Carlo Colombara: The art of the bass (NAXOS)

Described as “the great Verdian bass” (Le Figaro) and a “Mefistofele who stood out over all the others” (Der Neue Merker), Carlo Colombara brings some of the most famous bass rôles to life in this wide-ranging programme. Emotions range from the pride of Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, through the terrors of Verdi’s Attila, to the tender recollections of Rachmaninov’s Aleko. Mephistopheles strides powerfully through both Gounod and Boito’s operas, and Rossini’s comic wit contrasts with the darkness of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov.

Key Facts Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Sound format: PCM Stereo 2.0Region code: 0 (worldwide) Subtitles: English and original languages (French, Italian, Russian) Running time: 68 minsNo. of DVDs: 1 Tracklist 1. Giuseppe Verdi: Don Carlo, Act III: Ella giammai m’amò 2. Giuseppe Verdi: Simon Boccanegra, Prologue: Il lacerato spirito 3. Giuseppe Verdi: Nabucco, Act II: Tu sul labrro de’ veggenti fulminasti, o sommo Iddio 4. Giuseppe Verdi: Attila, Act I: Mentre gonfiarsi l’anima parea 5. Georges Bizet: Carmen, Act II: Votre toast, je peux vous le render 6. Gioachino Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia, Act II: La calunnia è un venticello 7. Charles Gounod: Faust, Act IV: Vous faites l’endormie 8. Arrigo Boito: Mefistofele, Act II: Ecco il mondo 9. Sergei Rachmaninov: Aleko: Aleko’s Cavatina 10. Modest Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov, Act IV: Proshchái moy syn* Sofia National Opera Chorus Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, György G. Ráth,conductor Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ghiaurov,conductor Prague Tchaikovsky Orchestra, Fabrizio Milani,conductor