Tosti: Ideale

Some content mono

Maltese soprano Gillian Zammit studied in Italy with Carlo Bergonzi and Victoria de los Angeles and is a versatile performer with an operatic repertoire that ranges from Baroque to 20th century opera. Roles include Semel, Tales of Hoffmann, Gianni Schicchi, Hansel and Gretel, Due Zauberflote and Rigoletto which gained her glowing review from OPERA magazine. Gillian is also highly regarded as a recital singer with a varied repertoire of Lieder, Spanish, French and Italian song, as well as being a respected exponent of Maltese Baroque music of which she has recorded several CD s. She has performed in Germany, US, France, London, and Romania and has collaborated with many notable artists including Joseph Calleja.

Anna Leese and Stephen de Pledge perform Italian Love Songs by Bellini, Puccini, Donizetti and Tosti. These elegant pieces for solo voice, some well known, others less so, connect directly with a rich and substantial body of Italian art songs, romanze and liriche da camera, composed over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

New Zealand Soprano Anna Leese is a graduate of the University of Otago, the Royal College of Music and the Benjamin Britten International Opera School. Her many awards include the 2005 Richard Tauber Prize and she was recently named as an Arts Foundation New Generation Artist in New Zealand. Her roles for 2012/13 include Leila in Pearlfishers for Opera Holland Park (June), Majenka (The Bartered Bride) and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) (August) for the New Zealand Opera, and concerts with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. As part of the acclaimed Prince Consort she will perform at Wigmore Hall in three concerts during 2013 (February, April, July), as part of their American Song Series.

New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge maintains a diverse and wide-ranging performing schedule, as soloist, chamber musician and song accompanist. He has already recorded a solo recital disc for Champs Hill Records.

Marc Hervieux has dedicated his third ATMA CD to Neapolitan songs. He delivers superb renditions of these favourite songs assisted by some superb musicians such as pianist and arranger Louise-André Baril, violinist François Pilon, guitarist Daniel Bolshoy and flautist Marie-André.

Sony Classical ORIGINALS offer listeners outstanding enjoyment, authentically recapturing the fascination of legendary recordings from the age of long-playing records and preserving worthwhile releases from two labels with particularly long and distinguished traditions: RCA Red Seal and Columbia Masterworks. These superb recordings by great artists have enjoyed international acclaim ever since they were first released. Showered with critical plaudits, they are part of the 20th century’s cultural legacy. All have been remastered and carefully restored using the latest studio technology in order to reproduce the original interpretations as faithfully as possible. The CD covers are taken over from the original LPs. The original introductions and LP labels are also reproduced in full, making Sony Classical ORIGINALS unique documents in the history of recorded sound.

Featuring original LP cover artwork in full size and reproduction of original labels in mini LP design.

Contains original liner notes in 3 languages (English, French and German) Jewel case packaging with fully coloured booklets.

The Sony Classical Originals bring together for the first time at the Mid Price the greatest recordings from across all of the labels which are part of the Sony Classical umbrella, and are a perfect starting point for any classical collector.