Two of the world's newest, most gifted tenor voices together
singing an incredible selection of many new songs and all with
tremendous results.  Does that sound like an endorsement?
You bet.  These two new (to the world stage..) are about to
set Opera houses around the world on fire with the power 
and beauty of their voices.  Each has come from humble
beginnings in their own countries, Italy and Argentina, and 
risen to the call of the Operatic stage.  Sony Classics has been
chosen to represent their recorded talents, along with some
fine female singers and other classical artists.  This is a very
good time to have a cd player.

Summer, another artist with a debut album out, a female
Opera talent will entertain you soon on stages all around the world.
I would love to see her with these two men on a world tour, singing her own songs with these two men.

For now I would suggest the purchase of her album, Summer,
and the works by both of the these two young male wonders;
Alvarez & Licitra.

www.sonyclassical.com

Featuring Selections From Alvarez & Licitra's New Sony Classical
Recording Duetto
Concert Will Be Filmed For Broadcast
On RAI Uno, BBC, PBS Great Performances, Arte

(New York, NY, June 4, 2003) - With Rome's ancient Colosseum as a
spectacular backdrop, operatic tenors Marcelo Alvarez and Salvatore 
Licitra perform together live for the first time in a free outdoor concert
under the stars on June 12, presented by the Mayor of Rome. The
program features new romantic songs and classic arias featured on 
Duetto, the tenors' new Sony Classical recording, with Eugene Kohn 
conducting the Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta.

Duetto - The Concert at the Roman Colosseum will be filmed for
broadcast internationally on RAI Uno, BBC, Arte, and on the PBS 
series Great Performances, with home video release to  follow.

Often cited as the successors to Luciano Pavarotti and Placido 
Domingo, tenors Alvarez and Licitra have thrilled international 
audiences at the world's leading opera houses, from New York's 
Metropolitan Opera to Milan's La Scala. Now the tenors have
teamed up for their first contemporary recording, presenting them
in songs created especially for their voices by some of the world's
leading composers. Among the featured composers is Francesco
Sartori, known for having penned Andrea Bocelli's biggest hits. In
addition, some of the album's original songs are inspired by works 
of Bach, Gounod, Rachmaninoff and Faure, as well as new treatments
of a stirring duet "Au fond du temple saint" and the passionate
aria "Je crois entendre encore" from the Bizet opera The Pearl 
Fishers. "Unlike other tenor crossover recordings, we have not 
asked our tenors to try to sound like pop singers," said Peter 
Gelb, President of Sony Classical. "What makes this recording
special is that it sounds authentic. It's a celebration of two of the
most glorious voices in opera."

Alvarez, hailed by Opera News as "one of the hottest tenors on 
the international scene," shot to stardom just a few years after
leaving his hometown of Cordoba, Argentina (and his job in a
furniture factory) at the age of 30 to embark on a singing career. 
Entertainment News calls him "a thrilling new voice" and for his 
debut as Rodolfo in La Boheme at La Scala. La Reppublica
wrote, "Marvelous, beautiful singing, almost perfect in his 
expressiveness was Marcelo Alvarez, the Rodolfo who was 
cheered by the audience."

"A star is born," stated The New York Times when Licitra stood
in for Pavarotti at the Metropolitan Opera, "an unprecedented 
moment in opera history." Another critic called him "the most
promising Italian tenor of his generation." His first solo album
for Sony Classical,  Salvatore Licitra: The Debut, was one of the
musical highlights of 2002.

Alvarez has recorded three albums for Sony Classical - his debut Bel Canto,  featuring Italian operatic arias; Marcelo Alvarez Sings
Gardel, on which he sings the popular tangos and songs of Argentinian legend Carlos Gardel; and the French arias disc, released in 2002.

Licitra made his Sony Classical debut on the soundtrack of Sally Potter's film The Man Who Cried. He can also be heard on a complete live recording of Verdi's Il Trovatore as well as Salvatore Licitra: The Debut, featuring arias by Verdi and Puccini.

Duetto will be featured on Sony Classical's Web site at www.sonyclassical.com.