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Caterina Cornaro was the last of Donizetti's operas to be premiered in his lifetime, and the only opera of his later period not to have had a quality modern recording. Conductor David Parry explains, "The opera requires a prima donna with a wonderful voice, extraordinary technique and exceptional histrionic ability... The story is resonant and believable, a woman forced into a political marriage with a king who is assassinated, leaving her to rule on her own. This calls up from Donizetti one of his most deeply felt, atmospheric and dramatically truthful scores." Opera Rara's two-disc set is accompanied by a complete libretto with an English translation alongside an article and synopsis by the eminent 19th-century musical scholar, Jeremy Commons.