“Rossini has been a revelation for me,” says Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux. The first fruit of her exclusive Erato contract is this live recording from Montpellier of arias and duets from Tancredi, Semiramide, L’italiana in Algeri and other serious and comic operas by the composer. She is joined by soprano Patrizia Ciofi and conductor Enrique Mazzola, also her partners for a 2014 staging of Tancredi in Paris, which prompted La Croix to praise her as “a generous artist with a voice that is both ample and easily produced across its entire tessitura … from the depths to top notes that flash like a cavalier’s sabre.”
Marie-Nicole Lemieux triumphantly defies the frequent assertion that the contralto is a dying breed.Read more Moreover, with this live recital of Rossini arias and duets, the Canadian singer proves that a deep, rich, voluminous female voice can move with the same dazzling agility as a light, bright soprano.
Since she first came to the world’s attention in 2000, when she won the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition for Opera in Brussels, Lemieux, who has been praised by Gramophone for her “velvet-like voice and generosity in phrasing and thought”, has established herself in a wide variety of operatic roles. Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
L'italiana in Algeri: Cruda sorte! Amor tiranno!by Gioachino Rossini Performer:
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Alto)
Conductor:
Enrique Mazzola
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousil
Period: Romantic Written: 1813; Italy
2.
Tancredi: O patria!by Gioachino Rossini Performer:
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Alto)
Conductor:
Enrique Mazzola
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousil
Period: Romantic Written: 1813; Italy
3.
Tancredi: Tu che accendi...Di tanti palpitiby Gioachino Rossini Performer:
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Alto)
Conductor:
Enrique Mazzola
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousil
Period: Romantic Written: 1813; Italy
4.
Tancredi: Lasciami! non t'ascaltoby Gioachino Rossini Performer:
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Alto),
Patrizia Ciofi (Soprano)
Conductor:
Enrique Mazzola
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousil
Period: Romantic Written: 1813; Italy
5.
La pietra del paragone: Quel dirmi, oh Dio!by Gioachino Rossini Performer:
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Alto),
Patrizia Ciofi (Soprano)
Conductor:
Enrique Mazzola
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousil
6.
Semiramide: In si barbara sciaguraby Gioachino Rossini Performer:
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Alto)
Conductor:
Enrique Mazzola
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousil
Period: Romantic Written: 1813; Italy
7.
L'Italiana in Algeri: Amici, in ogni eventoby Gioachino Rossini Performer:
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Alto)
Conductor:
Enrique Mazzola
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousil
Period: Romantic Written: 1813
8.
L'italiana in Algeri: Pensa alla patriaby Gioachino Rossini Performer:
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Alto)
Conductor:
Enrique Mazzola
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousil
Period: Romantic Written: 1813; Italy
9.
Matilde di Shabran: Sazia tu fossi alfineby Gioachino Rossini Performer:
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Alto)
Conductor:
Enrique Mazzola
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousil
Period: Romantic Written: 1821; Italy
10.
Matilde di Shabran: Ah, perché, perché la morteby Gioachino Rossini Performer:
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Alto)
Conductor:
Enrique Mazzola
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousil
Period: Romantic Written: 1821; Italy
11.
La gazza ladra: E ben per mia memoriaby Gioachino Rossini Performer:
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Alto)
Conductor:
Enrique Mazzola
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousil
Period: Romantic Written: 1817; Milan, Italy
