La Catena d’Adone was first performed in 1626 and marked the arrival of opera in Rome. With all the characteristics of the genre, a pastoral tale in one prologue and five acts, it chronicles the tumultuous love lives of Adonis, Apollo, Venus and Falsirena… Its frivolous and sensual, even erotic tone, is placed in sharp contrast to Christian morality in a perfectly mastered Recitarcantando style, supported here by a wealth of instruments.

This opera, whose mark on the early baroque period was immense, here appears for the first time on a recording. This disc is also important in the catalogue of Alpha as it inaugurates the arrival of a very young conductor, who is also a director, singer and player of theorbo, harpsichord and harp, and follows the path set by great musical pioneers such as Vincent Dumestre and Pablo Valetti.