Recording Release: Artaserse

An opera in three acts by Leonardo Vinci

Recording produced by Cedille Records.

March 13, 2026 | Recording Release

Purchase online and streaming on major music platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, and ArkivMusic.

From the candlelit theaters of Rome in 1730 to Spotify today, experience a once-forgotten masterpiece of 18th-century opera seria, preserved in a recording by Chicago’s Haymarket Opera and GRAMMY® Award-winning label Cedille Records. 

Artaserse

Music by Leonardo Vinci
Libretto by Pietro Metastasio

Recording release: March 13, 2026
Album recording with Cedille Records

Purchase album or stream online
Available for purchase online through Cedille Records and for streaming on major music platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, and ArkivMusic.

About the album

Marking a second collaboration, Haymarket Opera Company and Chicago’s GRAMMY® Award-winning label Cedille Records present an album of Leonardo Vinci and Pietro Metastasio’s 1730 opera Artaserse. Featuring the "spectacular" (Opera Magazine) cast and orchestra of Haymarket’s acclaimed 2025 stage production, this new recording showcases a passionate commitment to historical performance and offers an immersive time capsule for opera enthusiasts and first-time listeners alike. 

Vinci’s Artaserse received its premiere in 1730 with a cast of five superstar Italian castrati singing both male and female roles. Haymarket’s original cast recording features virtuoso performers who revel in the extreme vocal demands of the score. In the title role, Kangmin Justin Kim leads an all-star cast bringing “confidence and power, without ever losing his voice’s essential, attractive shimmer” (Chicago Tribune). In the role of Arbace, the Chicago Tribune marveled that “Key’mon Murrah has to be heard to be believed.” Mezzo-soprano Emily Fons, “one of the best singing actresses of her generation” (Opera News), takes the role of Arbace’s betrothed, Mandane. A rising early-music specialist, male soprano Elijah McCormack “impressed in the role of Semira” (Classical Voice North America). Taking on the opera’s lowest vocal role, tenor Eric Ferring, known as “a prodigiously gifted lyric tenor” (Opera News), was praised for his “scorching conviction” (Chicago Tribune) in the role of the murderous Artabano. “Exquisite” (Opera News) countertenor Ryan Belongie portrays the conniving Megabise.

Craig Trompeter, lauded for his “marvelous” conducting (Opera Magazine), leads Haymarket’s acclaimed period orchestra, transporting listeners to the 18th century. Artaserse was recorded by Cedille Records’ GRAMMY® Award-winning team of producer James Ginsburg and engineer Bill Maylone.

The CD’s accompanying booklet essay, titled “Metastasio, Opera Seria, and Convention” by Louise K. Stein, Emerita Professor of Musicology, Early Modern Studies, and Latin American Studies at the University of Michigan, provides historical context and insight into Vinci’s music, the world of Metastasian opera seria, and early 18th-century operatic convention.

About Cedille Records
Cedille Records brings Chicago’s finest classical musicians to a worldwide audience. For more than three decades, Cedille has produced world-class recordings featuring outstanding classical musicians. Cedille albums have won eight GRAMMY® Awards and received 38 nominations, including six Awards for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance since 2008. In 2023, Haymarket Opera Company released its debut album with Cedille Records, the world-premiere recording of L’Amant Anonyme (The Anonymous Lover) by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

Featuring

The Cast

Artaserse: Kangmin Justin Kim, countertenor

Arbace: Key’mon Murrah, countertenor

Mandane: Emily Fons, mezzo-soprano

Semira: Elijah McCormack, male soprano

Artabano: Eric Ferring, tenor

Megabise: Ryan Belongie, countertenor

The Orchestra

Conductor: Craig Trompeter

Violin I: Jeri-Lou Zike, Concertmaster, Michael Gurevich, Wendy Benner, Pauline Kempf

Violin II: Martin Davids, Jaime Gorgojo, Brandi Berry Benson

Viola: Elizabeth Hagen, Kiyoe Matsuura

Cello: Anna Steinhoff, Erica Rubis

Bass: Jerry Fuller

Lute: Brandon Acker

Harpsichord: Matthew Dirst

Oboe I: Kathryn Montoya

Oboe II: Curtis Foster

Trumpet I: Ryan Berndt

Trumpet II: David Kjar

Horn I: John Schreckengost

Horn II: Thomas Vienna

Timpani: Brandon Podjase

Cedille Records Production Credits

Producer: James Ginsburg

Engineer: Bill Maylone

Session Engineer: Eric Arunas

Cover and Production Photos: Elliot Mandel

Album Booklet Essay: Louise K. Stein

Album Graphic Design: Bark Design

Recorded: July 3, 5–7, 2025 at Sasha and Eugene Jarvis Opera Hall at DePaul University.

Synopsis

When King Serse is mysteriously assassinated, his son, Artaserse, ascends the throne amidst a storm of intrigue. Arbace, the son of the powerful general Artabano, finds himself unjustly accused of the murder. Secretly in love with Artaserse’s sister Mandane, Arbace must clear his name while navigating the treacherous politics of the court. Unbeknownst to all but Arbace, the true murderer is Artabano, driven by ruthless ambition to place Arbace on the throne. Yet Artabano’s devotion to his son conflicts with his insatiable hunger for power, creating a moral chasm that threatens to destroy them both.

About the composer

Leonardo Vinci (1690–1730) was an influential Italian composer renowned for his contributions to the opera seria genre during the early 18th century. A master of melodic invention, Vinci revolutionized Italian opera with his emphasis on expressive, lyrical arias that showcased the virtuosity of contemporary singers. In Naples before 1725, Vinci shaped a new musical style even prior to his first collaborations with librettist Pietro Metastasio. Vinci's operas, including Artaserse and Didone Abbandonata, captivated audiences across Europe and helped define the aesthetic of Italian opera in his era. Vinci’s untimely death at the height of his career was a significant loss for the musical world. 

Reports suggest that his death in 1730 at the age of 40 was sudden and mysterious, leading to speculation that he was murdered, possibly due to political intrigue or personal rivalries, although definitive evidence is lacking. Vinci's connections to the Neapolitan aristocracy, combined with his rumored romantic entanglements, have fueled theories that his death may have been orchestrated.

Album Sponsors & Support

Haymarket Opera Company gratefully acknowledges its 2025 sponsors, whose generous support has helped to make both our 2025 stage production of Artaserse and its subsequent recording possible.

Lead Production Sponsors: Amata Office Suites, Debra L. Cox, Nancy Dehmlow, Timothy R. and Janet Fox, Ethel Gofen, Axel Kunzmann and Bruce Nelson, Gregory O'Leary and Patricia Kenney, Alexander Ripley and Edward Steinemann, David J. Rice, Candace Rudmose, Lynne and Ralph Schatz, Marjorie Stinespring, Pam and Doug Walter, Michael and Jessica Young

Supporting Production Sponsors: Gail Belytschko, Debbie Crimmins and Paul Goerss, Patricia P. and Jerome E. Fuller Charitable Fund, The Lemont Fund, Byron Harrison and Brian Klinksiek, Nancy Schmitt, and an anonymous donor

Foundation support: The Paul M. Angell Foundation, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Illinois Arts Council Agency, The Saints, Helen and Curtis Pinnell Foundation, and the Walder Foundation

Album support at Cedille Records: Artaserse is made possible by generous gifts made to Cedille Records, including a generous lead gift from Nancy Dehmlow, sponsorships from Patricia Kenney and Gregory O’Leary, Lori Julian for the Julian Family Foundation, and Glory and Lynn Witherspoon, plus additional support from Gail Belytschko, Patricia and Jerry Fuller, Mary Houston, and the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Fund for Vocal Recordings at Cedille Records.

If you are interested in becoming a future production or album sponsor, please contact general director Chase Hopkins at chase@haymarketopera.org.