The "divertimento immaginario" offered here is just that: a group of Italian arias by André Campra, from around the turn of the 17th to the 18th century, assembled into a lighthearted tale of a little love triangle by the Italian historical-performance group
La Risonanza and its leader-keyboardist,
Fabio Bonizzoni. The names are redone, recitatives are added with text by Angela Romagnoli and idiomatic music by
Bonizzoni himself, and the whole is interspersed with sonatas by Louis-Nicolas Clérambault. Annotator Barbara Nestola claims that Campra would have approved, and there is no reason to doubt her; appreciation of Italian opera in France did not begin with François Couperin but existed on the margins of official French style for several decades prior to that. Campra's arias were incorporated into French tragédies lyriques, circulated singly among enthusiasts, and generally written to fill a need even if the purity of the French style was officially maintained. So while there isn't direct evidence of pastiches like this, the idea would probably not have been without sense at the time. The program as a whole represents a sort of fusion of Italian and French style. It may be of most interest to avid followers of Baroque opera; the story of the divertimento as such does not hold together with much specificity. But the singing of soprano
Roberta Invernizzi is as freely gorgeous as ever, and there are a few lovely arias. Sample the hypnotic sleep duet, track 20, to hear the nearly as-good male singers. The small string group and the theorbo-and-harpsichord continuo of
La Risonanza creates a relaxed sound that passes for the 17th-century equivalent of a mellow romantic mood. Recommended, especially for fans of the divine
Invernizzi.