Gounod: Ah! Je veux vivre dans ce rêve (from Roméo et Juliette) (Juliette's Waltz)

Mirella Freni was one of Herbert von Karajan’s favourite singers; indeed, he is known to have commented that if he could have any voice in the world, it would be hers. Combining a stunning voice with heartfelt acting, Freni is equally at home in the lighter roles, such as Mozart’s Susanna and Zerlina, as in the weightier roles of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut and Tosca. This collection brings together arias from throughout Freni’s illustrious career.

The Art of Renée Fleming brings together 18 defining tracks spanning Renée’s finest Decca recordings, including favorite arias by Puccini, Handel and Gershwin and duets with Bryn Terfel and Plácido Domingo. Four special bonus tracks reflect Renée’s prominence beyond classical repertoire with two Broadway classics, Amazing Grace - which she memorably sang at the site of the World Trade Centre and a brand new version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.

Nino Machaidze is one of today’s fastest rising young opera stars. At only age 25, the Georgian Soprano entered the international opera circuit with a spectacular debut at the 2008 Salzburg Festival replacing Anna Netrebko as Juliette in a new production of Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" alongside tenor superstar Rolando Villazón. Her electric performance was greatly received by both the audience and the press ("A Juliette to Cherish" Opera News; “The discovery of the 2008 Salzburg Festival” Crescendo). In just three short years, Nino Machaidze has followed up her Salzburg debut with leading role debuts at the world's top opera houses, culminating in her New York Metropolitan Opera debut this January, where she received standing ovations.

For her first Sony Classical recording "Romantic Arias" Nino has made a selection of the greatest bel canto and lyric roles. The disc features both arias from her career defining roles, as well as some new additions to her repertoire.

Nino Machaidze is one of today’s fastest rising young opera stars. At only age 25, the Georgian Soprano entered the international opera circuit with a spectacular debut at the 2008 Salzburg Festival replacing Anna Netrebko as Juliette in a new production of Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" alongside tenor superstar Rolando Villazón. Her electric performance was greatly received by both the audience and the press ("A Juliette to Cherish" Opera News; “The discovery of the 2008 Salzburg Festival” Crescendo). In just three short years, Nino Machaidze has followed up her Salzburg debut with leading role debuts at the world's top opera houses, culminating in her New York Metropolitan Opera debut this January, where she received standing ovations.

For her first Sony Classical recording "Romantic Arias" Nino has made a selection of the greatest bel canto and lyric roles. The disc features both arias from her career defining roles, as well as some new additions to her repertoire.

This magnificent collection features the some of the greatest opera stars of all time:

Cecilia Bartoli, Anna Netrebko, Bryn Terfel, Renée Fleming, Andrea Bocelli Luciano Pavarotti, Dame Joan Sutherland, Plácido Domingo, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and José Carreras.

With a carefully chosen selection of perennially popular arias, duets and choruses, this enchanting collection creates the perfect introduction to opera.

With 40 tracks and over 2½ hours of music this collection is outstanding value for money.

Includes Pavarotti’s classic recording of the most popular opera aria of all, Puccini’s ‘Nessun dorma’.

In tribute to one of Decca’s very greatest artists, a 2-for-1 double jewel-case version of Dame Joan Sutherland’s classic ‘The Voice of the Century’ 2-disc compendium is now available for release. The track contents are identical those of the original hardback version of ‘The Voice of the Century’ (4757981), and include arias from Lucia di Lammermoor, La sonnambula, Norma, Lakmé, Semiramide, La Fille du Régiment, Turandot, and many more.

Following the enormous success of the album OPERA 2009, EMI Classics is releasing OPERA 2010. Great voices of today and legendary singers of the past, from the EMI and Virgin Classics catalogue: the home of opera.

With 40 tracks, and over 2½ hours of operatic arias and duets, this double album features the best and most popular names in opera from the catalogues of both Virgin Classics and EMI Classics, ranging from the newest arrivals on the operatic scene, as well as many present day superstars, to iconic legends. This is an unmissable collection of the best in opera that will have a wide appeal.

Present day superstars include Angela Gheorghiu, Natalie Dessay, Sarah Brightman, Barbara Hendricks, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Jessye Norman, Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Rolando Villazón, Roberto Alagna and Bryn Terfel.

Rising new artists are strongly represented by Joyce DiDonato, Diana Damrau, Elina Garanca, Vivica Genaux, Véronique Gens, Patrizia Ciofi, Philippe Jaroussky, Jonas Kaufmann, David Daniels, Max Emanuel Cencic and Laurent Naouri.

The programme also contains tracks by some of the world’s greatest singers of the past such as Victoria de los Angeles, Teresa Berganza, Mirella Freni, Lucia Popp and Franco Corelli as well as the legendary Luciano Pavarotti and the unique Maria Callas.

All the most popular operatic composers are represented, from Baroque masters like Vivaldi, Rameau and Handel, through Gluck and Mozart to Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni, Cilea and Gershwin, as well as French favourites Gounod, Massenet and Offenbach.

The multi-faceted German coloratura soprano, who has been described as “the Meryl Streep of classical music” shows her vocal and dramatic range with this collection of arias from the 19th and 20th centuries. The repertoire ranges from Rossini and Verdi to Stravinsky and Bernstein, from comedy to tragedy and covers four languages: German, Italian, French and English. It includes Zerbinetta’s marathon coloratura aria from Ariadne auf Naxos, one of the operas which spearheaded Damrau’s international career.

“Damrau has … strong opinions on the use of coloratura for dramatic effect,” wrote Opera News in an interview with the soprano. “Unlike some singers of previous generations, who were encouraged to cut back on the vocal garni by conductors who found the flourishes suspect, Damrau employs embellishments to emphasize the impact of language ….What's more, her Italian diction is superb, something that cannot always be said for Central and Eastern European artists. ‘Oh, I'm so glad to hear that,’ she says, ‘because I have a facility for languages, and I work very hard to communicate well.’ Whether Rosina [in Il barbiere di Siviglia] is expressing delight over Almaviva's furtive caress or anger over his imagined betrayal, Damrau deploys her clarity of speech to vivid effect; she points out that in ‘Una voce poco fa’,’ [featured on this recital] the word vipera is key — the girl knows full well she can be a viper. Later on, the bite she puts into the word traditore, for example, cuts to the quick.”

When Damrau performed Rosina at the Met, The New York Times wrote that: “the lovely German coloratura Diana Damrau was absolutely dazzling here. Interpolating extra-high roulades into the music, she brought her bright, clear and very sizable voice to the role, singing with impeccable accuracy and delightful impishness. This Rosina was no innocent. You immediately believed her when she explained in the touchstone aria ‘Una voce poca fa’ that though for the most part she is a docile and obedient thing, when crossed in love she becomes a viper.”

Donizetti also appears in this recital, with an aria from Linda di Chamounix. Damrau took on the challenge of following Natalie Dessay as Lucia di Lammermoor at the Met. “Ms. Damrau dispatched the passage-work, trills and top notes with aplomb,” wrote the New York Times. “Her sound was warm, plush and clear ... That Ms. Damrau executed the Mad Scene’s spiraling vocal roulades so accurately and held sustained tones with such penetrating steadiness lent a quality of eerie control to Lucia’s madness. And her gleaming top notes filled the house.”

“Diana Damrau is the most thrilling high soprano of our day.” The Observer

“The point with Damrau ... is that she’s fearless, impressively unpredictable, and about as far as possible from being a ‘production line’ soprano.” Classic FM magazine