Concert Ronald Braus – baritone; Alberto Frka - piano
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As part of the Rovinj Summer Festival, a concert by baritone Ronald Braus and pianist Albert Frka was held in the crowded Church of St. Francis. The first part of the concert was dedicated to Italian composers Alessandro Scarlatti and his
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As part of the Rovinj Summer Festival, a concert by baritone Ronald Braus and pianist Albert Frka was held in the crowded Church of St. Francis. The first part of the concert was dedicated to Italian composers Alessandro Scarlatti and his son Domenico (the 250th anniversary of his death is celebrated this year).
Accompanied by piano, Braus performed the following songs: Ruggiadose, odorose, O cesante di piagarmi and Sono tutto duolo, leaving the peacefulness and serenity of the church, after a richly deserved applause, to maestro Albert Frka who suggestively performed the following pieces: Sonata in F-minor K 455 (andante), Sonata in D-minor K 396 (allegro), Sonata in E-minor K 402 (andante), Sonata in D-major K 430 and Sonata in H-minor (allegro). These sonatas were originally written for harpsichord but maestro Frka masterfully adjusted them to be performed on the piano and delighted the audience.
The second part of the concert, envisaged as a musical stroll through the Italian vocal lyric, started with an early romantic composition by Bellini called Vala lunga, which was a kind of study for his later, more famous pieces. The piece is melodic and flowing and so was the performance by Braus and Frka as well.
What followed was a performance of arias from Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, and the evening was crowned by the performance of arias from the well-known Traviata. The performers started with the Intermezzo and continued with the Aria of Germont performed with great energy and passion. The evening ended with songs by Franceso Paolo Tosti, Non m'ama piu and Povera mamma, and two encores (an aria from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, and a repetition of a song by Taosti).
