ANTÓNIO TEIXEIRA (1707-1759): As Variedades de Proteu.

Description: One of several puppet-theatre operas to the libretti of the Brazilian António José da Silva, known as "The Jew", who was burned at the stake by the Inquisition in 1739, "The Metamorphoses of Proteus" was produced in 1737. Teixeira studied in Rome and learned well; this work (in the native tongue, perhaps inspired by works he'd heard there in Neapolitan dialect by Pergolesi) has a firm grasp of progressive Italian (proto-Classical, you might say) style. The 141 minutes of this work are quite complete: 50 minutes are dialogue (as in French stage works of the mid 18th century) but, of course, you can track past them. Notes on composer, librettist and text, with English translation in a complete, separate booklet. 2 CDs. Portuguese-English libretto. Mário João Alves (tenor), Maria Repas Gonçalves (soprano), Susana Teixeira (mezzo), Armando Possante (baritone), A Escola de Rhetorica, Metrica e Harmonia; Stephen Bull.