Rameau is one of the universal geniuses in European musical history, on the same level as Bach, Mozart and Haydn", asserts conductor Gy�rgy Vashegyi. With this recording of Les Bor�ades Vashegyi completes an ambitious 10-year Rameau project, run in collaboration with the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles. The cast of Sabine Devieilhe, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Tassis Christoyannis, Thomas Doli�, Gwendoline Blondeel, Benedikt Kristj�nsson and Philippe Est�phe is joined by the Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir - both ensembles founded by Vashegyi. Devieilhe - who made her Erato debut with a Rameau recital - takes the central role of Alphise, Queen of Bactria, who must defy the traditions of her country if she is to marry the man she loves. The theme of freedom, 'la libert�', is important in the opera; conceived in 1763 to mark the end of the Seven Years' War, it had to wait more than 200 years for it's first full staging. When the performers on this recording appeared in a concert version of Les Bor�ades at the Th��tre des Champs-Elys�es in Paris, Concert Classique declared that "Rameau's genius shines through at every moment.

Terrific debut album for Huw Montague Rendall, showcasing his multifaceted talent and stylistic sensitivity. Contemplation spans three centuries, the idioms of opera, operetta, Broadway musical, lied and m�lodie with arias and songs by Mozart, Thomas, Gounod, Duparc, Messager, Mahler, Korngold, Rodgers and Britten. In a duet from Mozart's Die Zauberfl�te the baritone is joined by Canadian soprano Elisabeth Boudreault.

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Giacomo Meyerbeer, the master of Parisian grand op�ra, was hugely successful in his time and a major influence on Verdi and Wagner. His music has fascinated Diana Damrau since her student days. With her brilliant coloratura, lyricism and dramatic power, the soprano rises triumphantly to the vocal and expressive challenges of arias from 10 of his operas, singing in French, Italian and German. Two of the arias receive their world premiere recording with this album. The idea of a Meyerbeer album has been close to Diana Damrau's heart since she first recorded for Erato back in 2006. She became fascinated by the composer's music as a student in W�rzburg, when she was invited to perform his cantata Gli amori di Teolinda. "I immersed myself in Meyerbeer's world," she explains, "and was excited by his multifaceted writing for the voice, by his orchestral colours, his theatrical instincts, the powerful and varied way in which he expresses emotion, his splendid melodies and, last but not least, his ability to capture precisely the right 'national style'. If you compare his Italian, German and French works, it is like listening to three different composers."

WAGNER: DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN (HIGHLIGHTS)

Wagner: Highlights from "The Ring"

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VERDI: Trouvere (Le) (Il Trovatore) (1857 Paris Version)

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PIAZZOLLA: Maria de Buenos Aires

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