JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH (1735-1782): Zanaida.

Description: The second of Bach's five London operas (1763) was thought to be lost; a nearly complete manuscript was discovered only in 2010 in the archive of an American collector so, of course, this is a World Premiere Recording. The plot involves doings between Turkey and Persia although this is not a signpost of exotic musical elements in the score. Bach only had one singer of high quality, which is why many of the arias are short and through-composed (no da capos and rather short recitatives are the norm); his orchestral score shows Bach beginning to make the instrumentalists more of an equal player with use of wind instruments which would become increasingly greater with subsequent operas. 2 CDs. Italian-English libretto. Sara Hershkowitz (soprano), Marina De Liso (mezzo), Pierrick Boisseau (baritone), Opera Fuoco Orchestra; David Stern.