Puccini: Addio, addio mio dolce amor! (from Edgar)

Cheryl Barker first broke the hearts of audiences worldwide as Mimì in Baz Luhrman’s imaginative production of La bohème. In Puccini ≡ Passion the radiant Australian soprano delivers beguiling performances in a panoply of Puccini’s heroines in favourite arias, accompanied by the State Orchestra of Victoria under the baton of Richard Bonynge.

Opera expert Rodney Milnes comments in the booklet: “Puccini famously liked to write about "little women", but he gave them "big" music, which is one thing that makes Cheryl Barker so ideal an interpreter of his soprano roles ... her lyric soprano, with an indefinably sweet vibrancy built in to the tone, adds immeasurably to her appeal. With that vibrancy comes a sense of vulnerability, which helps her bring the characters alive in both vocal and dramatic terms ... This most welcome disc allows her to present an overview of Puccini's women from the very beginning.”

Issued for the first time on SACD, this disc is for all lovers of Puccini, encompassing his most popular soprano arias from Manon Lescaut, Tosca, La bohème and Madama Butterfly, one of Barker’s favourite roles, as well as arias from Le Villi, Edgar, La rondine, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicci and Turandot. Barker ends with two little known treasures, the folksong-like ‘E l’uccellino’, and ‘Sole e amore’, an 1888 song whose melody Puccini later re-used in La bohème. And in a departure from his usual repertoire Richard Bonynge brings fresh imagination and sparkle to Puccini’s masterful orchestral palette.

Cheryl Barker’s most recent CD, also for Melba and released in 2011, was Pure Diva (MR301129), a very personal tribute to her teacher and fellow Australian soprano, the great Dame Joan Hammond.

Adrianne Pieczonka's diary for the next few months makes it clear that this soprano, long celebrated for her Wagner and Strauss roles across the world, is now also in international demand for the Italian repertoire. She is singing Tosca in San Francisco, Desdemona in Munich,Amelia, Simon Boccanegra, at the Met alongside Plácido Domingo and Requiem at Carnegie Hall. None of which should be a surprise as she is one of the finest exponents of bel canto singing today. Pieczonka's foray into Puccini roles takes us from his debut Le Villi to the late Turandot. She can offer with ease the dramatic power necessary for the title roles of Madama Butterfly or Tosca, yet she still remains true to the lyrical ideal, whether in Lauretta's 'O mio babbino caro' or the soulful phrases of Mimì or Liù that are so beloved of the public.Tosca's prayer has become an acknowledged highpoint in her repertoire, though the same should now be said of the whole rôle itself. She may have famously borrowed the jewellery of Maria Callas to sing Tosca, but she needs no borrowed plumes, for as we hear on this CD,Adrianne Pieczonka has emerged as a Puccini singer of the first rank.

"Domingo was lucky to have a wonderful Sieglinde in the lovely Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, who brought a gleaming voice, affecting vulnerability and exciting sensuality to her performance." New York Times

"The company's "Tosca" has been around… But Tosca is new: Adrianne Pieczonka sang the role for the first time Saturday. The Canadian soprano will surely be singing it for a long time. She was radiant." LA Times

This CD features soprano Amarilli Nizza singing Puccini’s most memorable arias.

The talented Milanese singer outlines Puccini’s heroines with her typical passion and emotional engagement.

Leontyne Price is simply one of the best sopranos of all time. Hailed as the “Stradivarius of singers” she had a unique, unmistakable and unforgettable voice which graced the stage of the Met an astonishing 164 times throughout her career.

The Leontyne Price catalogue is divided into two “Complete Collections”; Song and Spiritual Albums and Operatic Recital Albums. These collections are housed in original LP design cardboard slipcases and presented in a hardback boxset.