Opera 2023

The character Gilda, daughter of the jester Rigoletto, is one of the most difficult Verdi roles to grasp.

The highlight of this year's season is the concert performance of Handel's opera "Poro, Re dell'indie" in a German/Italian version by Georg Philipp Telemann.

The Kammerakademie Potsdam and its musical director Antonello Manacorda have received numerous awards for their complete recordings of the symphonies of Franz Schubert and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. T

The fame and legacy of Maria Callas are nearly unsurpassed in the modern history of opera. Her fame has transcended the usual boundaries of classical music, and she has been the inspiration for several movies as well as the successful Broadway play "Master Class." Her extensive catalogue of recordings remains among the most coveted and controversial for both her fans and detractors. Though American by birth, Callas (born Maria Anne Sofia Cecilia Kalogeropoulos) was born of Greek parents, and at age 13 her mother took her back to Greece because of financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression.

Natalie is an active recitalist and champion of contemporary music, which has allowed her to work with living composers on albums and sing on the world premiere opera recording of “The Mask in the Mirror” by Richard Thompson.

The situation seems hopeless: the vestal virgin Julia is sentenced to be buried alive because she let the sacred fire go out when she declared her love to the commander Licinius; another sacrilege, because vestal virgins were obliged to absolute chastity in ancient Rome. But her execution is averted just in time by divine intervention; the sacred altar flame reignites itself, thus absolving the delinquent

A puzzling piece with a tormented history, Rossini's Edipo a Colono for bass, male choir and orchestra is rarely performed today and represents a unicum in the entire repertoire of Italian music. The fruit of an unusual collaboration between librettist Giambattista Giusti and Italy's most sought-after composer at the time, Rossini's astonishing incidental music for Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus is brought to life again by Nahuel Di Pierro, the Coro del Teatro della Fortuna and the Filarmonica Gioachino Rossini conducted by Fabrizio Ruggero. Recorded live at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro.

Reference Recordings is proud to present The Complete Beethoven Piano Concertos played by Grammy®-winning Garrick Ohlsson, performing with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles. This album was recorded during live Festival performances in July 2022.

The program of the “Amate Stelle” album was born from the great love of soprano Marie Lys for the music written by Handel for Anna Maria Strada Del Po. Handel’s librettist Paolo Rolli said of Po: “She sings better than the two previous ones!” referring to the famous divas Cuzzoni and Bordoni, for expressive, dramatic and technical qualities.

The pieces in this collection, recorded in September 2020 at the Sextan studios, are Karol Beffa's fourth album of improvisations.