The album features two famous works of the Italian baroque, Stabat Mater by Giovanni Pergolesi and Gloria in D major by Antonio Vivaldi, recorded in 1983 at Melodiya All-Union Recording Studios. The solo alto part was performed by Elena Obraztsova, a world-famous Russian singer of the 20th century. Elena Obraztsova, a mezzo-soprano and soloist of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, appeared at the world’s best known theaters and concert venues, including La Scala, the San Francisco Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and others. Her stage characters still remain the standard of the modern opera genre. The singer’s versatile talent also manifested itself in her extensive concert repertoire that comprised compositions by composers of the 18th to 20th centuries written in various genres and styles.
Natalia Gerasimova, a remarkable Russian soprano, joined Elena Obraztsova in the performance of the works by Pergolesi and Vivaldi. Their unsurpassed duet was accompanied by the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra conducted by its founder and permanent leader Saulius Sondeckis. The Moscow Chamber Choir led by Vladimir Minin, one of Russia’s best choirs, also took part in the performance.
