Swedish soprano Lisa Larsson’s second release on Challenge Classics follows 2013’s highly-praised recording of arias by Joseph Haydn (CC72622). On this hybrid SACD she performs Berlioz - the title song ‘La Captive’ and the lyric scenes Herminie and La Mort de Cléopatre - accompanied by the Het Gelders Orchestra conducted by Antonello Manacorda.

Before winning the Prix de Rome in 1830 with the cantata 'La mort de Sardanapale', Hector Berlioz had already submitted failed attempts in the form of La mort d'Orphée (1827), Herminie (1828) and La mort de Cléopâtre (1829).

The Scene Lyrique 'Herminie' is set to a text by Pierre-Ange Vieillard which was inspired by Tasso’s ‘Gerusalemme liberata’, an epic set during the Crusades. Winning the Prix de Rome allowed Berlioz to spend two years in the Eternal City, and during this period he wrote the song ‘La Captive’.

La Mort de Cléopatre bears no opus number and was not published until many years after the composer’s death. However, it has in recent years become a favourite showcase for soprano and mezzo-soprano voices.

During her first engagements at the Zurich Opera, Lisa Larsson worked with conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. After her debut with Riccardo Muti at La Scala di Milano, she quickly established herself internationally, in particular as a Mozart interpreter.

Equally at home on the concert platform, Lisa Larsson is internationally renowned for her diversity and artistry. Her substantial discography includes Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs with conductor Douglas Boyd, Mahler’s Symphony No.8 with David Zinman, Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Daniel Harding, and Mitridate under Adam Fischer, as well as numerous Bach Cantatas with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Ton Koopman. With the latter she has also recorded Bach’s Christmas and Easter Oratorios, and Magnificat.

Lisa Larsson’s first recording for Challenge Classics Ladies First (CC72622) was released at the end of 2013 and featured her singing rarely performed arias by Joseph Haydn with the Combattimento Consort, Amsterdam under conductor Jan Willem de Vriend. It has been the recipient of a great deal of critical praise from the international music press.