Today Ondine releases VERDI, the first recorded collaboration between mezzo-soprano Justina Gringytė and conductor Robert Trevino, with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI. The album charts Verdi’s creative journey from his first opera, Oberto (1839), to the great mezzo roles of his maturity: Eboli in Don Carlo, Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera, Azucena in Il trovatore and Amneris in Aida, the latter with tenor Gaston Rivero. Alongside them are rarely performed arias from Oberto, Un giorno di regno and Nabucco, Preziosilla’s “Al suon del tamburo” from La forza del destino, and the overtures to Nabucco, La forza del destino and I vespri siciliani.
In its November issue, Das Opernglas, which features Justina on its cover, writes: “Gringytė masters the vocal challenges of every one of these arias with bravura” – and calls her “a perfect Amneris”.
Listen to and buy the album here.
More about Justina Gringytė here.
Photo of Justina Gringytė © Tommy Ga-Ken Wan · Cover © Ondine