Lost Vivaldi opera's premiere recording

3 August 2012, 10:18 | Updated: 3 August 2012, 10:31

Vivaldi's lost opera has been pieced together after the libretto was recently discovered in Washington.

Virgin Classics have planned a September 24th release for the first ever recording of Vivaldi's opera L'Oracolo in Messenia. Italian violinist/conductor Fabio Biondi has performed extensive reconstruction work on the opera since the libretto was discovered recently at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Biondi is joined by a cast including Ann Hallenberg, Vivica Geneaux and Julia Lezhneva for the recording, which took place in Vienna. Vivaldi had originally planned for the work to be performed during the Vienna Carnival in 1741, but the death of Charles VI meant that all theatres were closed for a year of mourning.

The work's premiere performance was in Venice in 1738, after which Vivaldi revised it for performance in Vienna. This recording captures a full performance from the 20th season of the Resozanen festival of early music, which takes place in Vienna's Konzerthaus.

Fabio Biondi leads from the violin, and the performance also features counter-tenor Xavier Sabata and tenor Magnus Staveland.