Nowadays amidst tightening budgets, cutbacks and a growing sense among the public that the golden age of singing is over, it must be very difficult and frustrating to pursue a career as a singer. For precisely this reason a British philanthropist, Ian Rosenblatt, under the aegis of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden set up a foundation in 2000 to support young singers by giving recitals, enabling them to be discovered by the public and furthering their career. Among the number of recordings received I’ve selected three artists who impressed me the most with their imagination and artistry, but I encourage the reader to investigate the complete series at opusarte.com for their particular interest:
Britten – Michelangelo Sonnets; Liszt – Petrarch Sonnets; Francesco Meli (Opus Arte OA CD9019 D). Young Italian tenor Francesco Meli is celebrated for a voice of lyricism, purity of tone and wonderful bel canto that has made him an ideal Verdi tenor and he sang a number of roles in the Tutto Verdi series to world acclaim. In this recording he tackles the two above-noted song-cycles, complemented with an exciting selection of French and Italian repertoire, accompanied by Matteo Pais.
Amore e Morte (Opus Arte OA CD9017D). Spectacular Russian spinto soprano Ekaterina Siurina,who has already made her debut at La Scala and the Met and is in great demand today all over the world, is featured in a most entertaining disc of songs by Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi in a series of alternately flirtatious and grief-stricken ballads, with Iain Burnside at the piano.
Shining River (OA CD9016D) features Susan Chilcott,the great English lyric soprano whose young life tragically ended in 2003 and who created many memorable heroines (e.g. Verdi, Janáček, Britten) on the opera stage. The Shining River is of course the Ohio, starting off a program of American traditional and poetic songs by Aaron Copland and others, where her supreme artistry, youthful vitality and imagination is really a “shining river” surging through this very heartwarming disc. A great gift for young and old alike. Once again Iain Burnside is the accompanist.
