Angela Gheorghiu
"Sempre libera" sings Violetta, hopelessly: Tosca seems to answer her, with his "Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore" (I lived by art, I lived by love). Traviata and Tosca, two heroines who measure up to the stature and voice of Angela Gheorghiu. "I have always known myself to be out of the ordinary", she admits flatly, "I live as I want." A sombre, powerful, voluptuous voice, it has been said that she brought together the qualities of Callas with those of Tebaldi... A champion of last-minute cancellations, her waspish tongue is without rival. The caprices of a diva? Perhaps - but above all she demands great things of herself, and of opera, which she too often finds ill-treated by unscrupulous producers, who do what they like.
Angela Gheorghiu has no model ("An artist must not"); she works on her roles alone, without pianist, without tutor, without coach. After her studies at the Bucharest Academy of Music under the hard regime of the Communist dictator Ceaușescu ("Because I grew up in a country where all personal opinion was forbidden, that made me stronger "), she launched her international career in 1992 in Covent Garden, Vienna and New York. Two years later, she had a real triumph at the Royal Opera House in La Traviata, under Georg Solti's direction. Recorded, filmed and released by DECCA in DC and DVD, this production launched Angela Gheorghiu's international career.
Her marriage to, and subsequent falling out of love with tenor Robert Alagna was the talk of all the gossip columns. Together, they racked up success after success and the pair are immortalised in Puccini's Tosca, the great film of Benoit Jacquot, with Ruggero Raimondi, under the direction of Antonio Pappano. If her volcanic personality raised eyebrows among the rarefied world of opera lovers, no-one could disagree on the subject of the singer's art and her qualities as an actress, which have brought her to the pinnacle of singing today. Her heroines, Tosca, Marguerite, Mimi, Cio-Cio-San, Carmen, Violetta, Adriana Lecouvreur, Charlotte, Manon won her the loyalty of lovers of beautiful song the world over.
Angela Gheorghiu also enjoys giving recitals, never hesitating to mix styles, moving with steady professionalism from Gluck to Paolo Tosti, by way of Romanian composers or the works of Jacques Brel. Absent from the studio from several years, she recently recorded an eagerly-awaited album. Titled Eternalmente, it is dedicated to Verism, with extracts of operas by Puccini, Mascagni and Leoncavallo, some in duet with tenor Joseph Calleja, under the direction of French conductor Emmanuel Villaume, who currently conducts the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, who also appear on this WARNER CLASSICS album. © FH / Qobuz
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Verdi: Messa da Requiem
Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 15 sep. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A te, Puccini
Angela Gheorghiu, Vincenzo Scalera
Opera - Released by Signum Records on 26 jan. 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen
Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Thomas Hampson, Inva Mula, Michel Plasson, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on 15 feb. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mysterium - Sacred Arias
Angela Gheorghiu, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ion Marin
Klassiek - Released by UMSM on 1 jan. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini : Il trittico
Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, José Van Dam, Antonio Pappano
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on 1 feb. 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: La Bohème
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 30 jun. 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Eternamente - The Verismo Album
Operafragmenten - Released by Warner Classics on 20 okt. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini : La Rondine (L'Hirondelle)
Antonio Pappano, Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, London Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 4 jan. 1997
Gramophone Record of the Year16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gounod: Roméo et Juliette
Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 mrt. 1998
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Angela Gheorghiu: The Essential Collection
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Madama Butterfly
Angela Gheorghiu, Jonas Kaufmann, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 jan. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: La rondine
Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 4 jan. 1997
Gramophone Record of the Year16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Homage to Maria Callas
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 10 okt. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: La Traviata
Angela Gheorghiu, Frank Lopardo, Leo Nucci, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 20 jun. 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gounod: Roméo et Juliette
Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Michel Plasson, Orchestre Du Capitole De Toulouse
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on 7 apr. 1998
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Angela Gheorghiu - Arias
Angela Gheorghiu, Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Torino, John Mauceri
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen
Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Thomas Hampson, Inva Mula, Michel Plasson, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on 15 feb. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Plaisir d'Amour
Angela Gheorghiu, Alexandra Dariescu
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 8 nov. 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Operatic Duets
Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 jan. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -