Teatro Lirico is a 2006 ECM New Series classical recording led by American lutenist and conductor Stephen Stubbs. It features Stubbs on chitarrone and baroque guitar, with Miloš Valent (violin/viola), Maxine Eilander (harp) and Erin Headley (viola da gamba/lirone). It was recorded in February 2004 at Propstei St. Gerold in Austria.

The album explores Italian Baroque music and the musical tradition of the “Folia”, a recurring harmonic pattern that inspired composers and improvisers for centuries. The programme combines carefully performed early music with improvisations and freely developed passages, giving the recording a surprisingly spontaneous quality.

Highlights include:

Corelli – Sonata “La Follia”

Improvisation I & II on the Folia bass

Caccini – “Amarilli, mia bella”

Cazzati – Balletto Quarto

Ruiz de Ribayaz – Folia Variations

Farina – Sonata Seconda detta La desperata

Granata – Sonata di Chittarra, e Violino

Corelli – Sarabanda

Foscarini – Aria della Fulia variata

Suite from 17th-century sources

“Arpeggiata a mio modo” – Stephen Stubbs

The recording runs for approximately 74 minutes and is a particularly interesting example of ECM's approach to early music: historically informed performance combined with improvisational freedom and excellent sound quality.