Three new albums come to stores this week by some of the most popular artists currently working in opera. Juan Diego Flórez explores a new role while Anita Rachvelishvili releases her debut album. Finally, Max Emmanuel Cencic continues his exploration into early music.

Werther 

Juan Diego Flórez surprised audiences last season when he made his role debut as Massenet’s tragic “Werther.” He went on to sing it at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna before taking it on in Zurich. Now, for audiences who missed his successful performances, Accentus is releasing a DVD of his Zurich performance. ‎Anna Stéphany stars alongside Flórez as Charlotte in Tatjana Gürbaca’s production. Cornelius Meister conducts.

Anita 

For European audiences, Sony Classical will release Anita Rachvelishvili’s debut album. The album, conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti, features the music of Massenet, Gounod, Verdi, Bizet, Mascagni, and one traditional Georgian song. As Rachvelshvili noted in our recent interview, the album features new repertoire that she has yet to sing on stage.

Porpora: Opera Arias

Max Emanuel Cencic explores the operatic arias of rarely performed composer Nicola Porpora. Armonia Atenea accompanies Cencic in his exploration with George Petrou conducting the new album released by Decca Classics.