I first came upon Simone Kermes’s voice while listening to a live performance from Schwetzingen in Germany last year on ABC Classic FM. The ease in which Kermes hit the top E in Mozart’s stunning concert aria Vorrei Spiegarvi made me curious to hear more of this brilliant soprano. I was delighted when this album of Vivaldi opera arias was released earlier this year, as it is the perfect repertoire to showcase Kermes’s dazzling coloratura voice. The music has been carefully chosen and thoughtfully programmed and includes some of Vivaldi’s lesser-known or virtually unknown operas. Five of the arias have their world premiere recordings on this disc. The playing of the Venice Baroque Orchestra under Andrea Marcon is excellent, they are very much at home in this repertoire.

Catherine Koerner is from Readings Hawthorn