Even if Elena Mosuc is considered first and foremost a bel canto specialist and a performer of various Mozart heroines for dramatic coloratura soprano, it should be noted that Giuseppe Verdi´s stage works have always been an integral part of her repertoire and will in the future become an even more prominent part of it. Since Maria Callas, these roles are sung with heavier and primarily dramatic voices. In our times this is considered common property. Nevertheless, one should always keep in mind, that these roles - in terms of requirements and stylistics – can´t be separated from the epoch of bel canto and, even in Verdi's time without any exception, sung by leading bel canto prima donnas or explicitly composed for this kind of voice. Elena Mosuc started her brilliant international career at the Zurich Opera House. Guest appearances have taken place at the most important houses and festivals in the world (including the opera houses of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg, Teatro alla Scala Milan, Munich, Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, London, Helsinki, Rome, Venice, Verona ) as well as in the USA to the MET, and to Japan, China and Korea.

With the "Messa da Requiem“, Christian Spuck brought one of Verdi’s key works to the stage. In a large-scale co-production by the Ballett and Oper Zurich, the German choreographer and director ventured to portray an unusual interpretation of Verdi’s funeral mass in his scenic choreographic production. 36 dancers, the choir and supplementary choir of the Opernhaus Zurich as well as four highly acclaimed soloists joined together under the direction of Fabio Luisi for 13 wide ranging scenes dedicated to one of the most fundamental themes of humanity. Christian Spuck does not seek a mere religious interpretation of the liturgical text. Instead, he is interested in focusing on people who, in their vulnerability and helplessness, are in the search for comfort. In poetic tableaux he deals with basic human emotions and focuses on the feelings of fear, rage, pain, sadness and the search for redemption.

Audiences from the far east have always enjoyed opera. After the Japanese and the Koreans, who exported their musical glories since the 80s to Europe, now it is the turn of the Chinese, with a huge number of aspiring singers from that country studying at foreign Colleges of Music. Some twenty years ago, the name to conjure with was Warren Mok, a Hong Kong tenor tipped as Asia's answer to Pavarotti. Today, that moniker belongs to Chuanyue Wang an excellent tenor featured on this release, his very first. A grand slam in Chinese domestic vocal music competitions, Professor at the Central Conservatory of Music, San Francisco Opera signed singer, Chuanyue Wang has won first prizes in The International Vocal Competition of Seoul in Korea, the vocal competition Martini City of Mantova al Bibiena, the Chinese Culture Ministry's Wen Hua Competition, the 15th Young Singer CCTV Competition for Bel Canto, the Chinese Music Golden Bell Award, the 5th China International Voice Competition. Hewas also a participant in the Carlo Bergonzi Master Class, the Okazaki International Voice Master Class, the Brasov Opera House Training Program in Romania and the Schonberg Institute in Vienna.

It's an event that draws many thousands of music lovers to one of the most beautiful cities in the world every summer: the opera season at the ancient Arena di Verona. The 2,000-year-old roman amphitheater with its gigantic stage dimensions is one of the largest and best preserved Roman construction of its kind, and with over 22,000 seats it is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular open-air venues of the world! The revered master of opera Franco Zeffirelli, who died shortly before the premiere of Il Trovatore, created a legendary scenery with groups of giant sized armored knights, a fortress turning into a luminous cathedral, an enormous choir, horses, breathtaking fights: “his perhaps best arena production” (Opernglas). It brings Anna Netrebko to the Arena of Verona where she is giving her much-anticipated debut in one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most popular operas. Next to Anna Netrebko as Leonora perform Verdi accomplished baritone Luca Salsi as Count di Luna and Yusif Eyvazov returns to the Arena as his powerful-voiced opponent Manrico. MET star Dolora Zajick as Azucena and young rising Italian bass Riccardo Fassi as Ferrando join the prestigious ensemble. “Zeffirelli gives to the arena what it merits: a colourful, multifaceted staging in which impressive mass scenes alternate with intimate moments [...]“ (Der Neue Merker) “Unforgettable” (Verona Settegiorni)

Stories about Wunderlich's meteoric rise to success, his incredibly heavy workload or his seemingly effortless acquisition of new repertoire have been told again and again – sometimes painting an idealized and sometimes a distorted picture of the artist. The nine installments of the SWR retrospective that have been released by SWR CLASSIC to this day feature Fritz Wunderlich as a singer of songs, (an unequalled) Mozart tenor, a brilliant interpreter of the greatest tenor hits, a fascinating singer of operettas and as a tasteful interpreter of light music, to name but a few of the genres that made up his repertoire. Though Fritz Wunderlich remains until today a widely appreciated and admired singer, there are some facets to his artistic side that are still relatively unknown. The tenth and last installment presents Fritz Wunderlich as an interpreter of the big works of sacred music, an aspect that has to be considered as an essential part of his artistic profile.

This opera was recorded at the 2019 Festival Verdi in a new coproduction from Teatro Regio di Parma and Teatro Comunale di Bologna. I due Foscari, a tragedia lirica in three acts based on a work by Lord Byron, was premiered in 1844. It proved quite popular for the next fifty years, thanks in part to its brevity and ease of staging; in fact it’s Verdi's shortest opera. The composer also revised the libretto by the rather inexperienced Francesco Maria Piave. From the musical point of view, this work is characterized by extreme simplicity of form and by the use of distinctive themes for each character, reminiscent of the Leitmotiv technique. The simple plot describes the mortal hatred between a Venetian gentleman, Jacopo Loredano, and two members of the Foscari family - the Doge Francesco and his son Jacopo - whom Loredano holds responsible for the deaths of his father and uncle. The effectiveness of this recording stems from both the cast of singers (notably Vladimir Stoyanov in the role of Francesco Foscari) and the orchestra under Paolo Arrivabeni's direction Paolo Arrivabeni is a highly experienced, international conductor who specializes in this repertoire.