A composer inextricably linked with London’s Covent Garden, Thomas Arne’s greatest opera, Artaxerxes, was premièred at the Theatre Royal, the predecessor of the Royal Opera House, on 2 February 1762 and remained in the Covent Garden repertory until the late 1830s, where it received a documented 111 performances before 1790. The young Mozart almost certainly attended a performance when he came to London in the mid-1760s and Haydn was also acquainted with the work, enthusiastically exclaiming that he “had no idea we had such an opera in the English language.”

The Mozartists, under the dynamic leadership of conductor and artistic director Ian Page, are leading exponents of the music of Mozart and his contemporaries. Originally called Classical Opera, the company was founded in 1997 and has received widespread international acclaim for its stylish and virtuosic period-instrument orchestra, its imaginative and innovative programming and its ability to nurture and develop world-class young artists.


This recording was originally released on Linn Records in 2010

“The performance is thrilling, with exemplary singing and playing.” – Gramophone

Cast:
- Artaxerxes: Christopher Ainslie (countertenor)
- Mandane: Elizabeth Watts (soprano)
- Arbaces: Caitlin Hulcup (mezzo-soprano)
- Artabanes: Andrew Staples (tenor)
- Semira: Rebecca Bottone (soprano)
- Rimenes: Daniel Norman (tenor)