We begin this week with an exciting performance of Murena's area from Donizetti’s L’esule di Roma (The Exile from Rome). Bass-baritone Nicola Alaimo is joined by Opera Rara and the Britten Sinfonia, conducted by Carlo Rizzi. Celebrating the 225th anniversary of Gaetano Donizetti’s birth, academic Roger Parker has restored the rarely performed melodrama.

Set in ancient Imperial Rome during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, L’esule di Roma is filled with political conspiracy, romantic intrigue and great sacrifice. This scene appears at the beginning of Act 2, Murena is wracked with guilt for having sent his daughter Argelia’s lover Settimio to exile, he sings ‘I will see revealed before me, My full punishment!’. This is one of Donizetti's greatest yet often forgotten bass roles, it even includes a mad scene – a 'privilege' usually saved for his dramatic sopranos!

Opera Rara's 'L'esule di Roma' is out now and can be heard below via Apple Music