Verdi: Sempre libera (from La Traviata)

The operas of Verdi today form the mainstay of the repertoire of opera houses all over the world. Some of his music has become absorbed into popular culture from being used in TV adverts and film soundtracks, as well as being performed by the most famous classical singers of the day in concerts and on records. Pieces from the same opera are grouped together, beginning with the famous drinking song from La traviata: ‘Libiamo’, followed by other popular favourites from La traviata, Rigoletto and Il trovatore, among them being the swaggering ‘La donna è mobile’ and the powerful Anvil Chorus. The first CD concludes with extracts from two earlier operas: Ernani and Macbeth, the latter providing one of Verdi’s most impressive soprano scenas in which the scheming Lady Macbeth calls on the powers of evil to assist her in murdering King Duncan. The second CD opens with the heartfelt chorus: ‘Va, pensiero’ from Nabucco, sung by the Hebrews in exile longing for their homeland. Then come more well-known arias and choruses from Verdi’s later operas like Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino and Aida. After extracts from his moving Requiem Mass, we hear the Fire Chorus from another of Verdi’s Shakespearian settings: Otello and the programme ends with three items from what some now consider to be Verdi’s finest work, the historical drama Don Carlo.

“She [Angela Gheorghiu] has earned her place as one of the best sopranos of her generation and it has been said that her voice is ‘…perhaps the most instantly recognizable and interesting soprano voice of our time… a liquid instrument of great beauty” Gramophone

“The world's most glamorous opera star” New York Sun

Homage to Maria Callas is a collection of beloved French and Italian operatic masterpieces performed by Angela Gheorghiu, the defining diva of this century. The programme is inspired by the career and recordings of Maria Callas, the greatest diva of the last century. The arias are shared favourites of both Callas and Gheorghiu, and Angela’s new recording demonstrates once again her extraordinary vocal and emotional range.

Angela Gheorghiu said recently, “Callas was original in everything she did; she was a phenomenon. In every performance she gave her all. She was the most wonderful painter and you can always hear exactly the right colour in her voice. Just hearing her sound, you understand all the power or fragility of her emotions. That's a rare talent and a great gift.” Gheorghiu continued, “EMI was her record label and it’s mine too. It feels like a family”.

Recorded at London’s iconic Abbey Road Studios in London and in New York, the repertoire of Gheorghiu’s first studio recital in six years (during which time she recorded several complete operas, including a multi-award-winning Madama Butterfly), shows her versatility in lyric, spinto and mezzo roles, with each of which she feels a strong emotional connection. These include Mimi (La bohème), Marguerite (Faust), Imogene (Il pirata), Adriana (Adriana Lecouvreur - an opera which Gheorghiu added to her repertoire in 2010 to great critical acclaim), Maddalena (Andrea Chénier), Nedda (Pagliacci), Wally (La Wally), Medea, Chimène (Le Cid) and Delilah (Samson et Delilah). The new album also includes two arias from the opera that launched her career: La traviata by Verdi, New York Magazine praised at the time that “Her lady of the camellias is a worthy successor to Garbo and Callas.” Here she sings Violetta’s closing scene from Act I, in which the heroine wonders whether it is worth sacrificing her precious freedom to take young Alfredo as a lover. ‘It was very important for me to have this aria here. I’ve sung the role a lot on stage, but I haven’t ever recorded it in the studio’ adds Angela.

Angela Gheorghiu was born in Romania. In 1992, she made her international debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, followed the same year by debuts at the Metropolitan Opera and the Wiener Staatsoper. Since then, she has graced the stages of the world’s opera houses and concert halls, excelling both vocally and dramatically. Today, at the height of her career – and looking as glamorous as ever - she is widely recognised by critics and opera lovers as one of the great sopranos of all time.

In 1998, Gheorghiu signed an exclusive contract with EMI Classics for whom she has recorded Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Tosca and Il trittico, Massenet’s Manon and Werther, Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Bizet’s Carmen and Verdi’s Il trovatore, several duet albums with Roberto Alagna and concerts with orchestra or choir and orchestra including Verdi’s Requiem, Live from La Scala, Live from Covent Garden, Casta Diva, My Puccini, and Diva.

She has collaborated with Sir Georg Solti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Claudio Abbado and Antonio Pappano, among others. Her performances as Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust, Magda in Puccini’s La rondine and Mimi in La bohème with the Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera have been released on DVD by EMI Classics. Gheorghiu’s discography and videography have received wide critical acclaim and many prestigious awards in the UK, France, Belgium, German, Italy, and the United States.

After Angela Gheorghiu’s July 2011, performances as Tosca with Jonas Kaufmann and Bryn Terfel at The Royal Opera House under the baton of Antonio Pappano, The Independent wrote, “Gheorghiu, like Tosca, is a born diva.” The Guardian added, “Her bloodcurdling outburst at the realisation that [Mario] is dead, not merely pretending, reminded us why this Romanian diva draws the crowds.” This production will be screened in cinemas around the world in the autumn.

Angela Gheorghiu’s 2011-2012 season includes performances in Gounod’s Faust at London’s Royal Opera House, in Puccini’s La bohème at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, the Staatsoper Hamburg, the Nationaltheater, Munich and La Scala, Milan, a concert performance of Cilèa’s Adriana Lecouvreur at New York’s Carnegie Hall and song recitals in Tokyo, Essen, Washington, D.C. and Paris.

- Deluxe Edition comprises a CD encased in a hardcover book containing an essay from Angela in three languages, a gallery of glamorous new photos and exclusive access to a video and mini-feature on the making of the CD.

“She [Angela Gheorghiu] has earned her place as one of the best sopranos of her generation and it has been said that her voice is ‘…perhaps the most instantly recognizable and interesting soprano voice of our time… a liquid instrument of great beauty” Gramophone

“The world's most glamorous opera star” New York Sun

Homage to Maria Callas is a collection of beloved French and Italian operatic masterpieces performed by Angela Gheorghiu, the defining diva of this century. The programme is inspired by the career and recordings of Maria Callas, the greatest diva of the last century. The arias are shared favourites of both Callas and Gheorghiu, and Angela’s new recording demonstrates once again her extraordinary vocal and emotional range.

Angela Gheorghiu said recently, “Callas was original in everything she did; she was a phenomenon. In every performance she gave her all. She was the most wonderful painter and you can always hear exactly the right colour in her voice. Just hearing her sound, you understand all the power or fragility of her emotions. That's a rare talent and a great gift.” Gheorghiu continued, “EMI was her record label and it’s mine too. It feels like a family”.

Recorded at London’s iconic Abbey Road Studios in London and in New York, the repertoire of Gheorghiu’s first studio recital in six years (during which time she recorded several complete operas, including a multi-award-winning Madama Butterfly), shows her versatility in lyric, spinto and mezzo roles, with each of which she feels a strong emotional connection. These include Mimi (La bohème), Marguerite (Faust), Imogene (Il pirata), Adriana (Adriana Lecouvreur - an opera which Gheorghiu added to her repertoire in 2010 to great critical acclaim), Maddalena (Andrea Chénier), Nedda (Pagliacci), Wally (La Wally), Medea, Chimène (Le Cid) and Delilah (Samson et Delilah). The new album also includes two arias from the opera that launched her career: La traviata by Verdi, New York Magazine praised at the time that “Her lady of the camellias is a worthy successor to Garbo and Callas.” Here she sings Violetta’s closing scene from Act I, in which the heroine wonders whether it is worth sacrificing her precious freedom to take young Alfredo as a lover. ‘It was very important for me to have this aria here. I’ve sung the role a lot on stage, but I haven’t ever recorded it in the studio’ adds Angela.

Angela Gheorghiu was born in Romania. In 1992, she made her international debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, followed the same year by debuts at the Metropolitan Opera and the Wiener Staatsoper. Since then, she has graced the stages of the world’s opera houses and concert halls, excelling both vocally and dramatically. Today, at the height of her career – and looking as glamorous as ever - she is widely recognised by critics and opera lovers as one of the great sopranos of all time.

In 1998, Gheorghiu signed an exclusive contract with EMI Classics for whom she has recorded Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Tosca and Il trittico, Massenet’s Manon and Werther, Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Bizet’s Carmen and Verdi’s Il trovatore, several duet albums with Roberto Alagna and concerts with orchestra or choir and orchestra including Verdi’s Requiem, Live from La Scala, Live from Covent Garden, Casta Diva, My Puccini, and Diva.

She has collaborated with Sir Georg Solti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Claudio Abbado and Antonio Pappano, among others. Her performances as Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust, Magda in Puccini’s La rondine and Mimi in La bohème with the Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera have been released on DVD by EMI Classics. Gheorghiu’s discography and videography have received wide critical acclaim and many prestigious awards in the UK, France, Belgium, German, Italy, and the United States.

After Angela Gheorghiu’s July 2011, performances as Tosca with Jonas Kaufmann and Bryn Terfel at The Royal Opera House under the baton of Antonio Pappano, The Independent wrote, “Gheorghiu, like Tosca, is a born diva.” The Guardian added, “Her bloodcurdling outburst at the realisation that [Mario] is dead, not merely pretending, reminded us why this Romanian diva draws the crowds.” This production will be screened in cinemas around the world in the autumn.

Angela Gheorghiu’s 2011-2012 season includes performances in Gounod’s Faust at London’s Royal Opera House, in Puccini’s La bohème at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, the Staatsoper Hamburg, the Nationaltheater, Munich and La Scala, Milan, a concert performance of Cilèa’s Adriana Lecouvreur at New York’s Carnegie Hall and song recitals in Tokyo, Essen, Washington, D.C. and Paris.

- Standard Edition consists of a CD in a digipack with a booklet excerpting Gheorghiu’s essay. Both Deluxe and Standard editions feature song texts in English, French, German and the original language, if different, as well as booklet text in all three languages;

- Standard Digital Version offers the entire standard CD contents.

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.

Leading tenor, Rolando Villazon, has personally selected 34 great Verdi tracks, sung by the great names of the present and past, both to celebrate Verdi at 200 and to inspire a new generation with the composer’s great arias, powerful choruses and popular tunes.

The tracklist is framed by two stirring overtures, it includes famous numbers by all the leading singers on DG and Decca (as well as a couple from EMI), including Roberto Alagna, Carlo Bergonzi, Grace Bumbry, Joseph Calleja, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Anna Netrebko, Luciano Pavorotti, Katia Ricciarelli, Joan Sutherland and BrynTerfel. There are rousing choruses and several extracts from the Requiem too. It’s a splendid 150-minute collection.

The striking cover includes one of Rolando’s inimitable Verdi sketches, and will include a sticker incorporating a photo of the artist. The all-colour booklet has an article by journalist Richard Lawrence which also takes in some quotes from the artist in a recent interview for this release.

Villazón is confident that every excerpt on these discs will make the listener want to hear the complete work. “No other composer creates such an immediate link with the audience. Go to see La traviata: you hear those rhythms, those melodies, that dramatic force, and you are drawn into his world. It doesn’t matter whether you love opera or know nothing about it: it just captures you, it grabs you.” Listening to the numbers from La traviata here, you have to agree.

Critics rightfully have called soprano Eli Kristin Hanssveen “the new opera diva”. Her spectacular voice has been the catalyst for a steadily rising career, and she is known for her unique charisma and acting talent. In 2002 she made her opera debut at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, where she has been soloist since 2010.