Gaetano Donizetti, the great Italian opera composer, stayed between 1822
and 1838 in Naples, in a house in the luxuriant hillside area
Posillipo, overlooking the island Megaride, where the siren Parthenope
failed to charm Odysseus and threw herself into the sea. The beautiful
surroundings inspired Donizetti to compose a series of vocal chamber
music, songs for soprano, tenor and piano in French, the fashionable
language of the time. “Nuits d’été à Pausilippe” contains 6 arias and 6
notturnos, highly atmospheric and evocative songs, in seductive bel
canto style. Also included on this new recording are the Soirées
d’automne à l‘Infrascata, the successor of the previous song cycle.
Soprano Letizia Calandra is considered one of the foremost interpreters
of Neapolitan songs. Her unique, versatile voice, schooled in opera and
early music, is the perfect carrier for this genre, a blend of the
artful and the folklore, the high and low culture of Napoli.
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