Pietro Mascagni

In addition to Luciano Pavarotti’s brilliant career on the opera stage, he was also known for his immensely popular recital performances featuring art song and lieder. This double-album features 24 recordings made at the peak of his career, ranging through works by Donizetti, Rossini, Bellini, Mascagni, and the rather less obvious Legrenzi, Liszt and Respighi as well as Giordani’s ‘Caro mio ben’, Beethoven’s ‘In Questa Tomba Oscura’, and Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’. This is one of a series of five archive recordings of the legendary tenor being released by the American label Opera d’Oro over the next couple of months.

This 2-CD set features 22 groundbreaking performances by the legendary Luciano Pavarotti. The recordings include Neapolitan songs by Tosti, Bixio, De Curtis and many more by Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, Mascagni and other composers. The set is one of five new releases featuring the great tenor to be issued by the American label Opera d’Oro during the early summer.

Ferruccio Tagliavini was hailed as Gigli's successor and played an important part in the transition from the 78 rpm era to the 33rpm long play format. He made nearly 100 aria and duet recordings for Cetra and RCA between 1940 and 1950.

This set includes the most famous recording of Alfredo Kraus, Lucia Alberti and Renato Bruson with arias by Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Mascagni etc. Also included are rare opera scenes such as Donizetti’s “Gemmy di Vergy” and Bellini’s “I Capuleti e I Montecchi. A highly recommended collection for fans of opera and these Belcanto artists.

For her first solo CD, the intense and flamboyant soprano Marie-José Lloyd has picked her favourites from her repertoire of opera arias. Her selection includes Summertime and My man’s gone now from Porgy and Bess, Si mi chiamano Mimi from La Bohème and a world premiere recording, Le monde est stone from Starmania by Luc Plamondon and Michel Berger in Leclerc’s symphonic arrangement.

Arangi-Lombardi was underestimated during her lifetime and was a belcanto specialist. She valued exquisite vocal artistry, musical phrasing and rich tonal shading much more than outward effects. Unfortunately, Vol. I of her collection on Preiser is out of print.

Continuing the celebration of Domingo’s 70th, we’ve selected 13 complete operas from all stages of Domingo’s career. Many of them are still at top price in the catalogue, but are being offered in this super-budget, limited edition box.

Packaging: capbox, with around 84-page booklet including tracklists, reviews of operas, synopses in English, German and French.

The intermezzi recorded on this CD are, in the main, orchestral mood-painting interludes found in the great Italian operatic repertoire of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, usually connecting acts in the opera. The music is powerfully atmospheric, designed not only to create the right mood for the ensuing action of the opera, but also providing some respite from the drama itself. The exception is Ponchielli’s famous ballet, Dance of the Hours from La Gioconda, which like most ballets found in operas, gives a break from the drama of the opera and provides the audience a chance to enjoy an entertaining ballet whilst, in this case, listening to some of the catchiest music in the repertoire. Indeed, this scintillating ballet was immortalized in Walt Disney’s film Fantasia and has long been one of the most popular classics in the repertoire.

The rest of the items on this CD range from the very well known and haunting Act III Prelude from La Traviata, to the sparkling items from Wolf-Ferrari’s Jewels of the Madonna and I Quattro Rusteghi, and the richly-romantic intermezzos from the great Verismo composers of Leoncavallo, Puccini, Giordano and Cilea, though the rare items by Catalani are no less enjoyable.

Italian maestro Gianandrea Noseda is in his element in this, his native repertoire. Noseda has made many noted recordings with his BBC Philharmonic orchestra for Chandos, praised for their brilliance of sound as well as their musical excellence. Noseda’s superb musicianship in both the operatic and orchestral repertoire combine on this release to produce one of his very finest recordings. The programme here is unique.

The late 19th Century was the heyday of the drawing-room ballad, when families and friends entertained each other with a wide range of songs. Sir Paolo Tosti was one of the most successful composers of such music, alongside his contemporaries Pietro Mascagni and Stefano Donaudy.