Great Operatic Arias - Gerald Finley
CHAN 3167
Tchaikovsky
1 Iolanta Robert's Aria 'My only beloved Mathilde I claim'
Weber
2 Euryanthe Lysiart's Aria 'What refuge here?'
Adam
3 Doctor Atomic Oppenheimer's solo 'Batter my heart'
Verdi
4 Otello Iago's Aria 'Take it: take the path to your ruin' - 'Yes, I believe in God who has created me'
Wagner
5 Tannhäuser Wolfram's Aria 'Turning my gaze upon this proud assembly'
Wagner
6 Tannhäuser Wolfram's Aria 'With dark foreboding twilight casts her shadow' - 'Look down, oh gentle evening star'
Mozart
7 Don Giovanni Don Giovanni and Zerlina's Duet 'Come on, we're wasting time' - 'There will my arms enfold you'
with Lucy Crowe, soprano and Gareth Hancock, harpsichord
Turnage
8 The Silver Tassie
Harry's song 'Oh bring to me a pint of wine'
Bizet
9 Carmen Escamillo's Couplets 'You're most kind, and in return I toast you' - 'Toreador, be ready!'
with Deborah Miles-Johnson, mezzo-soprano - Carmen, Emma Brain-Gabbott, soprano - Frasquita, Kathryn Jenkin, soprano - Mercedes and Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
Wagner
10 The Mastersingers of Nuremberg Sach's Aria 'Do not disdain our Masters thus' with Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
Donizetti
11 Linda of Chamounix Antonio's Aria 'In this valley we shared our childhood'
with Anne Marie Gibbons, mezzo-soprano
Puccini
12 Tosca Te Deum 'Three agents, quick as you can now' with Matthew Long, tenor and Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
Rodgers
13 South Pacific 'Some enchanted evening'
London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by David Parry

London Philharmonic Orchestra
Edward Gardner - conductor
Recorded in Blackheath Halls, London 13-16 April 2009
Producers - Brian Couzens (Executive) and Brian Pidgeon . Sound engineer - Ralph Couzens
Financial Times

'This disc confirms Finley as my baritone of choice. He not only has a first-class voice; he is also intelligent and versatile, as he demonstrates in these 13 arias, all sung in English... Finley brings individual flare to them all.'
Gramophone
Editor's Choice

‘All essentials for a good recital are here: the featured artist in good voice,imagination capable of bringing 13 different characters to life unseen, apt recording decisions and on-the-pace accompaniment... Both Gerald Finley and Gardner are natural time-travellers in lyric theatre, be it in the imaginative choice of Antonio’s “Ambio nati in questa valle from Linda di Chamounix or in Richard Rodgers’s “Some enchanted evening’. The latter is set here as a kind of encore and nestles well musically next to Puccini’s treatment of Scarpia’s wholly different kind of love. Its performance epitomises this programme: unafraid to be romantic where necessary, but with a just blend of control and detail to make one hearing not enough... In the emotional John Donne-based reverie from John Adam’s Doctor Atomic the singer is superb and the glittering orchestration well caught by orchestra and engineers.’
The Daily Telegraph

'The Canadian-born lyric baritone Gerald Finley currently ranks as one of the finest male singers in the world. As this recital of operatic arias in English handsomely demonstrates, Finley has it all: a rich-toned and smoothly produced voice, crisp diction, sterling technique, immaculate legato, a keen sense of musical style and unfailing sensitivity to drama and character. As well as chestnuts from Don Giovanni; (“Là ci darem la mano”), Tosca; (Scarpia’s Act 1 monologue) and Carmen; (Escamillo’s song), this disc includes appetite-whetting extracts from several operas that Finley has yet to sing on stage. Vivid accompaniments are provided by the LPO under Edward Gardner.’