Tenor Lawrence Brownlee – overwhelmingly regarded as the world’s leading bel canto tenor – follows up his previous Grammy-nominated release on Delos (Virtuoso Rossini Arias, DE3455) with this stirring and eagerly awaited new collection of opera arias by Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini. Brownlee performs a rich and exciting mix of both tried and true favorites as well as less-often heard pieces. Familiar favorites are from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, La fille du régiment and L’elisir d’amore – as well as Bellini’s I Puritani. Lesser-known works featured are Donizetti’s Rita, La Favorite, and Dom Sébastien. As with his previous Grammy-nominated Rossini release, Brownlee’s fabulous collaborators are Constantine Orbelian and Lithuania’s Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra – with added support this time from the exceptional Kaunas State Choir. The result is a paragon of astounding virtuosity and deep interpretive feeling that is bound to attract worldwide attention and critical acclaim.