Allas Sings Arias From Verdi Operas Callas Remastered Maria Callas, Nicola Rescigno, Orchestre de la Société Des Concerts du Conservatoire, Orchestre du Théâtre National de L'opéra de Paris

Marcelo Raúl Álvarez is an Argentine lyric tenor who achieved international success starting in the mid-1990s, and at the end of the twentieth century, become an international opera star. This release from Sony Classical features the works of Massenet, Offenbach, Donizetti, Gounod, Verdi, Meyerbeer, and Rossini.

The Decca Conductor's Gallery series presents an A–Z of 23 conductors in a feast of classic recordings from Decca’s early years – 1929–1949 – including the golden age of its ‘ffrr’ technology.

Pierre Henry, a supreme innovator in the field of sound aesthetics, opened the gates to many other musical universes through the applications of his technological research. Fascinated by Beethoven from an early age, he composed a ‘Tenth Symphony’: ‘It’s not the one Beethoven made sketches for’, he said. ‘Nor is it a synthesis of the nine. It is essentially a combinatorial work. It’s also a tribute to the man who hoped to exceed the limits of the orchestra.

As she demonstrated in both Il barbiere di Siviglia and Il turco in Italia, Callas, the great tragedienne, could also turn her skills to comedy. As it happened, the 1956 La Scala production of Rossini's most popular opera did not prove a great success with audiences, but its stars - Callas, Tito Gobbi and Luigi Alva - reassembled in London the following year for this recording. Callas sang the role of Rosina at its original mezzo-soprano pitch and her version of 'Una voce poco fa' - punctuated by an unforgettable 'ma' ('but') in the cabaletta - is a miracle of both elegance and wit.

This is the first of Callas's two complete recordings of her signature role, the druid priestess Norma, in which she has remained unrivaled for 50 years. It captures her voice inits imposing early prime, while in the two famous duets for Norma and Adalgisa she is partnered by Ebe Stignani, generally considered the greatest Italian mezzo-soprano of her era. The conductor is Callas's mentor Tullio Serafin.

French grand-opéra specialist Marc Minkowski has at last recorded Robert le Diable, a jewel of the genre. A triumph at its premiere in November 1831, it captivated contemporaries, and its influence stretched as far as Verdi and Wagner. An imposing international cast brings this repertory cornerstone to life: John Osborn portrays a Robert at once valiant and tender, Amina Edris reveals her full resources in the perilous role of Alice, while idiomatic performances by Nicolas Courjal, Erin Morley and Nico Darmanin complete a line-up offering the most vivid contrasts of tessitura.

The role of Nedda in Leoncavallo's verismo classic never entered Callas's stage repertoire, and so her recording made with the forces of La Scala, Milan, between 12 and 17 June 1954 represents one of her explorations of an opera made purely within the confines of the studio, rather than developing over a period on the stage. But as in all such cases - this was the first time she recorded a role she had not previously sung - Callas's desire to explore it to the fullest remains paramount. There is a complete identification between singer and character, down to the smallest detail, that make her Nedda an unusually complex creation that grows throughout the opera as she responds to its desperate emotional thrills and spills.

In the six years that had passed since 1953, and her first recording of Lucia di Lammermoor, Callas's voice had maybe become less robust, but her singing had become still more perceptive. As Gramophone said: 'Mme Callas has refined her interpretation of the role, and made it more exquisite, more fascinating, musically and dramatically more subtle - in a word, more beautiful'.

The French violinist Hugues Borsarello draws this programme of miniatures from the repertory of his instrument and from the great operatic arias, transcribed for violin and orchestra: 'My idea was to relate a French history of music over the course of three centuries, in the form of short pieces.' Lully's Marche pour la ceremonie des Turcs rubs shoulders with arias by Bizet, Saint-Saens and Offenbach, Satie's Gymnopedie no.3 and Gounod's Ave Maria.