CCMusic.com

Following the success of her crowd-sourced 'Best Of' collection "reJoyce" and her electrifying 'Drama Queens' album of Baroque arias, Joyce DiDonato returns to her heartland repertoire to celebrate the birth of Bel Canto opera in 19th c. Naples. On Stella di Napoli (Star of Naples), the American mezzo-soprano's creamy tone and dramatic prowess breathe new life into little-known arias by Mercadante, Michele Carafa (a student of Cherubini and close friend of Rossini), Carlo Valentini and the prolific opera composer Giovanni Pacini, whose Stella di Napoli (1845) gives the album it's title. Joyce worked closely with Italian conductor Riccardo Minasi (whose previous projects include Bellini's Norma with Cecilia Bartoli) to bring three unjustly neglected arias to light in new editions and world premiere recordings. Alongside these little-known gems, Joyce presents a sumptuous Bel Canto banquet with music by the three greats - Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti - including the latter's Maria Stuarda: A tour-de-force DiDonato signature role. Ms. DiDonato won a 2013 Grammy for her last Bel Canto album "Diva, Divo," declared "an ideal vehicle for her glorious mezzo voice in which the most fiendish coloratura ornaments and trills sound effortless". (The Observer)