Cafe Cecilia Max Rocha

Rossini’s unusual scoring of the drama calls for three tenor supporting roles – here sung to universal acclaim by long-standing Bartoli collaborators John Osborn and Javier Camarena and newcomer Edgardo Rocha. Bartoli’s dramatic command and vocal presence dominate the stage and reveal her artistry to be entering a rich new stage of development.

The seaside club Café del Mar in Ibiza has become one of the world capitals for electronic chill-out music, and after lending their name to a popular series of CD compilations, this special three-disc set pays homage to the bar on the occasion of its first quarter-century in business. Café del Mar 25th Anniversary 1980-2005 features 45 tracks whose insistent but laid-back beats are potent and relaxing at the same time. Artists include Lovers Lane, Zuell, Rue de Soleil, Tom Oliver, Lemongrass, DJ Three, Koru, the Light of Aidan, Joke Society, and many more.

Swedish born London resident Cecilia Stalin's breakthru came with Nu Jazz act Koop "Waltz For Koop" ft on Woody Allen's "Match Point" film soundtrack…

More than the compilation series, more than the lovingly organised events, more than the radio shows: "Le Café Abstrait" is a philosophy of lifestyle: relaxed and culturally open-minded.
It was "Le Café Abstrait" and its mastermind, Raphaël Marionneau, who pioneered chill-out culture at Hamburg's internationally renown Mojo club in 1996: "Le Café Abstrait" reinvented nightclubbing in a new relaxing way. Once a month, stylish sofa installations and light projections transformed Mojo's dancefloor into a gigantic living room. There, up to 400 laid-back nightlife connoisseurs indulged in relaxation and Raphaël Marionneau's very special downtempo music selections. A new lifestyle was born: the couch culture…

“There is a sense of place representing creativity, where endless space and emptiness – albeit with an underlying sense of beauty and timelessness – is a perfect context for creating something” — Arthur Jeffes

THE ILLUSTRIOUS Neapolitan singing teacher Nicola Porpora (1686–1768) was also a notable composer. The core of his output consisted of more than fifty opere serie,with texts by the best-known librettists of the day. Live performances of these works remain rare, but we can rejoice in all-Porpora CDs by a number of virtuoso countertenors, among them this one by Max Emanuel Cencic. Even if his disc hadn’t included seven world-premiere recordings, it would still merit significant attention, thanks to his exceptional vocalism.