Puccini: La Boheme: 'Si, mi chiamano Mimi'

Audiences and critics hail the Finnish soprano Soile Isokoski as one of the finest singers in the world. Her more recent orchestral albums on Ondine have been praised as top-choice recordings and earned the highest distinctions such as the BBC Music Magazine Disc of the Year 2007 Award, a 2007 MIDEM Classical Award and a 2002 Gramophone Award.

This disc features popular scenes and arias from the late-19th century Italian, French and Russian opera marking Soile Isokoski's greatest successes on stage. Included are the famous aria "Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì" from La Bohème, with which Soile Isokoski gave her opera début in 1989, as well as the famous ‘Letter scene’ from Eugene Onegin, which she sang at the Finnish National Opera, in 2006, to international acclaim. Besides her role debuts as Tatyana, Ellen Orford in Dresden, Christine in Intermezzo at the Theater an der Wien (2008) and Charpentier's Louise at the Bastille Opera in Paris, Ms. Isokoski's engagements until 2009 include Cosí fan tutte in Bilbao and Vienna, Lohengrin in Geneva, La Juive, Intermezzo, Rosenkavalier and Faust in Vienna and Don Giovanni at the MET.

This CD features soprano Amarilli Nizza singing Puccini’s most memorable arias.

The talented Milanese singer outlines Puccini’s heroines with her typical passion and emotional engagement.

Limited edition luxury digipack

1CD + 1DVD in a 6-panel digipack, 36pp booklet with colour photographs and packaging design throughout plus full sung texts and interview-based note in English, German and French.

EMI Classics celebrates the artistry of Angela Gheorghiu and the 150th anniversary of Puccin’s birth with the release of an all-Puccini compilation drawn from five of the charismatic soprano’s earlier recordings. Featured are some of the most popular arias of all time from La bohème, La rondine, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Manon Lescaut and Tosca.

“Angela Gheorghiu delivers some of her finest singing,” wrote BBC Music Magazine about an earlier Puccini disc, the source of several arias in the current compilation. “[She is] one of today’s greatest voices. An instantly recognisable one too, thanks to her vibrant tone and communicative relish of text.” The Evening Standard added, “Gheorghiu is a consummate artist, who brings both superb control and emotional intensity to these performances.”

Angela Gheorghiu’s voice and stage presence have established her as a unique international opera superstar. Born in a small Romanian town, she was destined from early childhood to become a singer and later graduated from the Bucharest Music Academy. In 1992, she made her international debuts at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Zerlina in Don Giovanni, at the Wiener-Staatsoper as Adina in L'elisir d'amore and at the Metropolitan Opera as Mimi in La bohème.

It was at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1994, when she sang her much acclaimed La traviata, that the BBC cleared its schedules to broadcast the opera. At one rehearsal the conductor Sir Georg Solti said: “I was in tears. I had to go out. The girl is wonderful. She can do everything.” Since then Ms Gheorghiu has been in constant demand in opera houses and concert halls around the world.

In 1996, she married the French-Italian tenor Roberto Alagna backstage at the Metropolitan Opera between performances of La bohème in a ceremony conducted by the Mayor of New York. Alagna and Gheorghiu have gone on to perform together in many operas including Roméo et Juliette, L’élisir d’amore, Faust, La rondine, Il tritico, Tosca, Manon and Werther.

In 1998, Ms. Gheorghiu signed an exclusive recording agreement with EMI Classics. In the ten years since then, she has recorded an album of duets and arias with Roberto Alagna and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Puccini’s La rondine with the London Symphony Orchestra, Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette with the Orchestra Capitol du Toulouse and an album of Verdi duets with Roberto Alagna and the Berliner Philharmoniker. Other EMI recordings include Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi from Il trittico, Massenet’s Werther with the London Symphony Orchestra, Massenet’s Manon with l’Orchestre Symphonique de la Monnaie, Bruxelles, Verdi’s Il trovatore with the London Symphony Orchestra and Bizet’s Carmen with l’Orchestre National du Capitol de Toulouse.

In December 2000 Ms Gheorghiu interpreted the title role in the film of Tosca, directed by Benoit Jacqot and released in cinemas around the world to popular and critical acclaim. Opera News (U.S.) wrote, “She is one of the most sensuous Toscas imaginable… Angela Gheorghiu’s passion and beauty are ideal for Tosca, as if the best qualities of Callas’ and Tebaldi’s portrayals had come together.” Ms. Gheorghiu’s subsequent recital album, Casta Diva, was followed by a live recording of her concert with the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Verdi Requiem with the Berliner Philharmoniker and a 2001 recital at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, all released both on CD and DVD. Additional recordings include a Puccini arias recital, a concert for Queen Beatrix’s Silver Jubilee in Amsterdam and a recital at the Teatro alla Scala.

All Ms. Gheorghiu’s CDs have received widespread critical acclaim and have won many prizes, among them Gramophone Awards, Diapason d’Or Awards, Choc du Monde de la Musique in France, the Cecilia Prize in Belgium, Deutsche Schallplattenkritik-Preis and the Echo Award in Germany, the Italian Musica e dischi Foreign Lyric Production Award and the Critics’ Award in the United States. In 2001, at the Classical Brit Awards, Ms. Gheorghiu was named ‘Female Artist of the Year.’

“She 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…’. Puccini himself might well have been in agreement. “ Gramophone

“Angela Gheorghiu never sounds better than when singing Puccini…” The Guardian

“Angela Gheorghiu delivers some of her finest singing… one of today’s greatest voices. An instantly recognisable one too, thanks to her vibrant tone and communicative relish of text… too many jewels to list” *****Star review BBC Music Magazine, April 2005

“Gheorghiu is a consummate artist, who brings both superb control and emotional intensity to these performances.” The Evening Standard, March 2005

“This is a considerable addition to this artist’s discography… everything she achieves here is technically assured, thought through and emotionally rewarding… a deeply satisfying traversal of the Puccini canon, well supported by the Milan orchestra and Anton Coppola.” Gramophone, March 2005

“Gheorghiu here shows why she’s the soprano of the moment.” The Observer, “Classical CD of the week”, March 2005

“She is one of the most sensuous Toscas imaginable…Angela Gheorghiu’s passion and beauty are ideal for Tosca, as if the best qualities of Callas’ and Tebaldi’s portrayals had come together” Opera News