Featured News
First studio recording of Verdi’s 1857 version of Simon Boccanegra Reviewed
Only released last week (Friday 21 March), reviews for our latest release – the first studio recording of the 1857 version of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra – have been coming in thick and fast! It was also chosen as Presto Music’s Recording of the...
Donizetti Songs Volumes 3 and 4 Reviewed
Opera Rara’s recording project, spanning a total of eight albums, is truly extraordinary – the words from one of our first reviews of our latest installment of our Donizetti Song Project recording cycle: Volumes 3 and 4 released in February with our Artistic...
YouTube Stream: Michael Spyres & Marie-Nicole Lemieux
This Sunday 16 March from 4pm GMT, we’ll be streaming our fourth ‘Donizetti & Friends’ recital captured at London’s Cadogan Hall on Monday 10 March. Michael Spyres, Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Giulio Zappa present rare Donizetti songs featured...
March Recording of the Month: Aureliano in Palmira
Revealing our March Recording of the Month: Rossini’s Aureliano in Palmira written when the composer was only 21 (1813) and in the same year he produced three other operas! Kenneth Tarver is Aureliano with London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Maurizio...
Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra Original 1857 Version
On Friday 21 March, we will be releasing the first ever studio recording of the original 1857 version of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra. For this recording, we teamed up with its former Artistic Director Sir Mark Elder, The Hallé and the choruses of Opera North and...
Opera Now Cover Feature
The Spring 2025 issue of Opera Now is now available and we’re delighted that our Artist Ambassadors Michael Spyres and Ermonela Jaho are on the cover. Taking time out of recording sessions with our Artistic Director Carlo Rizzi, Michael and Ermonela sat down...
February Recording of the Month: Le Portrait de Manon
Our February Recording of the Month is Jules Massenet’s Le Portrait de Manon – a one-act follow up to his most well-known opera Manon. For this live recording – also featuring Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été – we worked with four singers and two conductors...
Donizetti Songs Volumes 3 and 4
We’re delighted to announce the forthcoming release of Donizetti Songs Volumes 3 and 4 on Friday 21 February. The prolific and versatile Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti was not only one of the central figures of Italian bel canto opera but also wrote around...
January Recording of the Month: Caterina Cornaro
Our first Recording of the Month of 2025 is Donizetti’s Caterina Cornaro featuring Carmen Giannattasio in the title role and Colin Lee as Gerardo. The cast is completed by Troy Cook, Vuyan Mlinde, Graeme Broadbent, Sophie Bevan and Loïc Félix with David Parry...
Donizetti Songs Volumes 1 and 2 Reviewed
We’re happy to share the news that the first two volumes of our Donizetti Song Project cycle have received reviews from critics across Europe including Spain, France, Germany and Poland, as well as of course in the UK including coverage on BBC Radio 3’s...
Who we are
Opera Rara’s mission is to rediscover, restore, record and perform the lost operatic heritage of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
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Featured Recordings
Featured Video
The Making of Offenbach’s La Princesse de Trébizonde
In our The Making Of series, get behind-the-scenes insights into our restoration process and join us on a journey of operatic discovery.
A travelling circus, an innocent prince in love with a waxwork and a lottery ticket to win a magnificent castle… What could possibly go wrong? The delightful opera La Princesse de Trébizonde (1869) is packed with irresistible melodies finely crafted with delicate harmonies and inventive orchestration characteristic of Offenbach’s style.
