“The outstanding direction of Carlo Benedetto Cimento…
left nothing to be desired.”
© Tobias Witzgall
Reviews
Il viaggio a Reims
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Musikalische Leitung
Salzburger Landestheater
2024
“The young maestro stands up to the greatest role models.”
- Der neue Merker
“Under his baton, the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg is, in this form and with this animo, the best Rossini orchestra in the world”
- Der neue Merker
“There is a first-rate Italianitá connoisseur at the podium who knows what is "state of the art" by Rossini.”
- DrehPunktKultur
-
“What the ensemble members are capable of achieving is demonstrated not least in the ‘Waltz of Passing Time’: everything is carried by the flow of the music, which flows with rhythmic force from the orchestra pit onto the dance stage from the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg under the direction of Carlo Benedetto Cimento.”
“The dance runs out in places. The love waltz becomes an impulse. The depth of the orchestra - what a blessing under Carlo Benedetto Cimento! Real music instead of conserve! - carries enchanting images of human abysses in the nightmarish guise of the disenchanted. This becomes a parable for us today, where we are still incomprehensible. The hint of foreboding was frenetically applauded by the audience.”
"The stunning “Sleeping Beauty” is crowned by the lively, dynamic and enormously rousing Mozarteumorchester, which, under the direction of Carlo Benedetto Cimento, allows Tchaikovsky's richness of sound color to blossom in all its variations."
Il Barbiere di Siviglia
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Musikalische Leitung
Salzburger Landestheater
2023
“New arrivals from Italy prove to be an asset.”
- Salzburger Nachrichten
“Carlo Benedetto Cimento is the right man for the job: the new conductor elicits a bouncy, multifaceted performance from the Mozartumorchester”
- Salzburger Nachrichten
“Carlo Benedetto Cimento proved to be a stroke of luck.”
- Berchtesgadner Anzeigner
-
Salzburger Nachrichten, 02.10.2023
"It is up to the musical side of the production to convey the biting wit and fast-paced energy of this opera buffa. Carlo Benedetto Cimento is the right man for the job: the new conductor elicits a bouncy, multifaceted performance from the Mozartumorchester and repeatedly brings the sound to a decisive head. Drama and satirical acuity develop from the delicate orchestral playing, to which the dry acoustics of the Landestheater lend additional contour. [...] You can tell from the evening how precisely the young conductor from Bologna has worked with the singers. This begins with the striking heart chorus passages and ends in the final sextet of the first act, which is excellently worked through in terms of transparency and plasticity."
DrehPunktKultur 25.09.2023
"But before we go on to list the singers who have grown together to form a uniquely harmonious ensemble, we must talk about Carlo Benedetto Cimento. He is the new first Kapellmeister at the Landestheater and he presented his calling card as an excellent stylist and dramaturge for Italianità on the opening night (24/09). What he made audible in terms of fine mechanics with the Mozarteumorchester, which followed him with evident enthusiasm and solid precision, was a pleasure from the first to the last bar. There were no exaggerated tempi, but rather smart ones, with just enough flexibility to allow the singers to take great creative liberties. And the ornaments and small variations, which Rossini did not write in the notes but which were taken for granted at the time, are also given their due.A great deal of creative freedom is also possible in the dynamic detailing. The impression is that singing must be a real pleasure when this experienced buffo conductor leads the way. Everyone benefits from this, right down to the smallest roles, including the choir rehearsed by Carl Philipp Fromherz.
The result is a lively ensemble spirit, a perfectly synchronized group without any weak points."
Berchtesgadner Anzeigner 27.09.2024
"Carlo Benedetto Cimento proved to be a stroke of luck. Under his direction, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg brought Rossini's music to life in all its colorful facets. Rapid tempi in many different shades and dynamic variety made Rossini's motoric music a convincing sound event. The conductor also knew how to set caesuras and provide the singers with a finely woven lyrical carpet of sound. Musical enjoyment from the orchestra pit was guaranteed."
Lucio Silla
.
Musikalische Leitung
Salzburger Landestheater
2024
“Cimento’s alert musical leadership from the pit… was just as impressive — and crucial.”
- Seen and Heard International
“Carlo Benedetto Cimento conducted the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg… with nuance, attention to detail and passion for the music”
- Das Opernmagazin
”Maestro Carlo Benedetto Cimento brings out all the fresh colors and theatrical effects of the score with the phenomenal Mozarteumorchester Salzburg”
- DrehPunktKultur
-
Salzburger Nachrichten, 21.01.2024
“The sounds from the orchestra pit are similarly stirring: Carlo Benedetto Cimento elicits harsh colors from the score and drives the risk-taking Mozarteumorchester Salzburg to captivating furor. [...] The cleverly abridged youth opera hardly develops any lengths. On the contrary, the Landestheater succeeds in creating a convincing opera production that whets the appetite for the upcoming Mozart Weeks.”
Berchtesgadner Anzeigner 23.01.2024
“The Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, under the outstanding direction of Carlo Benedetto Cimento, left nothing to be desired. The conductor fanned out the multi-layered score wonderfully with the musicians, nuanced in tempi, colors, dynamics and leading the vocal soloists.”
DrehPunktKultur 22.01.2024
“Maestro Carlo Benedetto Cimento brings out all the fresh colors and theatrical effects of the score with the phenomenal Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, which breathes along powerfully eloquent yet without any dryness of sound. The orchestra also creates a great dramatic arc and is a perfect companion to the people on stage.A clever string pencil has counteracted the ever-present threat of fatigue in these formulaic seria operas through endless, consecutive da capo arias. It is interesting that two short orchestral interludes at the beginning of the second and third acts fit in wonderfully. The title hero is allowed to show silently, so to speak, that even a cruel dictator has feelings, albeit very self-centered ones. The notes are taken from the G minor Symphony op. 6 no. 6 by Johann Christian Bach, who was an important teacher of the boy Mozart (and incidentally also composed a Lucio Silla after Mozart). This noble early classical music lends moments of meditative contemplation to the dramatic action.”
“Carlo Benedetto Cimento conducted the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg and the Salzburg State Theater Chorus from the harpsichord with nuance, attention to detail and passion for the music. Cimento encouraged the orchestra to maintain a brisk rhythm and to slow down the tempo at poignant moments. His obvious love of Mozart's opera seria came across strongly, and the various emotions in the score were brought to the fore. The accompaniment to the recitatives was colorful and vivid without ever overpowering the spoken text.”
Seen and Heard International 08.06.2024
"Cimento’s alert musical leadership from the pit, allied to the long Mozartian experience of theMozarteumorchester Salzburg, was just as impressive — and crucial. Tempo decisions were wise. Dramatic momentum was created and maintained. Artists on stage were given freedom to act as singing actors, nonetheless bound together by careful ensemble preparation and finely judged orchestral incitement. Affective use of keys, E-flat major in particular, was meaningfully conveyed. That is Mozart’s doing in the first instance, of course, yet it still needs – and received – sensitive, dramatically alert conducting and orchestral performance. Likewise, the composer’s extraordinary orchestration, veiled, muted strings, tender woodwind, sepulchral trombones and all, disconcerted, beguiled, and thrilled."
Dornröschen
.
Musikalische Leitung
Salzburger Landestheater
2024
“The depth of the orchestra - what a blessing under Carlo Benedetto Cimento! Real music instead of conserve!”
- DrehPunktKultur
“…the lively, dynamic and enormously rousing Mozarteumorchester… under the direction of Carlo Benedetto Cimento”
- PNP.de
-
Der neue Merker, Ausgabe 10.2024
"The whole thing would be half-hearted without Carlo Benedetto Cimento at the podium. The young maestro stands up to the greatest role models. He has the rousing Rossini crescendo in his little finger as well as the big romantic cantilena and everything sounds transparent, bright, clear and pointed. Under his baton, the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg is, in this form and with this animo, the best Rossini orchestra in the world, also with many beguilingly beautiful solos from the woodwinds and, during the dreamy Corinna's aria, pearly harp sounds fill wonderfully the room. Everything works like clockwork between the orchestra pit and the stage."
DrehPunktKultur 22.09.2024
“Stories upon stories are told in a fun and pointed way, with exuberant humor. The ensemble's joy in playing knows no limits, nor does the director's inventiveness. Very important: Everything is trimmed to the point and corresponds to the cogs of the music machine. A timing as you would wish. Carlo Benedetto Cimento, erster Kapellmeister at the Salzburg State Theater, played a crucial role in this. There is a first-rate Italianitá connoisseur at the podium who knows what is "state of the art" by Rossini. Each ensemble farce is given the precise timing, the pulse is exact as required by the respective musical dramaturgy. In the arias, it's not just the coloratura that rattles, the extraordinarily diverse vocal ornamentation takes on air and lightness. Nothing is rushed this evening, every phrase finds its place. There is someone really knowledgeable about the style in charge, from which everyone in the ensemble benefits. The Mozarteum Orchestra contributes with extreme precision. Solo flute in front of the curtain please!”
Salzburger Nachrichten, 21.01.2024
“From the orchestra pit, the playful Mozarteumorchester contributes delicate tones in the striking solo passages, whether flute, trumpet or cello and harp. First Kapellmeister Carlo Benedetto Cimento regulates dynamics and rhythm with a sure hand, ensuring an orchestral foundation of high quality.”““Il viaggio a Reims” is entertaining and musically of high quality at the Salzburg State Theater.
“Carlo Benedetto Cimento at the podium of the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg also contributes to the scenic speed, making Rossini's brilliant score giggle and sparkle with springy rhythms and lots of lively esprit.”
“The sight lines are very short and almost everyone is in the middle of the action, which makes the evening almost “amical” in the good sense of the word. The acoustics are not opulent, but the singers were at their best and the orchestra played at full strength, superbly conducted by Erster Kapellmeister Carlo Benedetto Cimento, who conducted with a pleasant and clear style, moving the scenes fluidly without losing sight of the singers.”