Fascinating in several ways, this disc is, in effect, a promotion for a book published this month by Haus Publishing in Britain. The book is a biography of Domenico Barbaja, a charming but power-hungry man who shaped bel canto opera in the early 1800s. It is fun to see opera through Barbaja’s eyes, to confront the composers from a business angle. He shaped Bellini’s career, signing him up right out of the Naples Conservatory. He commissioned 26 operas from Donizetti. Rossini was apparently late fulfilling his commissions; once, Barbaja had to lock him in his apartment until he finished the now-forgotten ’Otello’. The music on the CD gives you some unusual clips from operas Barbaja helped birth—including Rossini’s “Otello,” Bellini’s early effort “Il pirata” and Donizetti’s Tudor opera “Roberto Devereux.” *** Mary Kunz Goldman - The Buffalo News - April 2013