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

Ana María Martínez, Susanne Elmark, Luba Orgonasova (soprano), Jonathan Welch, Fabio Previati, Carmen Gonzales, Ivan Urbas, Boaz Senator, Jiři Sulženko, Antonietta Stella (soprano), Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz, Budapest Failoni Chamber Orchestra, Michael Halász, Elisabeth Norberg-Schulz, Maria Pia Ionata, Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Miriam Gauci, Brussels Philharmonic, Alexander Rahbari, Dinara Alieva, Hellen Kwon, Dilbèr, Krassimira Stoyanova (soprano), Monika Krause, Kym Amps, Prague Philharmonia, Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic Choir, Wiener Staatsoper, Magyar Állami Operaház Zenekara, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Estonian Opera Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Scholars Baroque Ensemble, Steven Mercurio, Robert Reimer, Will Humburg, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Ali Rahbari, Dmitry Yablonsky, Eri Klas, Pavel Baleff