The Ghosts of Hamlet

Ambleto is a fascinating music historical curiosity: a Baroque libretto by Apostolo Zeno about the legend of Hamlet, not based on the tragedy by Shakespeare but on the principal source, the Gesta Danorum (Deeds of the Danes) by Saxo Gramaticus. This daring drama was first set to music by Francesco Gasparini (Venice 1705) - whose version served as the basis for a pasticcio (London 1712) with arias by various composers, including Händel, then Domenico Scarlatti (Rome 1715) and Giuseppe Carcani (Venice 1743). The surviving arias from these lost operas are brought back to life by the Concert de l'Hostel Dieu and the charismatic soprano Roberta Mameli. She steps into the shoes of the eponymous Danish prince and the strong women around him, his courageous beloved Veremonda (Shakespeare's Ophelia) and his tormented mother Gerilda (Gertrude).