Title - 'Treasures of Bel Canto'
Artist - Rolando Villazón
Rolando Villazón, one of the world's favorite tenors, returns to the very roots of the Italian romantic vocal tradition, with a selection of exquisite melodies of simple beauty and passion by the greatest of Italian opera composers.
He was raised in Fuentes de Satélite, a suburban area of Greater Mexico City, Mexico. In an interview for Mexican television, Villazón told the story of how he was discovered as a tenor. He said that one day, as he was getting out of the shower in his apartment in Mexico City, somebody came knocking on his door; it was baritone Arturo Nieto, a friend of his neighbour, who had heard him singing while in the shower. He told Rolando he had an amazing voice and invited him to his music academy to develop his voice, there Rolando fell in love with opera.
The rest, as they say, is just history. Following journeys through the music of Mozart and Verdi in recent years, Rolando now brings us a stunning collection of songs from the Romantic bel canto period - miniature gems penned by Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi - originally scored for piano accompaniment and presented here for the first time in new arrangements for orchestra.
Treasures of Bel Canto features popular hit tracks such as Rossini s "La danza", Bellini's "Malinconia, ninfa gentile" and "Vaga luna", as well as a delightful Rossini duet (Les Amants de Séville) with none other than 5-time Grammy award-winner Cecilia Bartoli.
Undoubtedly one of the finest, most charismatic and recognizable tenors in the world of opera, Rolando continues to go from strength to strength. His varied and rich recording career has brought rave reviews for performances within all sorts of styles - from traditional opera aria repertoire to Baroque, Mexican and, more recently, noted collections of arias by Verdi and Mozart. All of this whilst holding down a top international opera house career in some of the finest venues of the world.
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