Opening the disc with the Concerto for strings in G major RV 150 is not just a filler, but a true instrumental prologue that clearly defines the aesthetic of the whole project: from the outset Plewniak imposes a dry, brilliant sound, with very clear articulation in the violins and a watchful but never cumbersome basso continuo; the first Allegro progresses in energetic blocks, with a tight interplay of entries that highlights the compactness of the Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal, while the central Largo functions as a quasi-vocal moment of suspension, an instrumental recitative that prepares the transition to the sung dimension of the serenata; the final movement, again Allegro, prefers a dancing lightness to pure virtuoso vertigo and establishes that stamp of “disciplined feast” which will remain constant throughout the programme.

In Gloria e Imeneo RV 687, Plewniak and his players construct a genuine dramaturgy of the affections, respectful of the original celebratory function yet read with a modern sensibility: the orchestra adopts a highly chiselled phrasing, with generally restrained dynamics and a measured use of rubato, so as to leave room for the text and for Vivaldi’s rhetorical choices.

Gloria’s entrance, entrusted to Logan Lopez Gonzalez, is exemplary: in the recitative “Dall’eccelsa mia Reggia” the countertenor controls register shifts and appoggiaturas with great precision, avoiding any veristic emphasis, while in “Alle amene franche arene” the vocal line unfolds in broad, regular arches, supported by a carpet of soft strings played with rigorously little vibrato; projection is rounded, the timbre warm, with judicious use of messa di voce on sustained notes that gives Gloria a serene, almost “classical” nobility.

The contrast with Imeneo is intelligently calibrated: Nicolò Balducci adopts a more penetrating, slightly more forward emission, with a more marked attack on consonants and a handling of coloratura that privileges syllabic clarity over sheer display; “Tenero fanciulleto ardere” and, later, “Scherzeran sempre d’intorno” reveal an Imeneo who is ardent but never hysterical, supported by a lively continuo that underlines the rhetorical turns linked to ardour and amorous play.

The technical balance between the two countertenors emerges above all in the sections where the lines brush against or intertwine with one another: Plewniak works with micro-dynamic ranges, keeping the orchestra in a flexible mezzo piano so that the timbral differences – Lopez’s more velvety colour and Balducci’s more cutting one – are clearly audible without ever upsetting the overall blend.

The aria “Al serene d’amica” forms a kind of centre of gravity for the serenata: here Vivaldi unfolds a broad, almost contemplative discourse that requires breath control, the ability to sustain long phrases, and a fine handling of half-tints; Lopez Gonzalez responds with a well-shaped legato, cadential treatment that is never self-indulgent, and exemplary respect for the internal punctuation of the phrase, while the orchestra modulates the string texture with subtle variations in density (fuller in the ritornellos, almost chamber-like in the support under the voice) that prevent any hint of monotony.

At the other pole, numbers such as “Care pupille” and “Se ingrata nube” reveal Imeneo’s more troubled side: Balducci tackles the coloratura not as a mere exercise in bravura but as a rhetorical design, with small accents on passing notes and dissonances that make the work of musical declamation clearly perceptible, while the continuo underlines the harmonic tensions with almost surgical precision.

The duets, and in particular the closing “In braccio de’ contenti”, show the result of this detailed work: the two voices merge into a homogeneous fabric while maintaining their respective timbral identities, thanks also to careful microphone balance that places the singers slightly forward without crushing the orchestral detail (inner winds, pizzicato in the bass, responses from the second violins all remain perfectly audible).

The cantata Che giova il sospirar, povero cor RV 679, placed at the end of the programme, shifts the focus from the public rhetoric of the serenata to the interiorised dimension of amorous lament: the opening recitative is treated with controlled freedom, in which the singer allows small agogic inflections on key words (“sospirar”, “povero cor”) without ever forcing the declamation beyond the harmonic support of the continuo; the aria “Nell’aspro tuo periglio” benefits from tempos that are not excessively fast, allowing clear articulation of the figurations of suspension and anxiety, with a breathing that closely recalls other great Vivaldian pages of amorous pain.

Here Plewniak seems deliberately to renounce any residual effect of courtly brilliance: the colour darkens, the bass becomes more present, dynamics more contrasted, so that the disc finds a conclusion that is not only formally balanced but also conceptually convincing, as if, after the splendours of Versailles, the vulnerable heart that the celebration sought to mask were resurfacing.