For anyone new to opera, the first question is often: where to start? The 'Best Loved' series offers an easy answer to that question with a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of operatic music. Highlighting some of the best-loved arias ever written, the series provides a convenient introduction to opera's extensive variety of sounds and styles. Opera can be defined as drama told through music and, at the height of its popularity, conventions arose in which certain voice types came to share features of the characters they represented. This series presents the main vocal categories (soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone and bass) by dividing them across four albums. The 'Best Loved' Arias series aims to demonstrate why opera as an art form remains as relevant and entertaining today as it was at its inception 400 years ago.

Artists

Lado Ataneli (baritone), Carlo Colombara (bass), Samuel Ramey (bass), Renato Girolami (bass), Kurt Rydl (bass), Erich Knodt (bass), Matthias Goerne (baritone), Andrew Foster-Williams (bass-baritone), Michele Pertusi (bass-baritone), Eduard Tumagian (baritone), Ivan Urbas (bass), Jan Opalach (bass), Lorenzo Regazzo (bass-baritone), Soon-Won Kang (bass), Silvano Carroli (baritone), Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Rijeka Opera Chorus, Rijeka Opera Symphony Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia, Hungarian Festival Chorus, Budapest Failoni Chamber Orchestra, Orf Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Virtuosi Brunensis, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Orchestra Giovanile della Via Emilia, CSR Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava Chamber Choir, Orchestra Internazionale D'Italia, Slovak Philharmonic Chorus, Lodovico Zocche, Ville Matvejeff, Julius Rudel, Michael Halász, Pinchas Steinberg, Jaap van Zweden, Antonino Fogliani, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Ali Rahbari, Will Humburg, Gerard Schwarz, Renato Palumbo