Melody Louledjian and Giulio Zappa met ten years ago at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, during a production of a Rossini opera. It was love at first sight, both friendly and musical. Both of them have had careers that have taken them to some of the most beautiful international stages, but they meet regularly both in the city and on stage. For their first recording collaboration, they have chosen a program that embodies the history of their encounter, that of two linguistic, stylistic and musical cultures: Rossini's Romances for voice and piano on French poems.

High-ceilinged rooms with elaborate chandeliers and exquisite furniture, lavish meals and delicate wines, civilized conversation with the most interesting people of the day, and of course, music. These were the late 19th and early 20th centuries’ pleasures the Salons had to offer, and music was not a minor component of this most sophisticated social tradition which thrived in western societies up until 1914.