Puccini: Terra e mare

Anna Leese and Stephen de Pledge perform Italian Love Songs by Bellini, Puccini, Donizetti and Tosti. These elegant pieces for solo voice, some well known, others less so, connect directly with a rich and substantial body of Italian art songs, romanze and liriche da camera, composed over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

New Zealand Soprano Anna Leese is a graduate of the University of Otago, the Royal College of Music and the Benjamin Britten International Opera School. Her many awards include the 2005 Richard Tauber Prize and she was recently named as an Arts Foundation New Generation Artist in New Zealand. Her roles for 2012/13 include Leila in Pearlfishers for Opera Holland Park (June), Majenka (The Bartered Bride) and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) (August) for the New Zealand Opera, and concerts with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. As part of the acclaimed Prince Consort she will perform at Wigmore Hall in three concerts during 2013 (February, April, July), as part of their American Song Series.

New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge maintains a diverse and wide-ranging performing schedule, as soloist, chamber musician and song accompanist. He has already recorded a solo recital disc for Champs Hill Records.

Legendary tenor José Carreras performed the evening of music recorded here at the Vienna State Opera in September 1988 as a musical “thank you” to all the Austrians who had supported him in his fight over the previous year against the potentially lethal condition of leukaemia. The pianist is at this very special concert was Vincenzo Scalera, and the repertoire encompasses Fauré, Massenet, Turina, Liszt, Puccini, Tosti and more.

Jose Carreras was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1987, and was only given a 10% chance of survival. However, as a result of an iron will, a positive outlook and good fortune, he gradually regained his health, and went on to produce the best selling series of “Three Tenors” recordings alongside Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. During 1988 he appeared in a series of comeback concerts including this one that took place on 16 September in Vienna.

To celebrate Placido Domingo's 70th birthday, Sony Classical release this budget priced x12 CD boxset. Each disc is packaged in vinyl replica sleeve, with original album artwork & comes in a sturdy outer box. The x12 disc set covers recital & duet recordings from 1969-1989, including some of his finest works.