Royal Opera House Series To Be Launched June 2006

Royal Opera House Heritage Series launched June 2006

As part of a current strategy to make its archive available to a wider audience, the Royal Opera House will launch its own CD label this Summer – the Royal Opera House Heritage Series.  The first two discs, unveiled in June, mark the start of an important collaboration between The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, BBC Radio 3 and IMG Artists Audio Visual Division which will result in the release of 20 operas over a 4 year period.

‘These are real treasures and for two years now we have been investigating ways in which we can make what we have in our extensive archive more available to the general public’ said the Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, Tony Hall.  ‘We have begun a huge digital cataloguing process, which in due course will make research into opera and ballet much simpler, as well as providing a wealth of material for on-line exhibitions.  We have also established, in collaboration with the BBC and IMG Artists, a process of unearthing and preparing historic recordings of performances by The Royal Opera that have not been previously available.  I am delighted to launch our own CD label with the first two titles of the Heritage Series.  All of these recordings are one offs, and I am thrilled we can bring them back to a new and wider audience.  I would like to express a special thank you to all the artists who have so generously collaborated on this project.  This is an exciting time for any opera lover or collector of rare recordings.’  

The scope of the series will run from after the Second World War with some pre-war titles added.  The first two recordings reflect the main objective of the series: to issue some of the great performances and artists from the 1950’s. They feature a legendary performance by Joan Sutherland singing Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in 1959 under Tullio Serafin, the production which made Sutherland an overnight sensation, and Verdi’s Otello in 1955, with Rafael Kubelik conducting his debut as Music Director of the ROH.

‘It was with a degree of trepidation that I sat down to listen to the tapes chosen from the archive, as sometimes it is difficult to separate the live stage performance from just the musical elements’ commented Antonio Pappano, Music Director, The Royal Opera.  ‘However I was blown away by these remarkable pieces. Each is special and important musically and captures a particular unique moment in the musical lives of a group of artists. I can’t wait until we have more’.

‘The CD Heritage Series is a natural complement to the  Royal Opera House Heritage Series of books on Frederick Ashton, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf  Nureyev and Plácido Domingo launched in 2004’ added Tony Hall.  ‘These publications are also unique collections of material compiled from our archive.   I am thrilled we have this new addition to our portfolio and look forward to the continuation of the series.’

First Releases – June 2006

Verdi: Otello Ramon Vinay (Otello) Gre Brouwenstijn (Desdemona) Otakar Kraus (Iago) John Lanigan (Cassio) Michael Langdon (Montano) Noreen Berry (Emilia) Raymond Nilson (Roderigo) Forbes Robinson (Herald) Marian Nowakowski (Lodovico) Conducted by Rafael Kubelik 19 October 1955  ROHS001 (2CD)

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor Joan Sutherland (Lucia) Joao Gibin (Edgardo) John Shaw (Enrico) Joseph Rouleau (Raimondo) Robert Bowman (Normanno) Kenneth MacDonald (Arturo) Margreta Elkins (Alisa) (Includes interview with Joan Sutherland) Conducted by Tullio Serafin 26 February 1959 ROHS002 (2CD)

The discs will retail at mid-price and include informative essays in three languages and librettos in the original language and English.  Distribution will be by Select Music.

For further information please contact

Lucy Blakeson, Product Manager, Audio/Visual Division, IMG Artists

Lovell House, 616 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 5RX

Tel: 020 7957 5895 / Fax: 020 7957 5801 / Email: lblakeson@imgartists.com