Cecilia Bartoli - An Italian Songbook

In 2007/08, Bartoli devoted her time to studying and recording the early 19th-century repertoire - the era of Italian Romanticism and bel canto - and especially the legendary singer Maria Malibran, the 200th anniversary of whose birth was celebrated in March 2008. The album Maria was released in September 2007. In May 2008, Bartoli sang the title role written for Malibran in a revival of Fromental Halévy's 1828 opera Clari at the Zurich Opera. In June 2010, she sang the title role of Bellini's Norma for the first time with conductor Thomas Hengelbrock in a concert at the Konzerthaus Dortmund. In March 2011, Bartoli toured five Australian cities with two programs drawn from Sacrificium and Maria.