More than 25 years after his first EMI album, Antonio Pappano has established himself as a leading figure of conducting, particularly in music from his native Italy. This collection includes excerpts from all his EMI and Warner Italian recordings, from the famous Verdi and Puccini cycles with Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu to the recent praised versions of Turandot and Rossini’s sacred works.
Warner Classics is continuing Sir Neville Marriner’s centenary celebrations, and with it comes a wonderful re-release in the form of the irresistible collection of Rossini overtures, from Marriner's very first staged opera La cambiale di matrimonio to the famous William Tell and The Barber of Seville.
The failure of the opera was attributed to the plot that was considered old-fashioned and complex. The action takes place in Paris at the inn of Filippo. Alberto, a young, wealthy man who is searching for a wife, reads an advertisement in the Gazette in which Don Pomponio has placed an ad offering his daughter in marriage to a worthy suitor. Pomponio arrives at the inn and is teased by the crowd for his pretentiousness.
FANFARE: Bob Rose
The Italian conductor Claudio Abbado is one of the most outstanding conductors of the 20th century. It was his unique ability to make sound and music shine (Deutschlandfunk Kultur), for which he was celebrated internationally by both the press and the audience. In addition to his long-standing relationship with the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Vienna Philharmonic, he has also been chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra for many years (1979 to 1986), with which he has recorded a rich discography over the years.