Barbara Strozzi. Virtuosissima Sirena Laura Catrani, Accademia dellAnnunciata & Riccardo Doni

• Barbara Strozzi (1619 - 1677): Il primo libro de madrigali a due, tre, quattro, e cinque voci, Op. 1:
• 1 Strozzi: Il primo libro de madrigali a due, tre, quattro, e cinque voci, Op. 1: No. 9, Godere, e tacere (Instrumental Version) 03:00
• Cantate, ariette, e duetti, Op. 2:
• 2 Strozzi: Cantate, ariette, e duetti, Op. 2: No. 16, L’amante segreto 09:16
• 3 Strozzi: Cantate, ariette, e duetti, Op. 2: No. 9, La vendetta 02:32
• Giovanni Legrenzi (1629 - 1690): 18 Sonatas, Op. 2:
• 4 Legrenzi: 18 Sonatas, Op. 2: No. 18, La Savorgniana 04:37
• Barbara Strozzi: Diporte di Euterpe, Op. 7:
• 5 Strozzi: Diporte di Euterpe, Op. 7: No. 5, Lagrime mie - Lamento 10:48
• 6 Strozzi: Diporte di Euterpe, Op. 7: No. 13, A pena il sol 06:17
• Cantate, ariette, e duetti, Op. 2:
• 7 Strozzi: Cantate, ariette, e duetti, Op. 2: No. 4, Costume de’ grandi 03:48
• Dario Castello (1602 - 1631): Sonate concertate in stil moderno, libro secondo:
• 8 Castello: Sonate concertate in stil moderno, libro secondo: Sonata Duodecima 08:34
• Barbara Strozzi: Arie, Op. 8:
• 9 Strozzi: Arie, Op. 8: No. 6, Che si può fare 10:48
• Diporte di Euterpe, Op. 7:
• 10 Strozzi: Diporte di Euterpe, Op. 7: No. 9, Tradimento! 02:44
• Total Runtime 01:02:24

Info for Barbara Strozzi. Virtuosissima Sirena

Barbara Strozzi, a Venetian singer and composer who lived between 1619 and 1677, stands out as a rare jewel in the musical landscape of the Italian Seicento. The adoptive (and perhaps natural) daughter of Giulio Strozzi, a man of letters belonging to the illustrious Florentine family, she rejected the alternative prospects of matrimony or life in a convent in order to devote herself entirely to her one true passion: music. Moreover, she aimed to assert herself not merely as a performer, but also as a composer, thereby transgressing the strict rules of the period. Over the course of twenty years she published over a hundred and twenty cantatas and other works for solo voice, a number unequalled by any of her contemporaries. In her most significant works she combines the absolute originality of her formal structures with extraordinarily intense and exuberant poetics of the “affects”. In these respects her vocal writing is comparable only with that of the century's greatest Italian composer, Claudio Monteverdi.

After five successful albums with Giuliano Carmignola and Mario Brunello, the Accademia dell’Annunciata, conducted by Riccardo Doni, offers us a portrait of this extraordinary artist, arguably the greatest Italian composer of all time. In an era when the music scene was almost exclusively male, Barbara Strozzi managed to carve out a unique place for herself, becoming one of the most fascinating personalities of 17th-century music, a figure that is today given voice by soprano Laura Catrani.

Laura Catrani, soprano
Accademia dell'Annunciata
Riccardo Doni, conductor

Laura Catrani
At the very young age of five, struck by the beauty of the great Italian soprano, Renata Tebaldi, whom she had the honor of crossing paths one evening at the theatre, Laura decided, with absolute conviction, that one day she would become an opera singer. Laura did not hear Renata Tebaldi sing that night, but in her child's eyes, the soprano - wrapped in her sparkling emerald green gown – was the embodiment of a Goddess.

Laura had no understanding and knowledge of the world of Opera; clearly, at that time her idea of an opera singer was merely the result of the imagination of a young girl, but without a doubt that brief encounter lit up the sparkle in her imaginary musical world. Years later, when finally introduced to opera, Laura was immediately swept away by both its musical and theatrical aspects.

Laura became very passionate about how physicality and joy are released in every movement during an opera performance, recognizing that the body and the voice complete each other and act together in singing, dancing, and acting. While executing the creations of living composers, Laura created a perfect fusion between sound and sight: hearing and seeing when Laura performs is like entering in a kaleidoscope where music and movement blend, where light, reflection, shapes and colors are maneuvered to create a new and extraordinary experience for opera enthusiasts and for the public in general.

Considered by critics as a masterful interpreter of contemporary and twentieth-century repertoire, as well as a flexible and musical performer in the dual role of singer and actress, Laura Catrani began her studies at a young age, graduating with honors in Singing and Vocal Chamber Music at Milan's Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory. She has performed numerous works of modern and contemporary composers and has world premiered roles in many contemporary operas such as "Il dissoluto acquito" by Azio Corghi (La Scala Theater in Milan), "Leggenda" and “Il suono giallo”

by Alessandro Solbiati (Teatro Regio of Turin and Teatro Comunale of Bologna), “La metamorphosis” by Silvia Colasanti (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), and "Il gridario” and "Forést"by Matteo Franceschini (Venice Biennale and Bolzano Municipal Theater). Alongside her distinguished career in the twentieth-century repertoire, is her international acclaim in traditional opera, especially for her roles in Mozart and eighteenth-century operas, and regularly joins celebrated soloists and ensembles in chamber music settings at important national Festivals.

In conjunction with her classical music studies, Laura also trained as an actress at the Paolo Grassi Acting School in Milan, while specializing with the renowned dancers Avi Kaiser, Sergio Antonino, and Valentina Moar, with whom she collaborated in several dances, theater, and singing performances. Laura is regularly invited by the most important Italian music institutions to hold seminars and masterclasses on contemporary singing techniques and interpretation. Since 2017 she manages and supervises the flagship annual workshop "Il Teatro della Voce" at the Conservatory of Milan.

Riccardo Doni
Born in Milan in 1965, Riccardo Doni graduated in organ and organ composition at the Arrigo Boito Conservatory in Parma, under the guidance of Lorenzo Ghielmi; he then perfected his skills in organ and harpsichord by attending courses held by Jean-Claude Zehnder at the Schola Cantorum in Basel.

Not yet twenty years old, he became artistic director of the Associazione Musica Laudantes in Milan and of the vocal group of the same name, with which he performed until 2009, also making some recordings. Still in the vocal field, in the 1990s he led the formations of the Nuova Polifonica Ambrosiana and the Madrigalisti Ambrosiani, holding numerous concerts in Italy and abroad.

As a harpsichordist and organist, in addition to his solo commitments, since 1994 he has collaborated regularly with the ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, directed by Giovanni Antonini, performing all over the world with internationally renowned soloists. Since 2002 he has also been the harpsichordist of the Imaginarium ensemble, founded by violinist Enrico Onofri and specialized in the Italian vocal and instrumental repertoire of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Other notable collaborations include those with the chamber orchestra I Solisti di Pavia (conducted by Enrico Dindo), the Cameristi della Scala, the Pomeriggi Musicali orchestra, and the Accademia Bizantina.

Since 2008 he has played with violinist Giuliano Carmignola; the duo boasts numerous concerts held in prestigious Italian and European settings.

From 2011 to 2024 he was the musical director of the Accademia dell’Annunciata, a project dedicated to the training of young talents and aimed at baroque and classical performance practice with original instruments. The ensemble, which has a rich curriculum of concerts and recordings, constantly collaborates with renowned soloists.

He has taught at the conservatories of Castelfranco Veneto, Ferrara and Frosinone. He is currently a basso continuo teacher at the A. Boito Conservatory in Parma.

The main record companies with which he has recorded are Alpha, Amadeus, Decca, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Musica Viva, Naive, Nichion, Opus 111, Passacaille, Sarx Records, Stradivarius, Supraphon, Teldec, Zig Zag. Since 2018 he has worked exclusively for Arcana, with the Accademia dell’Annunciata.

Booklet for Barbara Strozzi. Virtuosissima Sirena