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

Marjana Lipovsek (mezzo-soprano), Michelle Breedt (mezzo-soprano), Ewa Podles (contralto), Agnes Baltsa (mezzo-soprano), Nidia Palacios (contralto), Sonia Ganassi (mezzo-soprano), Sonia Prina (alto), Lyudmila Shemchuk (mezzo-soprano), Barbara Dever (mezzo-soprano), Tatiana Troyanos (mezzo-soprano), Matthias Goerne (bass-baritone), Deborah Humble (mezzo-soprano), Ludmila Schemtschuk (mezzo-soprano), Munich Radio Orchestra, Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia, Hungarian State Opera, Bergamo Musica Festival Chorus, Bergamo Musica Festival Orchestra, Budapest Failoni Chamber Orchestra, I Barocchisti, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Philharmoniker, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus of the Vienna State Opera, Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Giuseppe Patanè, Michael Halász, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Heinz Wallberg, Tiziano Severini, Will Humburg, Diego Fasolis, Algis Žiūraitis, Rico Saccani, James Levine, Jaap van Zweden, Claudio Abbado