As she opens in Opera Queensland’s Rigoletto, the soprano talks about her new CD and the times ahead.

From Gluck to Philip Glass, Elena Xanthoudakis’s repertoire spans centuries. But the bel canto repertoire occupies a special place, and this month, as Xanthoudakis prepares to open as Gilda in Opera Queensland’s Rigoletto, she’ll also see another project come to fruition. Jewels of the Bel Canto, her first solo aria disc, features Xanthoudakis and the Royal Northern Sinfonia with Maestro Richard Bonynge in a selection of arias by the great bel canto composers.

In the studio with Richard Bonynge

Since 2011, Xanthoudakis has been a Borletti Buitoni Trust Artist, and it was the Trust who supported this album. “They decided I should make an album so Signum Classics and the BBT put this together really.” Her agent brought Bonynge into the picture, she says, “and all parties were keen to work with each other so as if by magic, it came together!”

The album is something of a tribute to the Greek-Australian soprano’s musical heritage. “My love of bel canto repertoire has been inspired by years of listening to both my idols, the Greek Maria Callas and the Australian, Dame Joan Sutherland,”...