Opera Arias (Mezzo-Soprano) Marina Domashenko

• 1 Adriana Lecouvreur: Acerba volutta, dolce tortura 04:10
• 2 Act II: Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix 05:16
• 3 Act II: Amour! Viens aider ma faiblesse! 04:25
• 4 Act I: Printemps qui commence 05:23
• 5 Khovanshchina, Act II: Sili potayniye, sili velikiye 05:08
• 6 The Tsar's Bride: Vot do chego ya dozhilla, 'Lyubasha's Arioso' 02:41
• 7 The Snow Maiden: Lel's Song 03:05
• 8 Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78: IV. The Field of the Dead 06:13
• 9 La Gioconda, Act II: Stella del marinar! 02:29
• 10 Il trovatore, Act II: Stride la vampa! 02:53
• 11 Act I: Habanera: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle 03:30
• 12 Act I: Seguidilla: Pres des reparts de Seville 01:54
• 13 Carreau! Pique! 03:22
• 14 L'Italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers), Act I: Cruda sorte! Amor tiranno! 04:28
• 15 Die Fledermaus, Act II: Ich lade gern mir Gaste ein 02:49
• Total Runtime 57:46

Info for Opera Arias (Mezzo-Soprano)

Delos proudly presents the debut album by the stunning Siberian mezzo-soprano Marina Domashenko. Marina's first, self-titled solo effort encompasses an impressive range of musical moods and national styles, reflecting a variety of key roles in her rapidly burgeoning career. She is accompanied by conductor Constantine Orbelian, 'a singer's dream collaborator' (Opera News), and the newly-formed Philharmonia of Russia, combining the creme de la creme of Russian musicians. 'Domashenko left the audience literally open-mouthed. This dazzling young mezzo-soprano has developed such a mature mastery and artistic skill that the arias she sang seemed to be a continued string of pearls,' boasted Bolshoi Magazine. A mere 27 years old, Marina is already in great demand the world over and is no doubt destined for a superstar career. Petite and vivacious, she has a large, creamy voice that can reach the furthest corners of the largest opera houses, with a remarkable flexibility that covers an array of diverse characterizations.

The album traverses one show-stopper after another, from the dramatic Stride la vampa (Il trovatore) and the impassioned Acerba volutta (Adriana Lecouvreur), to Carmen's seductive Habanera and Seguidilla, and Dalila's beguiling Printemps qui commence and bewitching Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix (Samson et Dalila). Along the way, Marina displays breathtaking virtuosity as Isabella in L'Italiana in Algeri and sophisticated glamour as Laura in La Gioconda. Turning to her homeland, she contrasts two Rimsky-Korsakov roles, the smoldering Lyubasha in The Tsar's Bride and the rustic Lel in The Snow Maiden. She is suitably sombre in Field of the Dead, the solo aria from Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky, and appropriately mysterious as Marfa (Khovanshchina). Marina closes the album with a sparkling rendition of Prince Orlofsky's jovial Ich lade gern mir Gaste ein (Die Fledermaus). Marina made her American debut in 2000 at a San Francisco Opera gala concert, singing Dalila opposite Placido Domingo's Samson. She has appeared at the Opera Bastille in Paris, Teatro la Fenice in Venice and the Vienna Staatsoper. Other engagements include Berlin's Deutsche Oper, the Teatro Communale in Bologna and the Philadelphia Opera, as well as New York's Lincoln Center and London's Barbican Hall. Marina was born into a musical family in Kemerovo, Siberia, and obtained her degree as a pianist from the Kemerovo Arts Institute where her comprehensive studies provided her with an unusually well-rounded and integrated approach to music-making. She later concentrated on her vocal studies full time at the Ekaterinburg Conservatoire under the distinguished Russian National Artist Svetlana Zaliznyak. American conductor Constantine Orbelian has attained a unique leadership position in Moscow's musical community as Music Director of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Permanent Guest Conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic and founding Music Director of the Philharmonia of Russia. His ambitious series of recordings for Delos includes brilliant collaborations with some of today's most notable singers, including Polish contralto Ewa Podles', Russian soprano Olga Guryakova, and future releases with soprano Galina Gorchakova and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Recorded using Sony's leading-edge DSD (Direct Stream Digital) technology, Marina's debut album will be released simultaneously in SACD (Super Audio CD) format. The recording was made in the historic Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.

What this album does is re-establish her most successful roles in a variety of languages, each eliciting her lyric and spinto powers. While her diction in French is not perfect, lacking some focus, it still has great nuance; her Russian excerpts are exemplary. The Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov arias have a brooding, impassioned, visionary intensity as required; the Girl's lament for the departed heroes in Prokofiev's 'scenic cantata' is lovingly haunted. The album channeling consistently creates an 'amphitheater' effect, with deep resonance in the basses. Domashenko is no stranger to chest-tone as well as a throaty or nasal projection: hear her variety of delivery in Ponchielli and the guttural effects in Carmen: the coy Habanera, the flighty Seguidilla, the ominous Card Scene. Her Azucena has great enunciation and a dark sense of impending fate. The Strauss excerpt is charming, reminding us that it's all a matter of taste. In short, an auspicious debut, with accompanying forces under Orbelian captured in stunning sound. (Gary Lemco)

Marina Domashenko, Mezzo-Soprano Arias
Moscow Chamber Orchestra
Philharmonia of Russia
Constantine Orbelian, Conductor

Marina Domashenko - Soprano
Born in Kiev into a family of cantorial traditions, Leib Glant served as a synagogue cantor in Kiev, studied there with Glière, and then served in Moldova, where he was a pupil of Abraham Berkowitsch, an expert on cantorial recitatives. In 1926 he moved to the United States, where he won a reputation among Ashkenazi congregations, and in 1954 settled in Israel, teaching at the Tel-Aviv Institute for Religious Jewish Music and endeavouring to establish a reformed cantorial tradition of a more optimistic tinge. He was one of the great cantors, distinguished for his performances and recordings.

Moscow Chamber Orchestra
The "dynamic Moscow Chamber Orchestra" (New York Times) is one of the world's great ensembles. First called "the greatest chamber orchestra in the world" by Dmitri Shostakovich, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra will celebrate its 50th Anniversary in 2006. The Orchestra's present Music Director, brilliant American pianist/conductor Constantine Orbelian, has brought the MCO into a new era of international activity and acclaim since his appointment in 1991. For his remarkable achievements with the MCO, Orbelian was awarded the title "Honored Artist of Russia" by President Putin in 2004. Under Orbelian's leadership the Orchestra was accorded the honor of "Academic" in its official Russian title (The State Academic Chamber Orchestra of Russia). Maestro Orbelian and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra play over 120 concerts a year to sold-out houses worldwide, and are engaged in a highly-praised recording series on the Delos label.

The New York Times wrote: "What we heard was the peak of perfection...our expectations were so far exceeded that one was left open-mouthed in admiration."

Constantine Orbelian, Conductor
The brilliant pianist and conductor Constantine Orbelian is the first American ever to become music director of an ensemble in Russia. His appointment in 1991 as Music Director of the celebrated Moscow Chamber Orchestra was a breakthrough event, and came in the midst of Orbelian's successful career as a concert pianist. In September, 2000, Orbelian was named Permanent Guest Conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic, putting him in a unique leadership position with not only Moscow's outstanding chamber orchestra but also its most illustrious symphony orchestra. In January, 2004 President Putin awarded Orbelian the coveted title "Honored Artist of Russia," a title never before bestowed on a non-Russian citizen.

Booklet for Opera Arias (Mezzo-Soprano)