Composer: Henri Duparc, Manuel de Falla, Sergey Rachmaninov, Otar Taktakishvili, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Francesco Paolo Tosti
Performer: Anita Rachvelishvili, Vincenzo Scalera
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Sony
Release: 2021
Size: 967 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Tchaikovsky: 6 Romances, Op. 6: No. 6 None but the Lonely Heart
02. Tchaikovsky: 6 Romances, Op. 73: No. 2 Night
03. Tchaikovsky: 6 Romances, Op. 25: No. 1 Reconciliation
04. Rachmaninov: 6 Romances, Op. 8: No. 2 Child, you are Beautiful as a Flower
05. Rachmaninov: 6 Romances, Op. 8: No. 4 I Fell in Love
06. Rachmaninov: 12 Romances, Op. 21: No. 7 How Fair This Spot
07. Rachmaninov: 6 Romances, Op. 4: No. 4 Do not Sing to me, my Beauty
08. Rachmaninov: 12 Romances, Op. 14: No. 8 Oh, do not Mourn Me!
09. Taktakishvili: Sun of Haying Month
10. Tosti: Non t’amo più!
11. Tosti: Ideale
12. Tosti: Tristezza
13. Duparc: Élégie
14. Duparc: Chanson triste
15. Duparc: La Vie antérieure
Falla: Siete Canciones populares españolas
16. No. 1 El paño moruno
17. No. 2 Seguidilla murciana
18. No. 3 Asturiana
19. No. 4 Jota
20. No. 5 Nana
21. No. 6 Canción
22. No. 7 Polo
Released on the ‘Sony Clasical’ label – “Élégie” is the second album from Anita Rachvelishvili, showcasing her in the song repertoire to which she has a special connection despite being best known as a star of the world’s greatest opera houses. Accompanied by acclaimed pianist Vicenzo Scalera, this album reveals another side to the Georgian singer; the repertoire is notable for its variety featuring five languages (Russian, Georgian, Italian, French and Spanish) and, correspondingly, five very different repertoire traditions. One of the fastest rising opera stars of recent years and winner of ‘Best Singer’ at the 2020 Oper! Awards, Anita has been described as Riccardo Muti as “without doubt the best Verdi mezzo-soprano today on the planet”. Echoing her debut album of operatic arias on Sony, she introduces listeners to a great if internationally neglected Georgian composer, in this case Otar Taktakisvili, heard in The Sun of October, a setting of the distinguished Georgian poet Galaktion Tabidze, as well as Rachmaninov’s setting of the Pushkin poem Oh never sing to me again and Tchaikovsky’s None but the lonely heart. “I really love this repertoire. It gives one more colours and more possibilities for expressing emotions with the voice”, says Anita Rachvelishvili. During Covid-19, she has remained in demand whether appearing in the Metropolitan Opera’s online At Home Gala or live with Greek National Opera in Athens. But in a year dominated by isolation, this album (recorded in her home city of Tbilisi just a few weeks before the shutters came down) shows that there is beauty in musical introspection.