The enduring appeal of opera in the 19th century found a new and intimate expression in the realm of solo piano music. This recording reveals how the grandeur and expressive range of operas by Bellini and Verdi was brought from the theatre into private parlours and salons. The composers featured on this album preserve the spirit of the original works while reimagining the famous melodies and dramatic scenes as paraphrases, fantasies and variations. Award-winning Italian pianist, Ruben Micieli, performs these dazzling pieces in his own unique way, making musical and structural adjustments to each transcription after studying the scores by Bellini and Verdi.

Pianist, conductor and composer, Ruben Micieli, has won over 40 international competitions, including Second Prize at the 9th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition Weimar-Bayreuth, and was a semi-finalist and received the Best Italian Award at the 66th Maria Canals International Music Competition. He has performed in prestigious venues across Europe and Asia, such as Teatro La Fenice, Weimarhalle, Palau de la Música Catalana, Salle Cortot and Auditorio ‘Víctor Villegas’, collaborating with renowned orchestras including the Staatskapelle Weimar and Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini. Micieli graduated with honours from the Conservatorio Bellini in Catania and the Academia Internacional de Música ‘Aquiles Delle Vigne’, studying with Giovanni Cultrera and Aquiles Delle Vigne, and has honed his craft with Michel Béroff, Piotr Paleczny, Roberto Prosseda, Boris Berman, Till Fellner, Jörg Demus, Andrzej Jasiński, Sergio Perticaroli, Leslie Howard, Yejin Gil and Carmelo Pappalardo.