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Same as we did the 2^nd November, we will all listen to a new album that contains Baroque works. This time, the album is signed by 25-year-old Russian soprano Julia Lezhneva, who is accompanied by the Il Giardino Armonico ensemble conducted by Giovanni Antonini. The album is made up Handel's arias and is also included in the Vote for the Best Classical Music Album of 2015 campaign.

I admit to having appreciated this album especially for shedding light upon the music of young Handel, who arrived to Italy when he was 21 years old. Julia Lezhevna's performance is marked not only by a breathtaking virtuosity, but also by a general approach towards music, which is highly sensitive and touching.

Her previous disc was entitled Alleluia; it was her first release in 2013 under the Decca label. The soprano was awarded with an Echo Klassik award for it. Compared to the previous album, Lezhneva surprises her public with a richer, rounder timbre that has reached maturity, despite the fact that she is only 25 years old. She is one of the latest singers that have started their international careers at a very early age. Julia Lezhevn's exceptional talent is applauded all over Europe. On the Handel album, she included the first version created by the composer of the famous Lascia la spina aria in the Il Tronfo del Tiempo e del Disiganno, which was created in 1707 and was later used under the title Lascia ch'io pianga within the Rinaldo opera, which is the most popular version of the score today.

I find it impossible not to like Julia Lezhevna, who is only 25 years old and has already managed to have numerous successes. She was brought to the public's attention back in 2010, when she was invited by Kiri Te Kanawa to perform at the Classical Brit Gala. She had studied in Moscow and London, at Guidhall School of Music and Drama (I'd like to mention that I am proud about knowing two Romanian people who are currently attending classes there - pianists Sînziana Mircea and Mihai Ritivoiu). By the age of 18, Julia Lezhneva held her first Rossini performance along with Juan Diego Flores. Later, she started approaching a Baroque repertoire that revealed her agility, versatility and the colour of her voice. She came to Romania, too, to attent the 2013 edition of the 'George Enescu' International Festival. On that occasion, she played a role in Handel's opera entitled Alessandro. Her first recording released under the Decca label in 2013 was a success both for the soprano herself, and for the label - Julia won the Echo Klassik award, while the record label sold the largest number of copies of a debut album from 2008 up to the present.

Is Julia Lezhenova the new Cecilia Bartoli ?

Each and every one of you should listen and decide for themselves… You are facind a wonderful interpretation for two excerpts from the Il Trionfo del Tiempo oratorio by George Frideric Handel - the Un pensionero nemico di pace, which became famous due to Cecilia Bartoli's interpretation, as well as the recitative and the Aria by Bellezza at the end of the oratorio.