The prolific and versatile Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, one of the central figures of Italian bel canto opera, also wrote around 200 solo songs. Most of them are rarely performed and some, until recently, were completely unknown. Curated by musicologist Roger Parker and under the leadership of Opera Rara’s artistic director Carlo Rizzi, Opera Rara presents the complete solo songs in a series of eight recital albums.

The project makes a powerful case for Donizetti as a key figure in the 19th-century song repertoire, and for the importance of the Italian school in a field long dominated by German and French composers.

Described by The Economist as “the world’s most acclaimed soprano”, Opera Rara’s Artist Ambassador Ermonela Jaho (Oper! Awards 2024 Best Female Singer, ICMA 2023 Artist of the Year, Opera XXI 2024 Best Foreign Artist) displays her exceptional capacity for emotional communication through song in volumes 5 (Italian songs) and 6 (French songs) of a series of eight albums to be issued between October 2024 and September 2026.