Beethoven: Gott! Welch Dunkel hier! (from Fidelio) (Prison Scene, Dungeon Scene, Florestan's Aria)

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.

Ian Storey is currently one of the most in-demand dramatic tenors in the Wagnerian repertoire.

21 years ago Ian Storey sang his first solo role, in Britten’s Rape of Lucretia under the baton of Howard Burrell. Ian’s first solo CD completes the circle, released on the newly formed Artist Recording Label (ARC) and once more under the baton of Howard Burrell.

It was Daniel Barenboim who chose Ian to make his debut as Tristan at the opening of the season La Scala in December 2007, a role he has now sung not only at La Scala but also at both the Berlin Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Zurich, Dusseldorf, Barcelona, Bilbao, Oslo and Genova.

Barenboim has high praise for Storey:

‘It’s a wonderful thing for him, a wonderful thing for La Scala, a wonderful thing for the music world, because Tristans don’t grow on trees.’

The “heroic” tenor René Kollo was born in Berlin in 1937. He arrived at Bayreuth, the Wagner sanctum, in 1969 and, for almost a decade and a half, he would be numbered among its greatest stars. An extensive catalogue of recordings, including many award-winning recordings, shows that Kollo was the most active German tenor of his generation. This wide range of repertoire as well as his frequent television appearances have greatly contributed to his popularity over the years.

This is a specially priced 2CD portrait of the great German tenor, Peter Anders.

These recordings were made at the height of his career and have never been released before. Included are works by Wagner, Strauss, Beethoven, Schumann and Tchaikovsky.

Where is the likes of Anton Dermota today?

The Slovenian tenor was not just a member of the Vienna State Opera ensemble for over 50 years, he was also a master of the stage and concert hall, celebrated all over the world from Milan to Buenos Aires. This new release of his performances at the Vienna State Opera makes evident this versatility. His Tamino is given here both at the beginning and the end of our selection,from the immediate post-war years under Karl Böhm, plus an excerpt from the run of performances under Sanderling with which Demota made his farewell to the stage in 1981, at the age of 71! Nor can Dermota’s interpretations of Ferrando and Don Ottavio be omitted from this double CD. It is delightful to contrast the buffo roles and Dermota’s exploits as a tenore lirico spinto, such as Florestan.

The tricky, brief roles in Richard Strauss’ operas, such as the Singer in Rosenkavalier and Matteo in Arabella, were ones he mastered superbly. They too are to be found here, as in the legendary Capriccio ensemble with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf as the Countess. Dermota appeared with various, equally splendid partners in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin – as Lenski he duelled before the radio microphone with George London and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, while as late as the 1970s he turned Monsieur Triquet’s burlesque into a subtle character study.