Great Operatic Arias - Alan Opie sing Bel Canto

"Like that nineteenth-century speciality, the romantic tenor, the voice of the baritone took on ever more sturdy characteristics to combat the burgeoning orchestras of romantic opera composers. The baritone needed to be able to sustain a high tessitura and to ring out in the midst of an orchestral fortissimo. Such demands gave rise to the Verdi baritone, absolutely central to Verdi's work and for a time, through his operas, became as esteemed as the romantic tenor. Therefore the works of Verdi justifiably take a central position in Alan Opie's recital. The disc also features some of the most famous bel-canto baritone writing by Verdi's contemporaries.

Principal baritone with English National Opera for many years, the versatile Alan Opie has performed a wide variety of major roles. He sings regularly at Glyndebourne and Covent Garden, most recently in The Bartered Bride and Sophie's Choice. He is much in demand internationally, having performed at the most prestigious venues including Bayreuth, La Scala, Milan, The Metropolitan Opera, New York, Vienna State Opera, Den norske opera Oslo, Netherlands Reisopera and the Opera national de Paris-Bastille. Future plans include the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen (La Scala), Fieramosca in Benvenuto Cellini (the Met), Balstrode in Peter Grimes in Toronto and at the Royal Opera House, and roles in La Traviata at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Die Meistersinger in Turin, Madama Butterfly in Cagliari, Munich, London, Beijing and Tokyo, and the title role in Rigoletto at English National Opera.