Donizetti 24

Since its foundation in 2013, the Berlin opera group has made a name for itself with Berlin premieres such as Donizetti’s Deux Hommes et une Femme and Betly and other operatic rarities.

Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophie Kalogeropoulou), was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini and, further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina ("the Divine one").

A daring wife disguises herself in order to be hired as a prison guard and thus rescue her unjustly detained husband: the story of Leonora, taken from the French novel by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, is familiar to us through Beethoven’s only opera.

The recently Grammy Award-winning British label SIGNUM CLASSICS is proud to present its next discographic coup: the first album by Romanian-born star soprano Angela Gheorghiu. Described as "the world's most glamorous and gifted opera star" (New York Sun), her magnificent voice and dazzling stage presence have made her a unique international opera superstar.

Soprano Diana Damrau assumes the crowns of three different Tudor queens, the central characters in operas by Donizetti: Anne Boleyn (Anna Bolena), Mary, Queen of Scots (Maria Stuarda), and Elizabeth I (Roberto Devereux). With Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra and Chorus of Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, she performs the substantial and climactic final scene of each work.

The second album by Samoan tenor Pene Pati, entitled "Nessun Dorma" after Puccini's famous tune, features famous opera arias but also rarities, including two world premieres. Pene Pati performs works by Italian composers such as Puccini, Verdi, Donizetti, Mascagni and Mercadante, as well as from the French school with Berlioz, Meyerbeer, Gounod, Massenet, Halévy and Guiraud.

The curious musicophile is always in quest of new repertoires, hidden gems and unjustly forgotten figures. This Da Vinci Classics album represents such a discovery, whose value is increased by the unusual instrumental combination it features, i.e. a piano trio with clarinet and cello.

Joaquín Rodrigo, composer of the renowned Concierto de Aranjuez(Naxos 8.579053), is acknowledged as one of the great Spanish composers of the 20th century. His music extends the Romantic Impressionist tradition of Albéniz, Granados and Falla, and is inspired by the French style and color Rodrigo experienced during his studies in Paris.

Soprano Diana Damrau, dazzling in the operas of Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi and Richard Strauss, also has operetta in her blood. With this album she tours three capital cities of operetta – Vienna, Berlin and Paris – and covers nearly seven decades of musical history.

Giorgio Caoduro is one of the leading Italian baritones of his generation and one of the reigning Bel Canto singers of today. He has appeared at such renowned opera houses as the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opera National de Paris, La Scala di Milano, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Regio Torino, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Liceu Barcelona, San Francisco Opera, or Los Angeles Opera House.