Pietro Torri’s (1650-1737) life and work are closely connected with the Bavarian Elector Max Emanuel, whom he served for almost half a century.

The monarch loved a pompous court with elaborately staged operas and festive cantatas. Torri provided the music, composing almost 20 operas and a large number of sacred and secular works for the Bavarian court, making Munich one of the great musical centres north of the Alps alongside Vienna.

A special feature of Torri’s oeuvre are his Trastulli (literally: time-wasting, playfulness) – a collection of 60 Italian arias with partly obligatory virtuoso instrumental interludes for evening entertainment in private court circles.

Daniela Dolci has compiled a selection of Trastulli into a pastiche and combined it with virtuoso opera arias by Torri. The programme gives a wonderful insight into the work of the opera and vocal composer Pietro Torri.