Fabio Biondi and his ensemble Europa Galante… seem to have found their métier and the result is vibrant and compelling. David Daniels is on impressive form as the cruel warrior Tamerlano. Bajazet is portrayed with poignant nobility by Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, while his daughter Asteria, loved by Tamerlano and his ally Andronico, is affectingly sung by Marijana Mijanovic.

Vivaldi's Bajazet, based on the same libretto as Handel's Tamerlano, tells the story of the Tartar emperor Tamerlano and the Ottoman sultan Bajazet whom he's defeated. Vivaldi responds with sound dramatic sense. His recitatives especially show a conversational realism that allows them to be more than just a functional advancement of the plot; indeed, Bajazet's biggest moment is a powerful accompanied recitative.
Vivaldi works hard at characterisation, if by unusual means: Bajazet is partly a pasticcio, which is to say that it borrows and adapts arias from other operas written in the fashionable and suave Neapolitan style by composers such as Hasse and Giacomelli, who by the 1730s were beginning to dominate the operatic world.
Vivaldi chose well. He'd have appreciated the crowd-pleasing virtuosity of an aria such as 'Qual guerriero in campo armato', originally written for Farinelli by his brother Riccardo Broschi; here it aptly expresses Irene's nearderanged indignation at being dumped by Tamerlano. Clever choices such as this make Bajazet a real opera, not just a hotch-potch.
The same can be said for the performers here. The cast has hardly a weak link: David Daniels is in typically beautiful voice as Tamerlano, yet at the same time manages enough hardness to suggest the spiteful anger of the man; Elina Garanca conveys a suitable measure of weakness as the indecisive Andronico; and Marijana Mijanovic's moving and dignified Asteria never looks like losing her moral high ground. Vivica Genaux gives a show-stopping display as Irene, and Patrizia Ciofi proves no less equal to the tough technical challenges set by the role of Andronico's friend Idaspe. Only Ildebrando D'Arcangelo as Bajazet disappoints slightly, failing to reach to the Sultan's defiant heart.
The orchestra's contribution, on the other hand, is a major bonus. Fabio Biondi has never been one to miss details, and he and his players bring out countless nuances in the score with their usual array of interpretative devices ranging from gentle cello chords in recitative to sparky off-beat accents and pizzicati, and even some acid sul ponticello. There could hardly be a better way to bring this opera to life.

...a superb cast...conducted with a nice mix of verve and intimacy by Fabio Biondi.