Mozart: Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön (from Die Zauberflöte)

Nicolai Gedda, the most recorded tenor in history, is an exceptionally versatile artist who has excelled in a wide variety of operatic roles as well as in the art song. With a magnificent lyric tenor voice and extraordinary range, Gedda makes the notorious top D at the end of ‘Mes amis, écoutez l’histoire’ sound positively effortless. This collection offers a wealth of repertoire that has helped to cement Gedda’s reputation as one of the greatest tenors of his generation.

Klaus Florian Vogt is Bayreuth´s leading tenor – he has a unique voice, perfect technique and last but not least the perfect look for a leading man in the works of Wagner.

He had a triumphant breakthrough success as "Lohengrin" at the world famous Bayreuth Wagner festival in the Summer of 2011. Major media acclaimed his singing as "the third wonder of Bayreuth" and the "...best Lohengrin ever".

Klaus Florian Vogt sings in all major opera houses of the world. In 2012, he will star in new productions in Tokyo (Lohengrin), Munich (Valkyrie) and Barcelona (Florentine Tragedy). He will also feature in roles at Bayreuth.

Helden ("Heroes") is Vogt´s first album for Sony Classical, where he is exclusively signed, and is his first recital recording. The CD shows major pieces linked with him, of course Wagner and the famous "Grahlserzählung" in Lohengrin, but there are also beautiful arias by Weber, Flotow, Korngold and Lortzing – and last not least also by Mozart.

Bright cantabile – virtuoso fire: Joachim Kaiser once called Sabine Meyer’s playing “a revelation”; the German music critic praised her wealth of nuance. And A Night at the Opera again bears witness to the artistic earnest of this remarkable musician: the unerring brilliance of her presentation conceals a reflection on the history, the abilities and the limits of her instrument.

“The ‘sudden’ impact of this artist’s singing is so spontaneous, so dead right, we just dispense with all the analytical microscopy, sit back and delight in the forceful combination of a sunlit Mediterranean voice quality blended with a Central European musical and dramatic intelligence that only a truly charismatic tenor can provide. Amongst his amazing achievements he certainly proved that Mozart could be done with directness and clarity without sacrificing any of the interpretive sophistication that composer demanded, and he showed a whole generation that Richard Strauss did not present insurmountable vocal challenges to tenors who know what they’re doing.” Joseph Calleja

Fritz Wunderlich, Germany's greatest tenor in the 20th century - and one of the greatest tenors of all time - would have celebrated his 80th birthday on 26th September 2010. We commemorate the occasion with an exceptional album of Magic Moments - arias and scenes, almost all first-time releases, taken from live performances at the Vienna State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera, recorded between 1963 and 1966, the year of Wunderlich's death.

The music is by Mozart (The Magic Flute, The Abduction from the Seraglio, Don Giovanni), Rossini (The Barber of Seville - sung in German!) and Richard Strauss (Capriccio, Der Rosenkavalier, Daphne, Die schweigsame Frau) - full details above.

The live quality of the recordings - meticulously remastered by our engineers at the Emil Berliner Studios - gives an extra frisson to Wunderlich's calling-card, the Portrait Aria from Magic Flute (Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön), to the high jinks of The Barber, and the Italian Tenor's Aria from Rosenkavalier.

Also present on the recording: the great Anneliese Rothenberger, who died just recently (Pamina) and Lucia Popp in Strauss's Capriccio

Conductors include Herbert von Karajan, Karl Böhm, Josef Krips and Georges Prêtre. Many of the performances are the from the premières of the productions in question.

Jonas Kaufmann is now established as the most successful and versatile tenor of his generation, attracting rave reviews for his live performances and recordings.

Following the international success of Romantic Arias, Jonas Kaufmann returns with this album of outstanding arias from German opera; music of his homeland which he grew up hearing.

The great opera conductor Claudio Abbado directs the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Arnold Schoenberg Chor in his first ever vocal recital recording for Decca, and his first Decca recording for almost 40 years.

The album cover shows Jonas Kaufmann as 'Wanderer' - inspired by the much-loved painting by German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich.

Jonas Kaufmann's recording of Schubert's great German song cycle Die Schöne Müllerin with pianist Helmut Deutsch, will be released in 2010. This album will be packaged as a 'sister product' to this album of German arias.

All tracks sung in German