Il diluvio universale (The Great Flood) – Donizetti

An oratorio or an opera? Donizetti wrote Il diluvio universale based on the story of Noah for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples who had commissioned from him a sacred work to be performed during Lent. This is the world premiere recording of this great ensemble work from 1830 which blends grand biblical drama and the composer’s signature melodic beauty which can be heard in the duets, arias and cabalettas. Giuliano Carella conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Mirco Palazzi as Noè, Majella Cullagh as Sela and Colin Lee as Cadmo.

Ugo, conte di Parigi (Hugo, Count of Paris) – Donizetti

This recording of Ugo, conte di Parigi (1832) is important for many reasons: it is Opera Rara’s first ever release, the world premiere recording of one of Donizetti’s most obscure operas, and the first recording made by Opera Rara favourites Janet Price, Yvonne Kenny and Della Jones. Filled with many beautiful and intricate ensembles, this recording uses the reconstructed score by Opera Rara co-founder Patric Schmid who based his work on Donizetti’s original manuscript.

L’assedio di Calais (The siege of Calais) – Donizetti

David Parry is heard here in his second collaboration with Opera Rara – he recorded over 20 works with the charity altogether – conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra. This revival (another world premiere recording!) of what is considered to be one of Donizetti’s most interesting and visionary works marked the first time L’assedio di Calais (1836) had been heard in over 150 years. It marks a pivotal moment in Donizetti’s career in which he was clearly aiming to create a work for an international audience – specifically Paris where he moved 2 years later, abandoning Naples.

Ermione – Rossini

Ermione is one of Rossini’s most intense and dramatically charged operas but it was received with complete incomprehension at its premiere in 1819 in Naples. It received only seven performances in total and was never revived during the composer’s lifetime. This is another David Parry led recording with Carmen Giannattasio in the title role alongside Patricia Bardon, Paul Nilon and Colin Lee. Opera Rara went onto win the 2011 Gramophone Award for Best Opera Recording for this revival!  

La donna del lago (The Lady of the Lake) – Rossini

99% of Opera Rara’s releases are studio recordings but on the rare occasion, the charity has released live recordings like in the case of this La donna del lago (1819). Captured at the 2006 Edinburgh International Festival and conducted by Maurizio Benini, Elena is sung by Carmen Giannattasio in what was her first major opera recording. La donna del lago was not only the first Italian opera to be based on a work by Sir Walter Scott, but it was also a milestone in the development of romanticism in Italian opera.

Bianca e Falliero (Bianca and Falliero) – Rossini

Sumptuous and ornate, Bianca e Falliero (1819) is a hidden gem amongst Rossini’s serious operas. Jennifer Larmore, in her Opera Rara debut and opera recording debut, is Falliero, the love interest of Majella Cullagh’s Bianca who struggles to resist her father’s attempts to marry her to Capellio sung by Ildebrando D’Arcangelo. This was the first of now 17 projects recorded by Opera Rara with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Zingari (Gypsies) – Ruggero Leoncavallo

This was the first opera I recorded and performed with Opera Rara after becoming the charity’s Artistic Director. Based on a poem by Alexander Pushkin (Boris Godunov, Eugene Onegin), Leoncavallo’s fiery and passionate one-act opera was a huge success after is world premiere at London’s Hippodrome in 1912. I was delighted to conduct this rare verismo piece with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Krassimira Stoyanova as Fleana and Arsen Soghmonyan as Radu.

Il proscritto (The Proscribed Man) – Saverio Mercadante

This is a really important project for me. During the pandemic, I found the original manuscript of Il proscritto online and with Opera Rara, we undertook the full restoration of the score which was completed in 2020. Two years later, we gave the first public performance of Il proscritto since its premiere in 1842 and released the first ever recording of the opera. The recording was voted Critics’ Choice by many international publications but the icing on the cake was definitely winning the International Opera Award for best Complete Opera Recording. 

La Princesse de Trébizonde (The Princess of Trebizond) – Offenbach

Offenbach’s music has long been part of Opera Rara’s DNA and this 2022 revival of La Princesse de Trébizonde (1869) brings French specialist Paul Daniel together with London Philharmonic Orchestra and a wonderful cast of native French-speakers including Virginie Verrez, Anne-Catherine Gillet, Antoinette Dennefeld and Christophe Mortagne. The energy and spirit of this comic operetta is infectious – it’s one of those works that I can’t believe anyone wouldn’t enjoy! In 2024 it won both at the OPER! Awards and OPUS KLASSIK Awards.

Dinorah – Meyerbeer

A contemporary of Donizetti, Giacomo Meyerbeer’s three-act opera Dinorah (1859) was a surprise for critics who thought he was only able to compose large-scale grand operas. In fact, it became of his most popular and enduring works. This is the world premiere recording of this French opéra-comique about the hapless Dinorah – sung in this release by Deborah Cook – roaming the hills with her goat Bellah, with James Judd conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra. It certainly shows a different side the composer whose works such as Les Huguenots or Le prophète are better known today.