Mozart: Deh, per questo istante solo (from La Clemenza di Tito)

In the line of a rich and eclectic discography, Marie-Nicole Lemieux’s new recital, recorded with leading North American classical and baroque orchestra Les Violons du Roy, is devoted to the first decades of classical opera era. As always, Marie-Nicole Lemieux has combined hits of the repertoire (Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro) with much less renowned pieces to which she gives new light, such as Graun’s 'Montezuma', Gluck’s 'Iphigénie en Aulide' or young Mozart’s 'Mitridate'.

The warm and sensitive voice of Marie-Nicole Lemieux as well as the very precise and specific rhythm provided by Bernard Labadie’s orchestra perfectly combine to draw a complete range of musical colours.

In this double album, the greatest vocal artists of the present day offer their own vision of the singing of their legendary predecessors.

The extraordinary adulation accorded to castrati during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is still today one of the most fascinating phenomena in the history of music. During this golden age of the castrato, these male singers endowed with high voices that combined incredible refinement, amazing power and superhuman virtuosity took the musical world by storm. The whole of Europe was overcome by infatuation for these vocal prodigies. In the absence of the castrati themselves, the singers of today face the formidable challenge of reviving their repertoire. Both male and female singers now undertake the task of bringing back to life the wondrous voices of their androgynous forebears, in music that is by turns unsettling, deeply moving and of a dizzying virtuosity.

A 2CD-Compilation for the Price of 1 + 1 Bonus DVD - Digipack Format

The highly-rated early music ensemble Boston Baroque and its conductor Martin Pearlman join forces with the talented American singer and true male soprano Michael Maniaci, in a recording of arias that Mozart originally composed for the castrato voice. The disc contains arias from Idomeneo, Lucio Silla, and La Clemenza di Tito, as well as the beloved motet Exsultate, jubilate. The recording also includes two brilliant orchestral pieces, the overtures to Idomeneo and Clemenza.

The first permanent Baroque orchestra established in North America, Boston Baroque is widely regarded as one of the world’s premier period-instrument bands. The ensemble's performances and recordings of the Baroque and Classical repertoire have been hailed by audiences and critics in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia for their freshness, virtuosity, and exuberant appeal. Although Maniaci’s voice is natural, his stunning performances give Boston Baroque the opportunity to add yet another “original” instrument, the male soprano voice, to their performing forces. A voice type that was enormously popular in opera and religious music in the 17th century but completely disappeared over a century ago, the male castrato’s true chest voice – unlike falsetto singers – was in the soprano or alto range, yet extremely powerful due to the male lung capacity. Up until now, all we have really known of this voice are the verbal descriptions of contemporary listeners and a single, scratchy recording made late in the life of the last castrato performer.