Quartetto Energie Nove gives new life to Leos Janacek's quartets on this release. The quartet re-imaged several works to include the viola, which made new sounds emerge but also presented great technical challenges. The quartet was founded in 2008 in Lugano, Switzerland. They are well-known throughout Europe.

Le Villi is an opera-ballet in two acts that marked Giacomo Puccini's debut in the world of opera. It was first staged at Teatro dal Verme in Milan in 1884. Librettist Ferdinando Fontana based the story on the ancient legend of the Willis, fantastic creatures representing the souls of young women who were the victims of love. Anna and Roberto are engaged, but during a trip the man is seduced by a woman and his fianc�e dies of heartbreak. Roberto, who is by then abandoned and left penniless, is haunted by remorse and attacked by the revengeful fairies and Anna's ghost. All the elements of the more mature Puccini are already recognizable: the characters of Anna and Roberto anticipate the "love victim" and the "man without qualities" archetypes of his later operas, whereas some of the composer's touches of harmony and aria structure foresee his future success. This rare work was chosen to open the 2018-2019 season of Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the performance received very good reviews. "Le Villi is an opera full of excellent music, where Puccini's future grandeur is already recognizable. This production mingles essentiality, intelligence and youth" (Gbopera. It) "Conductor Marco Angius delivers a fierce and passionate performance and under his baton the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is able to convey all the various shades of the score. " (Gbopera. It)

Francesco Cilea's Gloria, performed here in it's 1932 revised edition, takes as it's theme the ultimately tragic story of two lovers caught up in a conflict in 14th-century Siena. The libretto is based on Victorien Sardou's play La Haine (Hatred) and the opera features Cilea's refined orchestral writing inspired by the Russian and French schools, with vocal lines that are varied and rewarding. Opera Today called this production 'musically magical', while Operawire. Com extolled the inventive and convincing staging along with Francesco Cilluffo's compelling musical direction.

Rossini wrote Semiramide in the winter of 1822/23 for La Fenice of Venice. The libretto is based on Voltaire's drama Semiramis, written by the French philosopher and scholar in 1748. In some respects a conclusive opera, Semiramide contains traditional elements alongside innovative ones. Semiramide summarizes and completes Rossini's serious arc and is paradigmatic of all that would follow.

"Ottorino Respighi’s Sonata was completed in 1917 and by Respighi himself the following year. Many years later, Jascha Heifetz included this Sonata in his repertoire. Respighi's work remains firmly within the boundaries of romanticism. Although Schumann later entirely rewrote the stylistically diffuse FAE Sonata, the recording presented here is of the original triple-composed, Joachim-dedicated work."

The Avalokite Duo (harp and percussion) was created out of the enthusiasm of two colleagues and teachers, Patrizia Boniolo and Guido Facchin, who wished to acquaint the public with the concert harp and the heterogeneous world of percussion instruments in a chamber context, driven by the aim to promulgate contemporary music and, also, highlight popular music through the use of typical folk instruments, so as to merge, in music, the styles and cultures of different peoples. The repertoire of the Avalokite Duo, which includes the transcription and adaptation of important classical and popular pieces, is unique and fascinating due to the peculiar and ever-changing sounds of the countless percussion instruments used, and of the characteristic color effects provided by the harp.

With this recording Dynamic brings to completion the project of recording Nicolo Paganini's entire output. Included in this programme are some absolute rarities, such as the Sonata Napoleon MS. 5, the splendid Maestosa Suonata Sentimentale MS. 51, the Sonata movimento perpetuo M.S 66 and La Primavera MS. 73, all performed faithfully following Paganini's original manuscripts. The set also features an exciting interpretation of the rare Concerto No. 3 in E major MS. 50, perhaps the less frequently performed of Paganini's concertos, and the Caprice No. 24 in an interesting version with piano accompaniment. Mario Hossen received his musical education in Sofia, Vienna and Paris. He made his debut as a soloist with an orchestra at the age of eight. Hailed for his incredible virtuosity and charismatic stage presence, Hossen plays a repertoire that ranges all the way from Renaissance music to Classic music to contemporary works and Jazz. As a concert soloist of international acclaim, Mario Hossen has performed with renowned orchestras such as the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the Orchestra della Scala di Milano, the Royal Philharmonic, the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Sofia Philharmonic and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie. Hossen's musicological and artistic endeavors are focused among other things on source research on Niccolo Paganini. Mario Hossen plays a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, 1749, on loan from the Austrian National Bank collection.

Didone abbandonata was one of the greatest successes in the rather brief operatic career of Leonardo Vinci, a musician who had an adventurous life about which we still know very little. Written for Rome’s Teatro delle Dame, the opera was premiered during the 1726 Carnival season and marked the first collaboration between Vinci and Pietro Metastasio, a teamwork destined to produce abundant fruits, for in the four following years Metastasio would write as many as five new librettos for Vinci. It was immediately very successful, as was the Florentine production here presented, which was the first modern performance of Didone abbandonata, finally reviving one of the great masterpieces of early 18th-century opera. This production was recorded live at Teatro di Firenze and features a cast of Baroque specialists including Roberta Mameli, Carlo Allemano, and Raffaele Pe.

This sparkling opera buffa is a premiere from the 2016 Donizetti Festival of Bergamo, with the part of Pasquale in Neapolitan dialect. It is the story of two rich merchant brothers from Lisbon, who are used to weighing everything against their barganing power. Also the marriage of Pasquale's niece Isabella is a "bargain" to them: she must marry another merchant, so as not to break with family tradition. The gags among the various characters are hilarious - especially those between the two brothers, who have competely different characters - creating an almost surreal atmosphere. Olivo, interpreted by Bruno Taddia, is teh real protagonist: as Isabella's father, he portrays a gruff, inflexible man, and does so with self-assurance and ease but never over the top. No less convincing is Filippo Morace as his brother Pasquale: istrionic and exhilarating as a na ctor, musically precise, and excellent in his Neapolitan dialect performance. Laurea Giordano, also thanks to her physique du role, is perfect as Isabella, the heartbroken girl torn between love for the young Camillo and obedience towards her grouchy father.

For the first time in modern times, Festival della Valle d'Itria stages the Neapolitan version of Handel's Rinaldo, a pastiche with a Mediterranean allure which Leonardo Leo assembled in 1718 and which was considered lost until a few years ago. The story behind this most rare opera is captivating: the score of Handel's masterpiece was illegally brought to Naples by the castrato singer Nicol� Grimaldi, who first interpreted Rinaldo in London. Once in Italy, the work was rehashed by Leo as well as other local composers, who adapted it to the taste of the local Neapolitan public, adding some intermezzos and amusing characters. Director Giorgio Sangati turns this work into a "ba-rock" opera set in the 1980's, where the struggle between Christians and Turks becomes a battle between pop-rock singers (the Christians) and dark-metal ones (the Turks). These two factions represent two opposite perspectives on love and life. Conductor Fabio Luisi is at the head of the baroque Ensemble La Scintilla, a group of specialists in the baroque repertoire. Excellent reviews for the vocal cast who endured an almost 4 hour performance, special mentions to Carmela Remigio (Armida) who was defined "vocally majestic and most convincing in her acting skills", whereas Teresa Iervolino (Rinaldo) impressed the critics for her vocal and acting skills en travesti and her ability "to convey all the melancholic shades of Handel's music" (Luca Ciammarughi, classicaviva. Com).

Italian organist and harpsichordist Roberto Loreggian obtained his organ and harpsichord diplomas with distinction. He then continued to study at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague under Ton Koopman. In addition to his busy career as a soloist, Roberto Loreggian is much in demand as continuo player in both orchestras and chamber ensembles. He is particularly interested in the great harpsichord heritage of 17th and 18th-century Italy, and has adapted all existing manuscripts of G.B. Ferrini's works for the keyboard. The resulting recording was awarded the 'Preis der duetschen Schallplattenkritik.' For his new release, he has opted to record Bach's Goldberg Variations, a staple in keyboard repertoire. Robert Loreggian teaches at the Conservatory of music 'C. Pollini' in Padua.

I Shardana is set in a free Sardinia, an island where rigorous rules are in force and it's people do not tolerate invasions or spiritual contamination, a time when - as Ennio Porrino (b. 1910) specifies in the score - shepherds were warriors and judges, "when man did not believe in one God but in the power of the stars, and worshipped the dead and the waters". The opera's first drafts date from 1934-35, but the work only debuted years later, on 21st March 1959, at the San Carlo theatre in Naples, with it's final title of I Shardana and Porrino himself conducting. The composer would die suddenly a few months later.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Macbeth undoubtedly marked a turning point in Verdi’s operatic writing, i.e., the foregrounding of the characters’ introspective, psychological aspects. This DVD/Blu-ray captures the production staged at Novara’s Teatro Coccia during the 2013-14 season, with thriller/horror filmmaker Dario Argento tackling opera direction for the first time. One could only expect a direction in line with his films, and from that point of view this Macbeth meets expectations, with the visualization of the opera’s bloody, indeed gory scenes matching the dark, brutal character of Shakespeare work.

Format: 1080 60i, 16:9; PCM 2.0, DTS HD master 5.0
Region: 0 (All Region)
Subtitles: Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese

While Napoleon Coste was an important figure in guitar literature, he wrote several works for oboe and piano as well. The Cavatina and Concertino are receiving their world premiere recordings in their original piano version on this album. The remaining works are by French composers Hyacinthe Eleonore Klose and Stanislas Verroust, who were contemporaries of Coste.

This release is a world premi�re recording that allows us to rediscover the amazing talent of the 18th-century composer Carlo Arrigoni, whose oeuvre comprises oratorios, operas and a number of arias and cantatas. Born in Florence in 1697, where he held several jobs at Court, Arrigoni subsequently travelled to London, where he collaborated with Giuseppe Sammartini, and then to Vienna. A skilled musician (he played the lute, theorbo and mandolin) and an arranger, Arrigoni's works were highly praised by the public and critics alike for his ability to merge the stylistic influences of his time (for instance Handel's operas) within his own personal voice. He died in Florence in 1744. The arias and cantatas featured in this programme were likely composed around 1737-38, during his Viennese period. In them we can fully appreciate the signature style of a mature composer, secure in the wealth of experience acquired during his European trips. His approach to composing is always recognizable and individual, characterized by rich creativity and exceptional mastery of the various techniques. The works included in this release evoke a range of feelings: from moving arias imbued with sorrow and disenchantment, to lighter, more playful atmospheres which are characterized by lively rhythms. An eclectic musician, Arrigoni admirably blends different styles and influences in his output, which ensures that his works are characterized by a very personal and highly convincing imprint. His chamber music output is of historical and musical importance for us today. The sonatas for mandolin contained in this album were published in 2018 by Davide Ferella himself (CDS7821), while the vocal music tracks are still unpublished and preserved on manuscript at the Yale library.