An Imaginative quasi opera fom the ancient story of Arianna
Music: Claudio Monteverdi, Piia Komsi and Ville Herrala (free improvisations)
Piia Komsi, soprano
Ville Herrala, double bass
Concert version about 30–40 minutes, depending on the improvisations and
interval between I and II acts.
Enjoy a sample of recordings from our new album Lost in Naxos.
Please also read the introduction to the album down below.
Claudio Monteverdi: Ahi! Troppo e duro
Piia Komsi-Ville Herrala: That’s Amore
Introduction
This album takes you on a journey through the rich and vibrant world of late
Renaissance music, where structured compositions and the art of improvisation
blend seamlessly.
Loving, longing, leaving, returning, being lost – universal themes from the
Renaissance to the life and art of today. Claudio Monteverdi originally composed
the opera Arianna and the ballet Il Ballo delle Ingrate for the wedding festivities of
the son of the Duke of Mantua in 1608. At the time, Mantua was the theatrical
capital of the world. The works by Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) presented on
this disc, including the excerpts used inside our own improvisations, are teeming
with the great emotions caused by a desperate longing for love and perhaps
having to leave something precious behind forever.
In these works, several Greek gods, kings and queens are engaged in continuous drama with one another. Meanwhile, Arianna is struggling with her mental health and eventually ends up meeting all of these figures on the island of Naxos. Theseus abandons Arianna, leaving her alone on the island; Penelope longs for Ulysses; the Ungrateful Souls (the women!), who had been condemned to Hell because they were rebellious and unfaithful to pure love, lament their cruel fate while dancing their way back to Hades; and Ottavia is sentenced to a life in exile. Only Arnalta remains optimistic and tries to calm Poppea amid her despair. Still, hope always springs eternal, and eventually Bacchus saves Arianna!
Piia Komsi and Ville Herrala were invited to perform the music for Juha Hurme’s
play Asmodeus and the 1313 Souls at the Helsinki City Theatre in 2023. The
music used in the play consisted of compositions by Claudio Monteverdi
combined with free improvisation. Komsi and Herrala greatly enjoyed their time
working together and later decided to continue developing the concept further.
In this recording, the musical and dramaturgical focus is on Monteverdi’s largest
work: Arianna’s recitative and lament. This provided the initial inspiration to
expand Arianna’s story with excerpts from Monteverdi’s other operas and
improvised pieces. For the improvisations, Komsi and Herrala agreed upon basic,
often quite vague parameters that suited the original storyline. Sometimes the
improvisations themselves ended up affecting the story instead of the other way
around! The music was recorded in the most natural way possible, everything the
listener hears is “au naturel”. This re-imagining of Monteverdi’s story of Arianna,
complete with improvised works, and the somewhat cryptic song titles invites the
listener to create their own version of Arianna’s life, with all of its trials and
tribulations. Let your imagination fly freely!
I ACT
1. Lost in Naxos Overture
Ville Herrala-Piia Komsi
2. Recitativo e Lamento dell’opera ”Arianna”
Claudio Monteverdi- Ville Herrala-Piia Komsi
3. Desperado
Ville Herrala-Piia Komsi
4. Frisk Luft
Ville Herrala-Piia Komsi
5. Ahi! Troppo è duro from the Ballet Il Ballo delle Ingrate
Claudio Monteverdi-Ville Herrala
II ACT
6. Chicken shack of terror
Claudio Monteverdi: Act II, Scene 6 ,Excerpt of Ottavia’s aria fom the Opera
L’incoronazione di Poppea-Ville Herrala-Piia Komsi
7. Shut up, Penelope
Claudio Monteverdi: Excerpt from the atto Primo, scena Prima di Penelope from
the opera Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria-Ville Herrala-Piia Komsi
8. That’s Amore
Ville Herrala-Piia Komsi
9. Lullaby Arnalta’s aria, (Act II, Scena 4 ) from the opera
L’Incoronazione di Poppea
Claudio Monteverdi-Ville Herrala-Piia Komsi
10. Where’s the Stage? Dove La Scena
Ville Herrala-Piia Komsi
11. Arianna meets Mikko Vihma
Ville Herrala-Piia Komsi