Verdi: Stornello (Tu dici che non m'ami)

Cathy Berberian, avant-garde cult diva of the 70s, leading a unique and highly entertaining programme of vocal and instrumental Belle Epoque gems from David Popper, Gioachino Rossini to Anton Rubinstein, Gabriel Fauré and Reynaldo Hahn – served with ironic delicacy and assisted by Bruno Canino (piano), Ludwig Boettcher (cello) and Karlheinz Zöller (flute). A true Electrola Collection find, never released on CD before!

A real rarity, this. Verdi, famous for his operatic masterpieces, also found time to scale down his stage sentiments to the recital hall (or, in his time, the salon) to write songs. Throughout the 19th century, Italian opera composers wrote songs for the salon as part of their stock-in-trade. The texts were mostly conventional, harping more often than not on the string of unrequited love, sometimes venturing into the naively picturesque; while the accompaniment would be confined to simple thrummings suggestive of a guitar or an orchestral reduction. The settings would vary in scale from the strophic ‘romanza’, to the full length ‘scena ed aria’. In Italy, the salon was never far from the theatre. One of the 20th-century’s greatest singers – Margaret Price – went into the studio with Australian-born pianist Geoffrey Parsons to record music relatively neglected by recording companies, then, as now. And the results are at once, charming and revelatory. A considerable rarity, the disc returns to circulation on Eloquence.

‘The public feels so close and intimate. There’s really nowhere to escape…’ Angela Gheorghiu

Thomas Blondelle, who finished second in the prestigious Concours Reine Elisabeth 2011, was chosen by the competition’s partner BNP Paribas Fortis to record a song recital and give concerts on tour throughout Belgium and elsewhere.

This young tenor has an exceptional vocal range. He is currently a soloist with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, but he also appears at many international venues. Recent engagements include his début as Froh in a new production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold at the Bavarian State Opera (February 2012). With the pianist Daniel Blumenthal – the ideal partner for any young singer – he presents a programme of humorous French and German art songs, some of which nevertheless have an underlying seriousness. This unusual, and witty, recital has been put together very intelligently!

A stunning debut album from an up and coming young opera singer, Ilona Domnich. This diverse album covers a range of styles, as Ilona says …”some of the songs are very difficult. For instance some parts of the Strauss songs are very acrobatic, on the other hand the lyrical Italian songs, while ostensibly less technically demanding, call for intense musicality and sensitivity”