Telemann: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott with Concerto Melante (Sony Classical - dhm); Napoli galante - Neapolitan Arias with Andreas Küppers (Perfect Noise-Harmonia Mundi).

Carlo Vistoli
After studying classical guitar and piano in his hometown Lugo, Carlo Vistoli began his vocal training as countertenor in 2007, with William Matteuzzi and Sonia Prina. He also participated in masterclasses with Monica Bacelli, Romina Basso, Marijana Mijanović and Sara Mingardo. He attended the Conservatorio «Girolamo Frescobaldi» in Ferrara (Renaissance and Baroque Singing) as well as Alma Mater University in Bologna (Cultural Heritage).

Carlo was a Finalist in both the 2012 «Pietro Antonio Cesti» Baroque Singing Competition in Innsbruck and the 2013 «Sacred Music» Competition in Rome, and he was awarded First Prize at the 2012 «Cleto Tomba» Competition in Castel San Pietro Terme (Bologna); the Audience Prize and the “Farinelli” Prize at the 2012 «Città di Bologna» Competition; Second Prize at the 2013 «Francesco Provenzale» Baroque Singing Competition in Naples; and First Prize at the 2013 «Renata Tebaldi» Competition (Baroque Section) in San Marino.

He makes his operatic debut singing the Sorceress in Purcell's Dido & Aeneas in Cesena and Ravenna. Opera highlights to date include Licida in Mysliveček’s L’Olimpiade at Bologna’s Teatro Comunale; the title role in Handel’s Tamerlano in Poznań with Les Ambassadeurs under Alexis Kossenko; King Arthur in Rimini, Rome and Bologna under Luca Giardini; and his role debut as Tolomeo (Giulio Cesare in Egitto) with Opera Fuoco conducted by David Stern in Shanghai – the first performance of a complete Händel opera in China. He also sings Peritoo in Cavalli's Elena in Nantes and Rennes with Leonardo García Alarcón.

In 2015 Carlo is chosen for Le Jardin des Voix – Les Arts Florissants' baroque academy for young professionals, led by William Christie and Paul Agnew. Within this scheme, he tours France, Australia, Japan, China and Moscow and gives concerts in Paris, at New York’s Lincoln Center and the Lucerne Festival. In June 2015 he makes his debut at the Ravenna Festival in Adriano Guarnieri’s new opera L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle, revived in 2016 at Spoleto's Festival dei Due Mondi. He then sings Febo (Caldara’s Dafne) in Venice under Stefano Montanari, and the Spirit (Dido & Aeneas) at Turin’s Teatro Regio under Federico Maria Sardelli (with whom he sings also in Händel's Dixit Dominus at Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome).

In spring 2016 he takes the role of Ottone (Händel’s Agrippina) in Brisbane, for which he is awarded a Helpmann Award; that production is conducted by Erin Helyard and directed by Laurence Dale. He then sings Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater in Turin and at Milan’s MITO Festival with Mario Brunello. In December 2016 he sings Händel's Messiah with William Christie on an European tour.

In 2017, the 450th anniversary year of the death of Claudio Monteverdi, Carlo is engaged in an extensive tour (Europe – Berlin, Edinburgh, Luzern, Paris, Salzburg, Venezia; and America – Chicago and New York) with the English Baroque Soloists and Sir John Eliot Gardiner, playing Umana Fragilità in Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria and Ottone in L'incoronazione di Poppea. He also participates in L'Orfeo as Pastore in two different productions, with Les Arts Florissants and Cappella Mediterranea. In December, he concludes the year with a European tour with Les Arts Florissants and William Christie, singing the Selva Morale.

In summer 2017, he participates in a new production of Cavalli’s Erismena singing the role of Idraspe at the Aix-en-Provence Festival under the baton of Leonardo García Alarcón, Jean Bellorini directing. This show is revived in Versailles and Saint-Denis. In autumn 2017, he departs for an additional American tour (Berkeley, Bogotá, Los Angeles, Sonoma) of Purcell's Dido & Aeneas, singing the Sorceress, again with Les Arts Florissants and William Christie.

In 2018, he sings Ruggiero in Vivaldi's Orlando furioso in a production of La Fenice in Venice, under Diego Fasolis, and Ottone again in L'incoronazione di Poppea, at the Salzburg Festival, William Christie conducting with a new staging by Jan Lauwers. He sings also Artabano in Hasse's Artaserse for Pinchgut Opera, in Sydney. In 2019 he sings Ulisse in Sacrati’s La finta pazza in Dijon with Leonardo García Alarcón and the title role in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, conducted by Gianluca Capuano and with Robert Carsen's acclaimed staging. A new tour with Sir John Eliot Gardiner also involves Carlo as Athamas in Händel’s Semele, with concerts in Barcelona, London, Paris, Rome and Milano’s Teatro alla Scala. He also sings Narciso in Händel's Agrippina with Joyce DiDonato for an European tour and L'Ospite in a new production by Teatro La Fenice in Venice of Sciarrino's Luci mie traditrici.

In 2021 he sings Goffredo in Rinaldo at the Lausanne Opera and he's Giulio Cesare for the first time, with Andrea Marcon, in Basel and Madrid. In July 2021 he also makes his debut at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow singing Polinesso in Händel's Ariodante – production by David Alden, conducted by Gianluca Capuano. Future engagements include La Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo at Theater an der Wien, (with Antonini and Carsen) Orfeo ed Euridice at Komische Oper in Berlin (with Bates and Michieletto), and a new production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto at Thêatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris (with Jaroussky conducting and Michieletto). He will also sing Pergolesi's Stabat Mater on tour with Cecilia Bartoli.

Carlo works with various ensembles specialized in baroque music: in addition to those mentioned above, Les Ambassadeurs, Les Accents, Cappella Gabetta, Concerto Italiano, Les Musiciens du Louvre and Il Pomo d’Oro.

He has recorded for Harmonia Mundi, Bongiovanni, Brilliant, Ricercar, Soli Deo Gloria and Tactus. His two solo recitals Arias for Nicolino and Amor tiranno have been both published by Arcana.

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