For this recording of Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder, Joyce DiDonato is joined by the original instrument ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro and Maxim Emelyanychev. "Bring that innocent, childlike sense of wonder to your craft, and do whatever you need to find that truth again. It will continually teach you how to be present, how to be alive, and how to let go. Therein lies not only your artistic freedom, but your personal freedom as well!"

GRAMMY Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato joins conductor Alan Curtis and Il Complesso Barocco for this electrifying program of royal arias from the 17th and 18th century. It features compositions by luminary figures including Handel and Vivaldi, as well as, lesser-known composers including Orlandini and Porta. Her previous album for Virgin Classics, Diva, Divo, won a GRAMMY® Award in February 2012. DiDonato calls this themed recital her “most exciting recording project to date…high drama, profound emotion, fearless vocal writing, time-stopping passages, historical significance and real discovery”.

The American mezzo sings the title role of the scheming Roman matriarch in a starrily-cast recording of Handel's early opera with Il Pomo d'Oro, conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev.