“I am sincerely grateful to everyone that has contributed to this recording with their support and encouragement, first and foremost my family and friends. My special thanks go to two main partners, Jacqueline Desmarais’s Foundation and the Jeunesses Musicales du Canada. Without them my dream to record the most beautiful arias by Verdi would have never come true.” − Luc Robert

Luc Robert possesses a remarkable tenor voice and is one of the rising Canadian artists on the operatic and concert stages. He graduated from the Conservatoire de Musique de Québec with honours and joined the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio in 2002 and made his COC main stage debut in the 2002/03 season singing Hermann in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades and Riccardo in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera. In April 2015 he debuted at the Metropolitan Opera with the title role in Verdi’s Ernani. His repertoire includes leading roles from the treasury of tenor repertoire: Donizetti’s Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) and Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), the title role in Britten’s Albert Herring, Puccini’s Rodolfo (La bohème), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) and Mario Cavaradossi (Tosca), Steva Burya (Janáček’s Jenufa), Verdi’s Duke (Rigoletto), Rodolfo (Luisa Miller), the title role in Don Carlo and Macduff (Macbeth), Nicias (Massenet’s Thaïs), Orphée (Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice), Don José (Bizet’s Carmen), the title roles in Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust and Gounod’s Faust.

Prize-winner of the Nikolai Malko Conducting Competition 2015 and Jorma Panula Conducting Competition 2012, Risto Joost has gained widespread recognition for his work both in the opera pit and on concert stage. His repertoire ranges from Baroque to the most challenging works of contemporary composers. Since 2009 Joost is a Conductor with the Estonian National Opera, since 2013 Chief Conductor of the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, since 2015/2016 the Artistic Director of the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and since spring 2016 the Artistic Director of Tallinn Philharmonic Society and Birgitta Festival. Risto Joost has conducted many internationally acclaimed orchestras such as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, MDR Leipzig Symphony, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, NorrlandsOperan Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Real Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla, Macau Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Belgian Baroque Orchestra B’Rock among others. He has also been working with a number of esteemed vocal ensembles such as the RIAS Kammerchor, SWR Vokalensemble, Netherlands Chamber Choir (Chief Conductor in 2011−2015), Swedish Radio Choir, etc.

Estonian National Opera was founded in 1906 and is the home for the Estonian National Opera Orchestra, formed in 1907. Its first music director was Otto Herman, who started also organising symphony concerts. In addition to the regular performances, the orchestra has performed various concert programs of symphonic works. It has cooperated with a number of outstanding soloists, such as José Cura, Christian Lindberg, Isabella van Keulen, Montserrat Caballé, Alexander Markovich, etc. With guest soloists, and the chorus and soloists of the Estonian National Opera, the orchestra has given nearly 20 concert performances of rarely performed operas from the jewels of bel canto masters to the demanding works of Richard Strauss. The orchestra has made several recordings: Tubin’s Barbara von Tisenhusen (Ondine, 1991) and The Parson of Reigi (Ondine, 1992), Verdi’s Nabucco (Estonian National Opera, 2000), Tamberg’s Cyrano de Bergerac (CPO, 2004), Pylkkänen’s Mare and Her Son (Ondine, 2005), Kreek’s Requiem (Alba Records, 2007), Voices of the Estonian National Opera (ERP, 2009), Verdi Wagner 200 (2013, ERP), and DVDs: Ehala’s Bumpy (2003), 11 CD jubilee-box Estonia 100 (ERP, 2006), Tüür’s Wallenberg (ERP, 2008), Coppélia by Delibes (ERP, 2012), Edur’s / Aints’ Modigliani − the Cursed Artist (ERP, 2014), Gounod’s Faust (ERP, 2015), Georg Ots − a Legend of Estonia (ERP, 2016).

“One of the most beautiful tenors to emerge in recent years.” − Ken Winters