This richly rewarding album is Oksana Volkova's first solo album on Delos, though she appeared alongside the late, great Dmitri Hvorostovsky in Delos's GRAMMYr-nominated 2017 release of Verdi's complete Rigoletto. Here she delivers powerful, passionate and ravishing performances of (mostly) well-known French, Italian, Russian and Belarusian arias for mezzo-soprano. The composers include Bizet, Thomas, Saint-Sae"ns, Gounod, Cilea, Massenet and Mascagni; Russian masters heard here are Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky, alongside a rare treat: an arresting aria by Belarusian composer Dmitri Smolsky, whose music is almost completely unknown in the West. Glowing instrumental collaboration, as usual, comes courtesy of Maestro Constantine Orbelian, leading his trusty Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra.

Tracklist:

Sapho, Cg 1: Ô Ma Lyre Immortelle
Samson Et Dalila, Op. 47, R. 288 (Excerpts): Printemps Qui Commence
Samson Et Dalila, Op. 47, R. 288 (Excerpts): Mon Coeur S'ouvre À Ta Voix
Hoary Legend: Ti Pripomni Jak Lotaz Kalisti U Lugah Mi Zbirali
Mignon: Connais-Tu Le Pays
Sadko: All Night I Have Waited For Him In Vain
Werther: Va! Laisse Couler Mes Larmes
The Maid Of Orleans, Th 6: Farewell, You Native Hills And Fields
Carmen, Wd 31: Seguidilla "Près Des Ramparts De Séville"
Khovanshchina: Mysterious Forces
Cavalleria Rusticana: Voi Lo Sapete O Mamma
Le Cid: Pleurez! Pleurez Mes Yeux
Adriana Lecouvreur: Acerba Voluttà, Dolce Tortura

UPC: 013491358420
Label: Delos Records
Release Date: 3.19.21
Format: CD

Poison D'amour / Various - Poison D'amour (CD)