Maria Callas's recording of Puccini's "Turandot" is considered a classic interpretation, particularly for its nuanced portrayal of the icy princess.

Gli uccellatori ('The Bird Catchers') was first staged in Venice in 1759 and proved so successful that the opera was performed during the next decade throughout Italy, Spain, Poland and Germany before being performed in Vienna in 1768.

We are proud to present our new album ETERNAL SOURCE to the world.

Continuing his extraordinary SACD series of Richard Wagner's music dramas for PentaTone, Marek Janowski presents Tannhäuser in the original Dresden version, with a dynamic cast, choir, and orchestra that give the performance their all.

The quality of the vocal performances in this live recording of Alcina can be strongly correlated to the singers' prior experience in the Baroque repertoire.

An enemy of fashion and glitz who shunned cocktails and society dinners, Wolfgang Sawallisch was a humble, retiring man whose life was wholly dedicated to music and music alone. Behind what might seem like a well-worn cliché of the "honest man", he was surely one of the greatest artists of his generation. An exceptional pianist, he would sometimes accompany his friend Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau through memorable nights dedicated to Schubert's great cycles. A conductor, he knew the whole repertoire by heart, not only working with an orchestra but also taking to the piano with all the singers. He was a Kapellmeister in the most elevated sense of the term.

Wilhelm Furtwangler's only live opera house recording of the complete Ring is indispensable for serious Wagnerians. (A 1953 broadcast concert series from Rome had an inferior orchestra and lesser singers.) This 1950 La Scala Ring with the house band and chorus and a stellar cast of mostly German Wagnerians sports crude recorded sound, but the Music & Arts transfer is far superior to its previous incarnations. Furtwangler's conducting is incandescent. His command of structure is awesome; you sense the long, overarching lines of each of the operas even as you revel in telling details.

Known by connoisseurs as the legendary 'Blue Album', this historic gem released in 1961 was Leontyne Price's debut orchestral recording for RCA. It offers some of her most shining moments from the composers whom she calls 'her best friends, operatically speaking.' Leontyne Price performing arias from Il Trovatore, Madama Butterfly, La Rondine, Tosca and Turandot.
The album captured her at the beginning of her career when her voice was so fresh, creamy and powerful. This wonderful recital presents the majestic artistry and magnificent voice of one of the 20th century's most beloved sopranos.

Antonietta Stella (15 March 1929 in Perugia – 23 February 2022 in Rome) was an Italian operatic soprano. Her career was overshadowed by the great divas Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, but she was nevertheless able to achieve great success at La Scala, throughout Italy and at some renowned stages in Europe, in America and Japan. She was considered a great Verdi and Puccini interpreter.

This is a 1972 historic live recording of the only opera written by Spanish composer Manuel de Falla: La Vida Breve. Pedro Lavirgen, Ángeles Gulin, Lucero Tena and Rafael Frübek provide a wonderful performance of this unique masterpiece by de Falla.

But that isn’t all of the good news. Along with two regular guests, the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra, and thus the Rijeka Opera, also received a new house conductor (Kapellmeister), the young, yet already established Valentin Egel. Maestro Egel, winner of the Lovro pl. Matačić Award, recently conducted the concert “From the New World”. On that occasion, the concert audience could see why the world’s music critics have rated him as a conductor of “special strength and rich interpretation,” who delivers music “emotionally, powerfully, vividly,” and can “awaken emotions in the audience.” Maestro Egel will perform on October 3 in celebration of the 135th anniversary of the opening of the Rijeka theatre building, and will conduct a concert performance of Verdi’s Aida.

In 1822, the young Donizetti was engaged by La Scala to compose an opera. Chiara e Serafina was the outcome and the librettist was Felice Romani, a refined scholar but a notoriously slow and touchy worker. Consequently, Donizetti had barely twelve days to compose the whole work. Because of the incoherent plot, which concerns Don Meschino and his daughter Chiara who are kidnapped by Algerians, and the villainous Don Fernando who schemes to marry the nobleman’s younger daughter Serafina, the result was a fiasco. Donizetti’s music, however, is characterful and profuse with delightful duets, trios and ensembles.

Performed on early 19th century instruments and presented with brisk tempos, bright tone colors, and a lean ensemble sound, this 2013 Decca recording of Vincenzo Bellini's tragic opera Norma strives to re-create the authentic vocal style and instrumental sonorities that would have been heard at its premiere. This reading is based on a critical study of the manuscript and other sources by Maurizio Biondi and Riccardo Minasi. To the extent that Cecilia Bartoli is able to re-create the historical role of Norma and remove the modern associations that came with time (especially from the 20th century performances by Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, and Montserrat Caballé), she impresses with a lighter voiced and agile heroine who is wholly believable in this highly florid bel canto role.

Farao Classic's recording of La Traviata is revelatory, largely because of the extraordinary quality of the principals who, until this release, were largely unknown to international audiences.

Reflecting his very first love, Opera – The Ultimate Collection is the definitive collection of Bocelli's own beloved and favourite operatic selections that have inspired his career over the years. Bocelli explains, "The main objective of this album is to draw people closer to the opera, in particular to the whole opera. So I chose the tracks that are the most engaging the first time you hear them. I hope I have made the right choice and it encourages people to discover more."