RossoPorpora Ensemble

Formed by established Italian musicians and led since its foundation by Walter Testolin, RossoPorpora is one of the most original and compelling ensembles dedicated to Renaissance and Baroque repertoire on the international scene.

The ensemble’s highly expressive style results from a careful study of both the philological aspects of music and the social and cultural environments from which it originates, along with a deep engagement with poetic texts and a full immersion in the expressive character of the music performed.

RossoPorpora regularly performs at major festivals in Italy and abroad, including repeated appearances at Laus Polyphonie (Antwerp, Belgium) and Oude Muziek (Utrecht, Netherlands). In 2013, the ensemble recorded the cycle Membra Jesu nostri by D. Buxtehude, a recording described as paradigmatic by Italian critics, and in 2017 released Madrigali & Symfonie, Op. 2 by Biagio Marini, which was awarded “Record of the Month” by Amadeus magazine.

In 2018, the album L’amoroso & crudo stile, a collection of madrigals by Luca Marenzio, was released to remarkable critical and public acclaim. Awarded five stars by Amadeus and Musica, it was selected as “Record of the Month” by Classic’s Voice, received five Diapasons from the French magazine Diapason, and was awarded the Critics’ Prize of German-language music critics for Vocal Recording of the Year. Described by the French online magazine ForumOperaas “a historic milestone, a recording to take to a desert island,” Early Music Review wrote: “A truly exceptional disc, a recording of such musical merit and artistic quality that it stops us in our tracks.”

In 2021, RossoPorpora returned to the Oude Muziek Festival in Utrecht with a program dedicated to Monteverdi, and took part in the first modern performance of the collection Madrigali sopra le Ville di Frascati, published in Rome in 1609. In 2022, the ensemble performed for major Italian institutions and festivals such as Unione Musicale of Turin, Trame Sonore in Mantua, and the Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies at Villa I Tatti in Florence. In 2023, it presented a memorable performance of Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine in the Basilica of Santa Barbara in Mantua, recorded the collection Qual musico gentil dedicated to the madrigals of Giaches de Wert, and gave the first modern performance of the eight-voice Missa In lectulo meo by Orazio Benevoli. In 2024, Monteverdi’s Sesto libro de’ madrigali was released by the label Arcana.

Cristina Fanelli | soprano
Dario Carpanese | harpsichord