The prolific and versatile Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, one of the central figures of Italian bel canto opera, also wrote around 200 solo songs. Most of them are rarely performed and some, until recently, were completely unknown. Curated by musicologist Roger Parker and under the leadership of Opera Rara’s artistic director Carlo Rizzi, Opera Rara presents the complete solo songs in a series of eight recital albums, making a powerful case for Donizetti as a key figure in the 19th-century song repertoire and restoring the Italian school to prominence in a field long dominated by German and French composers.
This new volume features the acclaimed soprano Rosa Feola, whose radiant tone and expressive artistry have made her a favourite on the world’s leading opera stages. A multiple prize-winner at Operalia, The World Opera Competition early in her career, Feola brings her “impeccable control of breathing and phrasing” (The Times) to Donizetti’s rarely heard songs for soprano, revealing their emotional depth and effortless grace.
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