Opera Rara

Opera Rara’s mission is to restore, record, perform and promote the lost operatic heritage of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Opera Rara is a unique combination of opera company, recording label and live operatic archaeologist. We search for neglected operatic masterpieces and restore them to life for contemporary audiences to enjoy. Working with the best singers, conductors, orchestras and musicologists, we are at the cutting edge of the opera world, leading the expansion of the repertoire and encouraging other opera companies to explore new and unknown operatic jewels.

2020 marked Opera Rara’s 50th anniversary, halfa-century of ground-breaking work. Our artistic success has been publicly recognised through major awards, notably at the International Opera Awards (Best Opera Recording) for Rossini’s Semiramide (2019), Donizetti’s Les Martyrs (2016) and Offenbach’s Fantasio (2015); International Classical Music Award for Semiramide (Best Opera, 2019) and for Ermonela Jaho’s debut recital album Anima Rara (Best Vocal Music Recording, 2021); Opus Klassik (Best Recording) for Semiramide (2019) and at the OPER! Awards (Best Recording) for Donizetti’s L’Ange de Nisida (2019).

The Opera Rara catalogue comprises over 100 titles, including 60 complete opera recordings. Our work has led to a fundamental revaluation of the reputation of Donizetti, Pacini, Offenbach and Mercadante, changing the way in which these composers are perceived internationally. Following our world premiere concerts in July 2018, Donizetti’s L’Ange de Nisida received its first professional staging in Bergamo in November 2019 and Offenbach’s Fantasio has received several stagings throughout Europe since our recording in 2015, including at the Garsington Festival. Opera Rara’s latest studio recording, Donizetti’s Il Paria, with Albina Shagimuratova, René Barbera and Britten Sinfonia conducted by Sir Mark Elder, was released in January 2021 to wide critical acclaim.

Following Sir Mark Elder’s departure as Artistic Director, after a remarkable seven-year period in which the company’s artistic reputation worldwide was extraordinarily high, internationally acknowledged 19th-century opera specialist Carlo Rizzi was appointed his successor in 2019. Future plans include a studio recording of Offenbach’s La Princesse de Trébizonde, conducted by Paul Daniel, which will be performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in September, and the release of Rizzi's recording of Leoncavallo's Zingari, his first recording as Opera Rara’s Artistic Director, and his world premiere recording of Mercadante’s Il proscritto

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Carlo Rizzi

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Henry Little

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Charles Alexander CBE, Chairman

Glenn Hurstfield

Adolfo Laurenti

Simon Mortimore QC

Alison Nicol

Islée Oliva Salinas

Terence Sinclair

Nicholas Thomas

Louis Watt

ARTISTIC PATRON

Renée Fleming

LABEL & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Aurelie Baujean

FINANCE DIRECTOR

Irene Cook

DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Zachary Vanderburg

CONSULTANTS

Kirstin Peltonen, Development Consultant

Jesús Iglesias Noriega, Casting Consultant

Macbeth Media Relations, Press and PR

Roger Parker, Repertoire Consultant

INSTAGRAM opera.rara

FACEBOOK OperaRaraOfficial

TWITTER operarara info@opera-rara.com www.opera-rara.com