This is the World Première Recording on DVD of Cavalli’s opera Il Giasone. The plot is loosely based on the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece, but the opera contains many comic elements too. In the wake of Monteverdi, opera was enjoying a real boom in Europe and Francesco Cavalli was one of the most successful Venetian opera composers. Il Giasone was the single most popular opera of the 17th Centur y. This 2010 production from Antwerp is orchestrated and conducted by the internationally reputed baroque specialist Federico Maria Sardelli. It is directed by the young Frenchwoman Mariame Clément, who is currently making a name for herself with her infectious directing in German and French opera houses. The title role is sung by the promising French countertenor Christophe Dumaux. Review ------ A gratifyingly confident and persuasive actor, Dumaux offers velvety timbre through the whole range, terrific depth in the lower range and ornamentation applied with innate elegance. --International Record Review, June '12