Latest stories
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Signor Gaetano from Javier Camarena and Gli Originali
11th Nov 2022by Katherine Cooper
On the first of two albums devoted to the many and varied operas of Donizetti, the Mexican tenor brings fresh-faced charm to the comic heroes of L'elisir d'amore and Betly - but also excels in the darker and stormier waters of Roberto Devereux, Caterina Cornaro and Maria de Rudenz.
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American tenor Jonathan Tetelman's debut recording
12th Aug 2022by Katherine Cooper
Featuring arias by Cilea, Massenet, Verdi, Ponchielli and Mascagni, the Chile-born tenor's first album for Deutsche Grammophon reveals a powerful dark-hued voice that's allied to real interpretative subtlety.
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Freddie De Tommaso - Il Tenore
24th Jun 2022by Katherine Cooper
The young British-Italian tenor is on barnstorming form in a programme of scenes and arias from Tosca, Turandot, Madama Butterfly and Carmen, with equally impressive guest appearances from Lise Davidsen, Natalya Romaniw and Aigul Akhmetshina.
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Franco-Italian recitals from Benjamin Bernheim and Pene Pati
8th Apr 2022by Katherine Cooper
Bernheim traces the history of Italian composers in Paris with his customary elegance and eloquence, whilst Pati's equally impressive debut on Warner reveals a voice of immense character and versatility.
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Ian Bostridge on Tormento d'amore
28th Mar 2022by Katherine Cooper
The English tenor discusses his recent album of arias from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Italian operas, featuring music by composers including Cavalli, Vivaldi, Cesti, Stradella and Sartorio.
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Nadine Sierra on Made for Opera
16th Mar 2022by Katherine Cooper
The American soprano talks about her new album on Deutsche Grammophon (featuring snapshots of Verdi's Violetta, Donizetti's Lucia and Gounod's Juliette), how the #MeToo movement has played out in the opera world, and the women who've empowered her in her career.
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Joyce DiDonato on EDEN
7th Mar 2022by Katherine Cooper
The American mezzo talks to Katherine about her new album on Erato, and answers some questions submitted by Presto readers along the way...
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Joyce DiDonato's EDEN
25th Feb 2022by Katherine Cooper
Featuring music by composers including Ives, Cavalli, Handel, Gluck and Wagner (plus a ravishing new commission by Rachel Portman), the American mezzo's eclectic new concept-album with Il Pomo d'Oro explores our relationship with 'the grammar of the earth'.
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Sandrine Piau on Handel's Enchantresses
3rd Feb 2022by Katherine Cooper
The French soprano talks to Katherine about her new album featuring snapshots of Alcina, Morgana, Cleopatra and others, and about her rather unorthodox route to a solo singing career...
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Anna Netrebko on Amata dalle tenebre
29th Dec 2021by Katherine Cooper
The Russian soprano answers some quick questions about her new album on Deutsche Grammophon, featuring arias from operas including Dido and Aeneas, Ariadne auf Naxos, Lohengrin and Tristan und Isolde.
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Aleksandra Kurzak on Mozart
23rd Dec 2021by Katherine Cooper
The Polish soprano talks to Katherine about drawing on her background as a violinist to direct the Morphing Chamber Orchestra on her new recording of opera arias with obbligato instruments.
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Claire Booth on Mussorgsky
8th Dec 2021by Katherine Cooper
The British soprano talks to Katherine about her new album with pianist Christopher Glynn, which intersperses some of the composer's lesser-known songs with a selection of his piano pieces.
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David Bates on Handel's 'Unsung Heroes'
6th Dec 2021by David Smith
The Artistic Director of La Nuova Musica talks about his new album of Handel arias, shining the spotlight not just on the vocalists but on the instrumentalists whose obbligato lines enhance the music.
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Cecilia Bartoli - Unreleased
19th Nov 2021by Katherine Cooper
The Roman mezzo is in electrifying form in a programme of operatic and concert-arias by Haydn, Mysliveček, Mozart and Beethoven with the Kammerorchester Basel, recorded back in 2013.
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Michael Spyres on Baritenor
2nd Nov 2021by Katherine Cooper
The American singer talks to Katherine about moving between tenor and baritone repertoire on his new album, and why he believes that the fach system often 'does our voices and artistry an injustice'.
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Philippe Jaroussky & Thibaut Garcia: À sa guitare
22nd Oct 2021by Katherine Cooper
The French countertenor and guitarist join forces for an eclectic, beguiling programme ranging from Dowland to Barbara, whilst Jaroussky's younger label-mate Jakub Józef Orliński dazzles in sacred baroque works with Il Pomo d'Oro.
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Michael Spyres - Baritenor
24th Sep 2021by Katherine Cooper
The maverick American singer mixes tenor and baritone repertoire with joyful (but historically-informed) abandon, ranging from Donizetti's stratospheric Tonio to his namesake in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.
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Janine Jansen plays twelve Stradivari
10th Sep 2021by David Smith
Janine Jansen, accompanied by Antonio Pappano, explores the unique sounds of twelve different Stradivari violins in a unusual and fascinating recording project.
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Kate Lindsey on Tiranno
29th Jun 2021by Katherine Cooper
The American mezzo talks to Katherine about her recent album exploring baroque depictions of Nero (and the women surrounding him), which features music by Monteverdi, Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti and Bartolomeo Monari.
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Anna Lucia Richter on Il Delirio della Passione
24th May 2021by David Smith
The German soprano talks about her recent all-Monteverdi album with Luca Pianca and Ensemble Claudiana, and discusses the beginning of a new chapter in her vocal career.