Little is known about the life of Francisco Antonio de Almeida but he occupied a central position in Portuguese life in the first half of the 18th century and was able to learn the Italian style in Rome thanks to the ambitions of King Jouo V. The rarely recorded La Spinalba ovvero Il vecchio matto (Spinalba or the Mad Old Man) is a comic opera which follows the buffa tradition of intrigue and romantic complexities and is filled with superb cantabile arias as well as a rich variety of original and dramatic orchestral effects. The cast is led by Ana Quintans a much-in-demand soloist on the early music scene and the highly regarded Portuguese ensemble Os Mosicos do Tejo is directed by it's co-founder Marcos Magalhoes.