Donizetti: Imelda de' Lambertazzi

"If one is to rank the opera just in terms of its pure musicality - the enjoyability of the music - then it must rank with the best. The title role makes great demands on its singer, not in terms of coloratura but for long musical lines and dramatic output. For this Cabell is a real find. She has a voice of rare beauty and strength, along with dramatic involvement."

"The production is on all accounts enterprising and valuable."

"This recording was made in tandem with Opera Rara's revival in London last year. Its strengths lie in powerhouse performances from James Westman as Bonifacio and Massimo Giordano as Imelda's appalling brother Lamberto. Nicole Cabell's Imelda, though exquisite, seems disengaged in comparison. Mark Elder's conducting is wonderfully insistent, while the dark, period sound of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment adds immeasurably to the oppressive atmosphere of it all."

"The disc features Mark Elder in charge of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, both conductor and players on tip top form. There's vigour in every number, and glorious clarinet solos from Antony Pay. Opera Rara is, as ever, to be congratulated for its faith in Donizetti as the maker of music dramas and for rescuing this fine work from the operatic doldrums."

"Donizetti’s Imelda de’Lambertazzi is fascinating for showing us that the composer was already on the track of conciseness despite the vogue for such large-scale operas as his succeeding work, Anna Bolena."