A bold baroque recital by a coloratura baritone, Händel Insólito re-imagines the legacy of the ancestral operatic arias and revives their essence with refreshing energy and spontaneity. 

Emiliano Barragán-Géant mischievously hijacks the repertoire of the most emblematic voices like castrati, soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, and basses. Departing from the virility that the baritone voice portrays, he introduces new layers of colors, subtleties, nuances, agility, and flexibility that are commonly associated only with female voices and often missed in the male vocal technique and performance.

Inspired with the idea to create a unique recording entirely on his own, which would portray each single musical idea and detail as felt and understood by him, Emiliano Barragán-Géant uses an ample musical knowledge - not only as a singer and a composer but as a trained classical pianist. He re-writes and plays new transcriptions for harpsichord for most of the arias. The goal and intention is to resemble an orchestra comprised of harpsichords and the intimacy that their sounds evoke.

In some cases each orchestral part was recorded in real time at the Yamaha NU1 keyboard individually and then merged in studio to assure that no notes, rhythm or melodic interaction would be missed as it is often the case with conventional orchestral reductions for piano. Each line was painstakingly assembled along with the cadences which were also recorded separately and individually. These were mixed to create one of the most powerful, accurate and brilliant performances an orchestra consisting of harpsichords could do. The voice was recorded after each aria accompaniment was entirely finished and rehearsed for weeks.

Immerse yourself in this profound atmosphere and embark on a captivating journey through the realm of Händel's genius.

Aria: "Ch'io parta?" from Händel's Partenope HWV 27

Aria: "Ombra mai fu" from Händel's Serse HWV 40

Available on:
iTunes, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Spotify and Napster.

Returning with his second solo album Arie antiche, Venezuelan coloratura baritone Emiliano Geant has produced an ambitious project devoted to the celebrated Italian baroque arias transcribed and rearranged by Alessandro Parisotti. These emblematic compositions, an essential part of the collective consciousness of opera lovers, were published in Rome in three volumes between 1885 and 1900.

The superb set of antique gems from the Italian baroque era is rarely, if ever, recorded as part of a full recital exclusively dedicated to Parisotti's somewhat romantic arrangements. This collection was created nearly two centuries later, a time when baroque music was beginning to be resurrected after geniuses like Mendelssohn, Brahms and Busoni set the path, which Alessandro Parisotti continues in the vocal repertoire. His legacy still inspires vocalists even a century later.

Original, expressive and passionate, Arie antiche pioneers a recording project of these masterworks rendered particularly eloquently in the voice of a coloratura baritone. Emiliano Geant's musical feat merges and delivers his talents as a pianist and as an opera singer in an album elegantly mastered and produced by Erick Barragan-Geant.

Rediscover the sonorous and dramatic power of Arie antiche brought to life in this rare occasion by the magic of the coloratura baritone voice.

Aria: Vittoria, vittoria, mio core - Giacomo Carissimi

Aria: Come raggio di sol - Antonio Caldara

Aria: O cessate di piagarmi - Alessandro Scarlatti

Aria: Pietà, Signore! - attributed to Alessandro Stradella

Aria: Lasciatemi morire - Claudio Monteverdi

Aria: Nina - Giovanni Batista Pergolesi

Aria: Sento nel core - Alessandro Scarlatti

Aria: Tu ch'hai le penne - Giulio Caccini

Aria: Sebben, crudele - Antonio Caldara

Aria: Intorno all'idol mio - Marc'Antonio Cesti

Aria: Per la gloria d'adorarvi - Giovanni Bononcini

Aria: Quella fiamma - Benedetto Marcello

Aria: Spesso Vibra - Alessandro Scarlatti

Aria: Caro mio ben - Giuseppe Giordani

Madrigal: Amarilli, mia bella - Giulio Caccini

Aria: Già il sole dal Gange - Alessandro Scarlatti

Emiliano Géant is a Venezuelan-Spanish opera singer, pianist, and recording artist who specializes in vocal repertoire ranging from the baroque era to the early romantic period, with occasional forays into more contemporary composers such as Gabriel Fauré and Manuel De Falla.

Géant's musical journey began in Caracas at the age of 12 when he started studying complementary courses at the Juan José Landaeta Conservatory. He was a piano student of Gabriela Montero in Montreal and attended McGill University as part of the Opera Performance Program under Winston Purdy. After winning a scholarship from the government of Venezuela, he was accepted into the Master's program in Opera Performance at London's Royal College of Music.

As a performer, Géant has played many roles, including Mozart's Figaro and Don Giovanni, Donizetti's Belcore, Pergolesi's Uberto, Menotti's Ben, and Bizet's Escamillo. He sang the solos of Händel's Messiah with L'Arte del Mondo at Halle's Händel Festspiele in Germany in 2010.

As a recording artist, Géant has released four albums. His first album, "Händel Insólito," is a full solo recital dedicated to bravura arias accompanied by harpsichord, which was released in 2013. His second project, "Arie Antiche," is a collection of celebrated Italian baroque arias rearranged and set by Alessandro Parisotti at the end of the 19th century, where he performs both the vocal and piano parts recorded and mastered in the studio, which was released in November 2015. On his third album, he published the piano accompaniment solos for the arias recorded on his second album to use as sing-alongs for young singers. Finally, his fourth album, "Piccolo," is a portrait dedicated to his talents as a singer and solo pianist.

Emiliano Géant

Popular tracks