Watch Anja Harteros Record "O Patria Mia" For Warner Classics

"This magnificent recording of Aida, made in Rome, rises to all the musical and dramatic challenges presented by Verdi’s richly-coloured Egyptian epic. Antonio Pappano, once again proving his mastery of Italian opera, moves between sumptuous grandeur and touching intimacy. The responses of the Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia are both immediate and vibrant, while the singers – Anja Harteros, Jonas Kaufmann, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Ludovic Tézier and Erwin Schrott – do justice to every facet of their roles." [Source] Watch Anja Harteros sing "O Patria Mia" from Aida, as well as more excerpts from the recording session along with interviews with the artists, after the jump.

"Aida" With Kaufmann And Harteros Gets 8-Month Lead Time Hype

Australian magazine Limelight discusses the most recent recording of Verdi's Aida for Warner Classics, featuring Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros, Ekaterina Semenchuk, and Erwin Schrott under the baton of Antonio Pappano, due in October 2015. Those lucky enough to be in Rome can attend a concert on February 27 of the opera with the cast. Tickets available here. "Over the past two decades the number of studio recordings produced by the world’s biggest record labels of grand operas has dwindled. However a new studio recording of Verdi’s epic masterpiece Aida being produced by Warner Classics and featuring an all star cast proves that the tradition of recording large scale operatic works in the studio is still alive. What’s more, the new recording, due for release in October this year, will boast an authentically Italian provenance with conductor Sir Antonio Pappano at the helm. Pappano, who since 2005 has been Music Director of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, featured on this new recording, is a seasoned hand with Verdi repertoire. This will be the conductor’s second studio recording of a Verdi opera, after his 2002 release of Il Trovatore. His Warner Classics catalogue also contains an award-winning Santa Cecilia version of Verdi’s monumental Requiem. Pappano has assembled an extraordinary cast of similarly experienced Verdi performers, although two notable leads will be making their Aida debuts. In the title role, German soprano and former Cardiff Singer of the World champion

Anja Harteros has firmly established her Verdi credentials having appeared in productions of La traviata, Il trovatore, Simon Boccanegra, La forza del destino, Don Carlo and Otello. This will however be her first time performing the role of the Ethopian princess. Starring opposite Harteros will be superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann, who is no stranger to Verdi’s heroic leads himself, although this too will be the tenor’s Aida debut in the role of the Egyptian warrior Radamès." [Source] Read the full article here. See an interview with Maestro Pappano, and a video of the recording session, after the jump.

Rolando Villazón Finds The Clown In Mozart Concert Arias

(Photo: Monika Hoefler/DG)

"In January Deutsche Grammophon releases Villazón’s new CD, Mozart Concert Arias – a collection of rarely recorded concert arias for tenor recorded with Sir Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra. The star tenor declares that the coming year will be 'all Mozart, all the time,' adding that with the new album '...It is as if I have uncovered a whole new world. No composer speaks to me as directly as Mozart.' Villazón will be touring the Mozart Concert Arias repertoire widely in 2014, including U-Live concerts in Prague (28 March), Munich (31 March), Vienna (3 April), Paris (6 April), Dortmund (29 April), Berlin (2 May) and London (6 May)." [Source]

Rolando Villazón Re-emerges With New DG "Werther"

Click on image to order the new Werther recording

EMI Records Rossini's "Guillaume Tell" Under Pappano

Video introduction by the Maestro after the jump.

Anna Netrebko "Tribute to Pergolesi" on Deutsche Grammophon

Listen to "Nel chiuso centro"

The German label is set to release its latest recording project, featuring Anna Netrebko, on March 18 in Europe. Arriving during Eastertide, Tribute to Pergolesi is taken from performances of live concerts in July 2010 at Baden-Baden and also features mezzo-soprano Marianna Pizzolato with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under the direction of Antonio Pappano. It was also an event to coincide with Pergolesi's tercentenary. In addition to the full Pergolesi Stabat Mater, the disc also contains the cantatas "Nel chiuso centro" (Netrebko) and "Questo è il piano, questo è il rio" (Pizzolato). There will be a standard jewel case version as well as a deluxe prestige edition that will come with a bonus DVD.


ABOUT THE RECORDING

Listen to "Stabat Mater"

"For her concerts in July 2010, Anna Netrebko chose to take a risk. Rather than stick to the tried-and-tested route of Russian repertoire (her Iolanta in Baden-Baden in 2009 received dazzling reviews) or recitals of opera arias, she decided to programme works from a period with which she is not often associated – the Baroque. She opted to concentrate on the music of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, whose tercentenary was being celebrated in 2010. Although he died tragically young, Pergolesi wrote an important comic opera (La serva padrona) which influenced the future