Praised for her vocal beauty, seamless technique, and abundant musicality, Nadine Sierra is one of the most promising young talents in opera today. In her new album, she takes on three of the most beautiful, challenging, and dramatic roles in nineteenth-century romantic repertoire: Donizetti's Lucia, Verdi's Violetta, and Gounod's Juliette. Sierra dedicates her album to the great women in opera and reflects the hardship, sacrifice, perseverance, and...

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) began his career at the end of the Romantic period and his death signaled the end of the last major age of Italian opera. During his lifetime and in posterity, the composer's popularity surpassed that of his peers, and three of his works - La bohéme, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly - rank among the twenty-first century's ten most-performed operas. With their enchanting melodies, exotic subjects, and realistic plots, Puccini's...