Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world.

This week audiences will get a glimpse at two very rare Bel Canto works in new critical editions.

Black is Beautiful

The new album from Dr. Diane Retallack and The Eugene Concert Choir is an ode to hope in the face of injustice. Navona Records releases the album which features the music of Black composers that shed light on the Black experience including two choral masterworks: “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” by Joel Thompson and Dr. Undine Smith Moore’s oratorio Scenes from the “Life of a Martyr.”

Stanford: Cushendall, Irish Song Cycles

SOMM Recordings continues to champion the music of the Charles Villiers Stanford with Cushendall, a captivating collection of his Irish song cycles by mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty, baritone Benjamin Russell, and pianist Finghin Collins.

Elisabetta regina d’Inghilterra

Naxos releases Rossini’s “Elisabetta regina d’Inghilterra” from Rossini in WIldbad.

The new recording includes 12 first recordings that include the seven-part “Cushendall,” a trio of “Blarney Ballads,” and two songs from Stanford’s opera “Shamus O’Brien.” The new recording is led by a cast that includes Serena Farnocchia, Veronica Marini, Mara Gaudenzi, Luis Aguilar, Patrick Kabongo, and Mert Süngü. Antonino Fogliani leads the Kraków Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra.

Gaetano Donizetti: Chiara e Serafina

Dynamic releases Donizetti’s rarely performed opera from the Donizetti Opera Festival. The cast includes Pietro Spagnoli, Matías Moncada, Fan Zhou, Greta Doveri, Hyun-Seo Davide Park, Sung-Hwan Damien Park, Valentina Pluzhnikova, Mara Gaudenzi, Andrea Tanzillo, and Giuseppe De Luca. The Coro dell’Accademia Teatro alla Scala and Orchestra Gli Originali are conducted by Sesto Quatrini. Gianluca Falaschi directs the production.