A "Hansel and Gretel" Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words

Kate Lindsey (left) as Hansel, Robert Brubaker (in the oven) as the Witch and Aleksandra Kurzak (right) as Gretel in the Metropolitan Opera production of the classic Humperdinck opera. (Photo: Mary Altaffer/AP)

MET Sirius XM Radio Tonight: "La Fille du Régiment"

Listen to the Metropolitan Opera perform Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment live tonight at 7:30 PM EST on Sirius XM radio. Intermission guests: Aleksandra Kurzak and Kate Lindsey.

Maltese Tenor Joseph Calleja Debuts New Disc in USA

Tenor Joseph Calleja will be performing arias from his new CD The Maltese Tenor on Monday, October 24, at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. To learn more about the album, visit the official site here. To listen to the entire album, check out NPR's "First Listen" series here. If you are in New York City and want to purchase tickets to the event ($20 plus a "two item minimum per person at all tables") click here. Doors open at 6:30 PM and the event will begin at 7:30 PM. There is also an audio story about Joseph Calleja on NPR by Tom Huizenga, click hear to listen. As a bonus, the album also features Decca's latest exclusive artist Aleksandra Kurzak singing the following duets with Joseph Calleja: “De mon amie, fleur endormie – Leïla, Leïla! Dieu puissant” from Les Pêcheurs de perles and "O soave fanciulla” from La Bohème.

Watch a Cast Rehearsal For L.A. Opera's "Così Fan Tutte"

The clip features an inside look at a musical preparation for the Mozart opera with Aleksandra Kurzak, Ruxandra Donose, Saimir Pirgu and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, led by maestro James Conlon. Check out a photo gallery of the production by clicking here. The last performance of Così Fan Tutte at Los Angeles Opera will be October 8, 2011.

Decca Launches Microsites: Kurzak, de Niese and Calleja

Click on photos to launch a microsite promoting an artist's new release on Decca:

Diva Débutantes Spice Up New Releases on Decca, DG & Sony

Among the sopranos making their debut recordings in the coming months, there are sprinklings of returning favorites like Diana Damrau and Danielle de Niese. Click on the images to enlarge. Enjoy!

Aleksandra Kurzak as Rosina Hits High Note at Covent Garden

(Photo: Mike Hoban)

Decca's latest treasure trove just hit a home-run with her performances in Rossini's spectacular revival.

"The Royal Opera's 2005 Barber of Seville, staged by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser, has been the vehicle for stars including Juan Diego Flórez and Joyce DiDonato. The bill for its latest revival is less glossy, but includes a performance that ought to catapult Aleksandra Kurzak on to the Rossini A-list. Kurzak comes to the role of Rosina as a soprano, rather than a mezzo like her predecessor, and the decorations she adds so liberally to her arias just go up, up and away. Her high notes ping crystal-clear around Christian Fenouillat's high-walled box of a set with a nonchalance that suits the wilful minx she portrays; she has Rosina's sugar and spice held in perfect balance." [Source]

Aleksandra Kurzak Signs Exclusive Contract With Decca

Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak has announced she has just signed an exclusive recording contract with Decca. The debut album was recorded in December 2010 and will be released mid-2011. The disc will contain bel canto arias from I Puritani, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Traviata and more. As a tribute to homeland, an aria from Stanislaw Moniuszko's The Haunted Manor will also be included. The Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana is conducted by Omer Meir Welber. 

As part of the contract, she will also make a guest appearance on the next album of tenor Joseph Calleja that will feature duets from La Bohème and Les pêcheurs de perles. It will also be released in 2011. She is the first Polish artist to sign exclusively with the label famous for singers like Pavarotti, Sutherland, Horne and Fleming.