Stella di Napoli (2014)

performed by Héloise Mas (mezzo-soprano), Jean-Michel Bertelli (clarinet), Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano), Morgane Fauchois (glockenspiel), Nabil Suliman (baritone), Rémi Mathieu (tenor), Lyon National Opera Chorus (choir, chorus), Lyon National Opera Orchestra
composed by Carlo Valentini, Gaetano Donizetti, Gioachino Rossini, Giovanni Pacini, Michelle Carafa, Saverio Mercadante, Vincenzo Bellini

American mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato has released several albums of lesser-known operatic repertory without a hint of the musty museum in sight. Her personality seems especially well-suited to this collection of arias from Naples in the early 19th century, a category that includes the young Rossini. DiDonato offers the superb Riedi al soglio from Zelmira (track 4), one of the underrated Rossini showpieces, and there is a pair of arias each from Donizetti and Bellini. The rest of the program is devoted to composers lesser ... Read More

American mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato has released several albums of lesser-known operatic repertory without a hint of the musty museum in sight. Her personality seems especially well-suited to this collection of arias from Naples in the early 19th century, a category that includes the young Rossini. DiDonato offers the superb Riedi al soglio from Zelmira (track 4), one of the underrated Rossini showpieces, and there is a pair of arias each from Donizetti and Bellini. The rest of the program is devoted to composers lesser-known (Pacini, Mercadante) or totally obscure (Michele Carafa, Carlo Valentini). The last named of these is represented by an aria from an opera about a sleepwalker called Il sonnambulo, and DiDonato's method involves substituting a new take for a familiar one on a particular theme. This is effective, and she makes the case for much of this material. Most important of all, she sounds great, and she's having fun. DiDonato has been a rising star among the opera cognoscenti for some... Read Less