Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don White, Opera Rara's recordings are internationally distributed by Warner Classics. In September 2019, Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi succeeded Sir Mark Elder as Artistic Director. Opera Rara launched in the 1970s with a series of concerts of 19th-century operatic arias performed at the Southbank Centre, St John’s Smith Square and Wigmore Hall in London. The company presented its first complete opera - Meyerbeer’s Il crociato in Egitto - in 1972 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, marking the first performance of the opera for more than 100 years. It subsequently performed at the Bath Festival, Camden Festival (where its first staged production was Donizetti’s Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali) and Sadler’s Wells. A rise in pirated recordings broadcast by BBC Radio 3 of Opera Rara performances led to a decision to issue its own recordings. In 1978, it released its first: the world premiere studio recording of Donizetti’s Ugo, conte di Parigi starring Janet Price, Yvonne Kenny, Della Jones and Christian du Plessis. The opera itself had been reconstructed by Patric Schmid from the composer’s autograph manuscript. More information...
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