CDs, DVDs & Games

Item Description

Grammy-winning and world-renowned mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato has captured the imagination of opera lovers everywhere. Included in this lot are two CDs: her latest grammy winning recording, "Joyce & Tony: Live from Wigmore Hall" and "Diva, Divo" - the latter hand-signed by Joyce herself.

On Joyce & Tony: Live from Wigmore Hall:

Joyce DiDonato and Antonio Pappano – at the piano rather than on the conductor’s podium – opened the 2014-15 season at London’s Wigmore Hall with a dazzling programme of song, emphasizing Italy and the USA. Recorded live on this 2-CD set, the two artists were described by The Times as “mezzo diva supreme” and “golden maestro and piano accompanist to the stars” The first item on the programme was Haydn’s dramatic cantata Arianna a Naxos (which, back in 2003, also launched DiDonato’s debut recital at Wigmore Hall). As the Guardian wrote, DiDonato excelled in presenting “the abandoned heroine’s progression from grief to fury with all her vocal skills to the fore and Antonio Pappano – rarely heard these days as an accompanist, but an absolute master of the art – seconding her every gesture.” The Times described the interpretation as “incandescent … Daring vocal pirouettes, vivid acting, with dynamic swings, amazing breath control.” Then came two songs by a composer who has played a defining role in Joyce DiDonato’s operatic career - Rossini - and four luscious late-Romantic numbers written in 1908 by the little-known Neapolitan composer Francesco Santoliquido.

On Diva, Divo:

Joyce DiDonato's capacity for characterization is as astounding as the range and flexibility of her voice. This new collection showcases DiDonato's multi-faceted art, and the wealth of opportunities open to a mezzo-soprano by presenting her as different characters- both male and female- from the same opera story.

As DiDonato explains: "This recital celebrates the vast and fabulous world of the mezzo-soprano. Aside from the obvious Toscas or Cio-Cio Sans, I've never regretted the length of my vocal cords! I have the privilege and unmitigated joy of playing boys and young men, as well as girls and grown women ...
It's an exploration of the human palette of emotions."

The program features several roles that DiDonato has sung on stage, such as Rossini's Cenerentola, Bellini's Romeo, and Mozart's Cherubino. The 'flip sides' of those characters are roles that have not been featured in her repertoire: the Prince from Massenet's Cherubini; the Nurse from Berlioz's Roméo
et Juliette, and both Chérubin (from Massenet's 'sequel' to Le nozze di Figaro) and Susanna. The Figaro connection continues with an excerpt from Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina, of course, later becomes Countess Almaviva), while the other operas on the program, include La clemenza di Tito (Sesto and
Vitellia), Faust, La Damnation de Faust, Mefistofele, Orphée et Eurydice, Orfeo, and Orphée aux Enfers.

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