Scala di Shild

Rossini's La donna del lago ("The Lady of the Lake") is a lush, positively verdant dramatic opera, first performed in 1819, that deserves to be better known. Derived from Sir Walter Scott's famous poem, the story concerns love both unrequited and requited amid rebellious Scottish clans, as the titular lady is wooed by two rivals while her heart is pledged to another. Given Rossini's luxuriant orchestration and emphasis on romance, one can't help feeling that the composer had the hills of Tuscany more in mind than the rugged Scottish highlands. A succession of highly charged scenas contrast with languid melodies, such as Ellen's delightful introductory "Oh mattutini albori", making this a less bloodily melodramatic companion-piece to Donizetti's Scott-inspired Lucia di Lammermoor.

With two official EMI versions and five complete live recordings, Norma is at the top of the Callas hit parade, but choosing a single version is a nightmare as each has its virtues, based on the state of the soprano's voice or the surrounding cast. My first choice lies with the first 1954 studio recording where the balance between vocal health and emotive quality is as good as one can get for this artist.
This was Maria Callas' first studio-recorded Norma, and it remains a formidable performance. If it doesn't quite have the emotional shadings of her 1960 EMI re-make, it is certainly vocally more secure and in its way just as authoritative. The grandeur of the voice itself is always in evidence; her seeming spontaneity to dramatic situations makes the drama real. Mario Filippeschi's Pollione is impressive–he was a finer tenor than he's given credit for–and Ebe Stignani's Adalgisa is warm and blends superbly with Callas in the duets. Nicola Rossi-Lemeni's Oroveso is a mass of wobbles. Tullio Serafin leads masterfully but observes all the cuts that were standard for the '50s. Most people prefer the 1960 performance, with its clearer delineation between Norma-the-warrior and Norma-the-woman (and for Corelli and Ludwig in the two supporting roles, not to mention the stereo sound), but by 1960 Callas' vocal problems were pretty overt, so you'll have to take the good with the bad. My preference is for the 1955 recording (on Opera d'Oro) with del Monaco under Serafin; its minute-by-minute potency and glorious singing are unmatchable.
Robert Levine

Chailly and La Scala maintain the gold standard for Verdi in this new release coupling two great but rarely recorded choral works. The Hymn of the Nations (Inno delle nazioni) features Decca’s star tenor Freddie De Tommaso, the first tenor to record this work for Decca since Pavarotti. First performed in London in 1862 the Hymn incorporates ‘God Save the Queen’, ‘La Marseillaise’ and ‘Il Canto degli Italiani’: the national anthems of Great Britain, France and Italy. The Four Scared Pieces were published as a set in 1898, shortly before Verdi died. It portrays themes promising peace and the hope of paradise. This album follows the success of ‘Verdi Choruses’ which BBC Music Magazine awarded a 5* review: “Chorus and orchestra are both on their mettle here: the orchestral playing is clean and brilliant, the choral tone full and healthy.” “Chailly is meticulous and pays attention to the fine details, drawing performances from the chorus that are always sonorous and tasteful.” - Gramophone

An all-star cast featuring Deutsche Grammophon artist Anna Netrebko, Bryn Terfel and Anna Prohaska, delivers a sensational new recording of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, conducted by Daniel Barenboim at the start of his inaugural season as Music Director of La Scala. Recorded live at the opening of the 2011-12 La Scala season, Don Giovanni is now set to be released in time for Bryn Terfel’s 50th birthday on 9 November 2015. It also ties in with the traditional opening of the new season at La Scala – 7 December, the feast-day of St Ambrose, patron saint of Milan.

2018 also marks 250 years since Gioachino Rossini’s death in 1868. ‘Messa per Rossini’ was composed in his memory by Verdi and 12 other notable Italian composers Verdi himself composed the concluding Libera me, which he later used in his own ‘Messa da Requiem’. This rare recording represents the work’s triumphant return to the spiritual home of Verdi and Rossini: the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.