Agostino Steffani: Niobe, Regina di Tebe

Agostino Steffani's sumptuous 1688 opera "Niobe, Regina di Tebe" has proved a revelation to audiences since its first modern production in 2008. This new recording starts the spellbinding French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, who "sang powerfully and sweetly and created a nuanced portrayal of the puzzlingly indolent, vain, and, in the end, less puzzlingly bitter Anfione" (The New York Times) in the opera's US premiere at the Boston Early Music Festival in 2011, with Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin in the title role of the proud but tragic Theban queen.