Angela Gheorghiu: Homage to Maria Callas
Favorite Opera Arias
Bellini:
- Col sorriso d’innocenza (from Il Pirata)
Bizet:
- L’amour est un oiseau rebelle ‘Habanera’ (from Carmen)
Catalani:
- Ebben? Ne andrò lontana (from La Wally)
Cherubini:
- Dei tuoi figli la madre tu vedi (from Medee)
Cilea:
- Poveri fiori (from Adriana Lecouvreur)
Giordano, U:
- La mamma morta (from Andrea Chénier)
Gounod:
- Ah! Je ris de me voir (from Faust)
Leoncavallo:
- Qual fiamma avea nel guardo!…. Hui! Stridono lassù (from I Pagliacci)
Massenet:
- De cet affreux combat…Pleurez, mes yeux ! (from Le Cid)
Puccini:
- Donde lieta usci (from La Bohème)
Saint-Saëns:
- Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix (from Samson et Dalila)
Verdi:
- È strano! è strano!…Ah! fors è lui (from La traviata)
- Sempre libera (from La Traviata)
with James Valenti (tenor)
Performed by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Marco Armiliato
“Homage to Maria Callas” is a collection of beloved French and Italian operatic masterpieces performed by Angela Gheorghiu. The program is inspired by the career and recordings of Maria Callas, one of the greatest singers of the last century. The arias are shared favorites of both Callas and Gheorghiu, and Angela’s new recording demonstrates once again her extraordinary vocal and emotional range.
I personally wonder about the ‘wisdom’ of selecting this album title: Inevitably, the loyal Callas fans will likely be outraged. So there’s hardly a benefit to using Madame Callas’ name.
Angela Gheorghiu said recently, “Callas was original in everything she did; she was a phenomenon. In every performance she gave her all. She was the most wonderful painter and you can always hear exactly the right color in her voice. Just hearing her sound, you understand all the power or fragility of her emotions. That’s a rare talent and a great gift.”
Angela Gheorghiu was born in Romania. In 1992, she made her international debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, followed the same year by debuts at the Metropolitan Opera and the Wiener Staatsoper. Since then, she has appeared at many of the world’s opera houses and concert halls, excelling both vocally and dramatically. Today, at the height of her career – and looking as glamorous as ever – she is widely recognized by critics and opera lovers as one of the great sopranos of our time.
Here are some Press comments:
“She [Angela Gheorghiu] has earned her place as one of the best sopranos of her generation and it has been said that her voice is ‘…perhaps the most instantly recognizable and interesting soprano voice of our time… a liquid instrument of great beauty” ………………………….Gramophone
“The world’s most glamorous opera star” …………………………New York Sun
Here is Angela GHEORGHIU in the Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen
And here is Angela Gheorghiu with Rolando Villazon
Tags: Angela Gheorghiu, Homage to Callas