Gounod: L'amour, l'amour..Ah ! Leve-toi, Soleil

Nicolai Gedda

Recordings From 1952-1957

The recordings for this 2 CD set have been carefully selected to show to advantage the extraordinary control Gedda has over his vocal resources and also to demonstrate his remarkable gift for language. The French opera excerpts all display an appealing sense of style together with excellent musicianship, both traits so much admired in the 19th and early 20th centuries. His Russian scenes and arias have an authentic ring, his German highly romantic and his Italian arias although his voice does not possess that particular Mediterranean warmth, do nevertheless have a sense of morbidezza (tenderness) usually more associated with the Latin tenor.

Piotr Beczala - Salut!

Piotr Beczala has established himself as one of the most outstanding young lyric tenors. Born in Southern Poland, he studied with Pavel Lisitsian and Sena Jurinac. After his first engagement at the Landestheater in Linz (Austria) he became a permanent member of the Zurich Opera and remains closely associated with this company. He made his Covent Garden debut as the Italian tenor in Rosenkavalier and followed with an acclaimed Faust in 2004 and 2006. He returned as Lensky in Eugene Onegin this April with another Rosenkavalier at the Festival Hall, again with Zurich Opera. He made a sensational role debut, in January of this year, as Riccardo in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera with the Berlin State Opera, where he was enthusiastically celebrated by both audience and press.The last two years has seen a series of successful firsts including Alfredo, in La Traviata, with the Bavarian State Opera, Berlin's Deutsche Oper and also in Tokyo; the Duke in Rigoletto at La Scala and as his debut with the Metropolitan Opera; and Lensky in Eugene Onegin with the San Francisco Opera, where he returned as Tamino last year. In Frankfurt and in Munich he has been acclaimed for his portrayal of Werther, as was his Don Ottavio at Zurich Opera and the Salzburg Festival. In 2007 he added Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia to his repertoire: singing this role he will return to the New York Met in autumn 2008. His wide concert repertoire ranges from Mozart, Cherubini and Haydn's sacred music, via Rossini's Stabat Mater and Petite Messe Solennelle to Mahler's Das Lied. He has appeared on many recordings and DVDs but this is his first recital disc with excerpts from French and Italian operas, many of which he has already sung on stage.

Joseph Calleja - The Golden Voice

Neil Shicoff Live