Puccini: E l'uccellino (Ninna-Nanna)

A recital disc which solidifies Tine’s place in the core classical world, whilst at the same time maintaining those key elements from “Storyteller” - interest, variety, approachability, whilst showcasing her talents, and incorporating plenty of repertoire that she can tour with.

Cheryl Barker first broke the hearts of audiences worldwide as Mimì in Baz Luhrman’s imaginative production of La bohème. In Puccini ≡ Passion the radiant Australian soprano delivers beguiling performances in a panoply of Puccini’s heroines in favourite arias, accompanied by the State Orchestra of Victoria under the baton of Richard Bonynge.

Opera expert Rodney Milnes comments in the booklet: “Puccini famously liked to write about "little women", but he gave them "big" music, which is one thing that makes Cheryl Barker so ideal an interpreter of his soprano roles ... her lyric soprano, with an indefinably sweet vibrancy built in to the tone, adds immeasurably to her appeal. With that vibrancy comes a sense of vulnerability, which helps her bring the characters alive in both vocal and dramatic terms ... This most welcome disc allows her to present an overview of Puccini's women from the very beginning.”

Issued for the first time on SACD, this disc is for all lovers of Puccini, encompassing his most popular soprano arias from Manon Lescaut, Tosca, La bohème and Madama Butterfly, one of Barker’s favourite roles, as well as arias from Le Villi, Edgar, La rondine, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicci and Turandot. Barker ends with two little known treasures, the folksong-like ‘E l’uccellino’, and ‘Sole e amore’, an 1888 song whose melody Puccini later re-used in La bohème. And in a departure from his usual repertoire Richard Bonynge brings fresh imagination and sparkle to Puccini’s masterful orchestral palette.

Cheryl Barker’s most recent CD, also for Melba and released in 2011, was Pure Diva (MR301129), a very personal tribute to her teacher and fellow Australian soprano, the great Dame Joan Hammond.

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.

To celebrate Placido Domingo's 70th birthday, Sony Classical release this budget priced x12 CD boxset. Each disc is packaged in vinyl replica sleeve, with original album artwork & comes in a sturdy outer box. The x12 disc set covers recital & duet recordings from 1969-1989, including some of his finest works.