The father of Domenico Scarlatti (he of the 555 harpsichord sonatas), Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725), a successful musician in his own right, composed a number of popular opera serie in his day, Griselda (1721) being the last. Bruno Maderna (1904-75), one of the finest Italian composers of the 20th c., understood this music intimately, and his conducting, rarely captured, is often wondrous. Complimented by a cast of singers including Mirella Freni, Heinz Ruhfuss and Ernst Haefliger, this 1960 Hannover performance of Griselda is a rare market sighting and offers true listening enjoyment.
