Rossini/ Alaimo/ Sardaryan - Largo Al FactotumIn an age of ultraspecialization that obsesses over minute detail, artists such as Nicola Alaimo remind us that, as elsewhere, in opera versatility is a virtue. The youthful Mr. Alaimo has an impressive CV, broad in scope and variety. His chosen musical home is, of course, 19th century melodrama, ranging from his beloved Rossini, to Bellini, Donizetti and the major works of Verdi. Nonetheless, Mr. Alaimo is thoroughly comfortable with an earlier

among them

Gwilym Bowen

it is not achieved by staring fearfully in awe at the manuscript

describing a genre-hopping odyssey that acts as a diary of everything their relationship encompasses

The album features guest appearances from Too $hort

As Memorial Day approaches

" "Pennies from Heaven

the soloist is one of the great stars of the new generation

which is such a vitally important element of chamber music

if not outright hostility

"I'm blown away by the completeness and maturity of this work

previously (on March 4 of that year) he had already performed the first three movements