Giuseppe Oddo, Riccardo Antoniani L'italia Nel Petrolio

Cecilia Bartoli remains one of the world's finest Rossini singers and she proves it again with Il Turco in Italia, her 1st complete Rossini recording since 1993. The performance was recorded in Milan, with the power of the La Scala Orchestra & Chorus and the best Rossini an cast possible, led - of course - by Cecilia Bartoli's coloratura, more brilliant than ever.

Riccardo Muti takes time out here to present some of the lesser known, rarely heard orchestral scores of his fellow countrymen, and a superbly played, enjoyable concert it is too. Proceedings commence with a fine and spirited performance of Alfredo Casella's divertimento Paganiniana—not a great piece by any means but a work possessing plenty of charm and humour nevertheless; the outer movements are a bit of a romp (very opera buffa) and must have been as much fun to write as they clearly are for the La Scala Philharmonic to play.

One of the very rare incursions of Riccardo Muti in pre-romantic repertoire, and featuring trumpetist Maurice André, this album gathers together two heavyweights in their discipline. It includes masterpieces of the trumpet concerto (with notably a virtuoso transcription of a violin concerto by Torelli) and the second Brandenburg Concerto, in which the trumpet holds a prominent place.

Star tenor Javier Camarena makes his Pentatone debut with Signor Gaetano, together with Gli Originali under the baton of Italian opera specialist Riccardo Frizza, presenting a carefully-curated exploration of Donizetti's greatest tenor arias. Besides famous excerpts from L'elisir d'amore, Don Pasquale and Roberto Devereux, this project focuses on hidden gems from rarely-recorded works such as Betly, Maria de Rudenz and Il giovedì grasso. Camarena and Frizza's exceptional sense of style is enhanced by the period instrument playing of Gli Originali.

Melancholia is Italian bass Andrea Mastroni's most recent recording project. Mastroni is a true custodian of this type of singing, and this release represents a journey of discovery of the work of Handel that was written especially for Antonio Montagnana, one of the most exceptional singers in England during the period the German composer was working there. Desperation, anger, incantations, warrior instincts and human passion are some of the diverse elements captured in these pieces. A worthy companion for this vocal marathon is the Accademia dell'Annunciata, a baroque orchestra of great quality, conducted by Riccardo Doni.

Melancholia is Italian bass Andrea Mastroni's most recent recording project. Mastroni is a true custodian of this type of singing, and this release represents a journey of discovery of the work of Handel that was written especially for Antonio Montagnana, one of the most exceptional singers in England during the period the German composer was working there. Desperation, anger, incantations, warrior instincts and human passion are some of the diverse elements captured in these pieces. A worthy companion for this vocal marathon is the Accademia dell'Annunciata, a baroque orchestra of great quality, conducted by Riccardo Doni.