Is Salvatore Licitra the 'Tenor of Tomorrow'?
Find Out! Sample a Full-length Download of his Performance of Tosca's 'E lucevan le stelle' from his Upcoming Sony Classical Release The Debut
PRNewswire
NEW YORK
07/01/2002
Young tenor Salvatore Licitra made music history this year when he filled Luciano Pavarotti's shoes at the last minute for the Metropolitan Opera House closing night gala performance of Puccini's Tosca, delivering "the most triumphant Met debut in recent history," raves The Associated Press. Now audiences worldwide can hear the reason for all the acclaim through a full-length download of his performance of the classic aria from Tosca, "E lucevan le stelle." The song is featured on his first solo recording as an exclusive artist with Sony Classical, The Debut (SK 89923), which will be released July 2.
The promotional download is now available until July 31 through multiple online outlets, including retailers Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Circuit City, Tower Records, Windows Media; websites such as OperaNews.com, IClassics.com, ClassicalNews.com, BBCAmerica.com, Theoperacritic.com, Operissimo.com, and Gramophone.co.uk; and Licitra's own sites, salvatorelicitra.com and licitradebut.com. It will time out 30-45 days after the initial download (depending on the site). The full album will be offered at U.S. retail with special debut artist pricing.
"This is the first time that we have offered an aria for downloading," said Peter Gelb, President of Sony Classical. "But with Salvatore's recent celebrity, we thought that there would be wide interest in hearing music from his debut recording of Italian arias."
It was no small feat for Licitra, with only one rehearsal, to win over a disgruntled audience expecting to see Pavarotti's last appearance, and he was rewarded with a four-minute standing ovation. His poised, powerful performance led the New Yorker to state, "Is this the tenor of tomorrow, the long-awaited successor to Pavarotti and Domingo? Possibly yes ... In Licitra's best moments, he actually sounds like an ideal blend of the two mega-tenors, echoing both Pavarotti's fluency and Domingo's fire."
On The Debut, Licitra sings the most popular arias from the operas of Verdi and Puccini, with Carlo Rizzi conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and the Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In addition to "E lucevan le stelle," the recording includes the second tenor aria from Tosca, "Recondita armonia." Other Puccini arias featured on the album are "Nessun dorma" from Turandot; "Ch'ella mi creda" from La Fanciulla del West; "Che gelida manina" from La Boheme; "Donna non vidi mai" from Manon Lescaut; and "Addio fiorito asil" from Madama Butterfly.
Arias from operas by Verdi on The Debut include "Celeste Aida" from Aida; "La vita e inferno... O tu che in seno agli angeli" from La Forza del Destino; "Sento avvampar nel'anima" from Simon Boccanegra; the barcarolle "Di tu se fedele" and "Forse la soglia attinse" from Un Ballo in Maschera; "Ah, la paterna mano" from Macbeth; and "Ah si, ben mio, oll'essere" and "Di quella pira" from Il Trovatore.
Salvatore Licitra's new recording of Italian tenor arias will be featured on http://www.salvatorelicitra.com/, the singer's domain on Sony Classical's Web site at http://www.sonyclassical.com/. Sony Classical.com is an online resource for exploring the label's entire catalogue of recordings, and includes sound clips, track listings, cover art and other liner about the recordings. The site also features an online radio show, album supersites, multimedia, artist biographies, tour schedules and discographies for all Sony Classical artists, as well as special promotions, and much more.
SOURCE: Sony Classical
CONTACT: Carol Della Penna of Sony Classical, +1-212-833-7479,
carol_dellapenna@sonymusic.com; or Laurie Jakobsen of Sony Music
Entertainment, +1-212-833-5047, laurie_jakobsen@sonymusic.com
Web site: http://www.sonyclassical.com/
http://www.salvatorelicitra.com/