Having made its international debut on Aug. 8 in Trinidad, Joslynne Sealey – Famous Arias has fulfilled her fans’ requests for a definitive CD of her operatic vocal work.
Throughout her 25-year career of singing professionally, she is most proud of her collaborations with Trinidad & Tobago’s national instrument, the steelpan.
Featured on her CD are six collaborations between Sealey and Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra. They invited her to be a featured performer at their biennial gala Christmas concerts, Classical Jewels (1979, 1981 and 1983).
Their relationship was so harmonious that All Stars invited Sealey to accompany them on their tours to Toronto, and the U.K. She recounts memories from those international tours on her CD.
Additionally, Sealey was a member of the only Caribbean operatic team sent to a Carifesta. This four-person team represented Trinidad & Tobago at Carifesta IV (Barbados; 1981). Three of her “live” performances at Carifesta IV are featured on her CD with accompaniment by Lindyann Bodden-Ritch (piano), and Patrick Flores (tenor).
Last but not least, this CD concludes with a recording of Sealey singing I’ll Have Revenge (from Mozart’s The Magic Flute). She explains the significance of this aria in the penultimate, conversational track on her CD.
Rumoured to be the most difficult aria for a soprano voice, Sealey addresses this aria with passion and expertise. FYI: this aria is her fans’ favourite.
There were 500 limited-edition souvenir CDs produced for global distribution. As of this month, only 200 are still available for sale, available at the following Toronto outlets:
Play de Record (north of Yonge at Dundas; 416-586-0889) and A Different Booklist (south of Bloor at Bathurst; 416-538-0889).
Souvenir, limited-edition CDs are also available from Amazon.com with digital downloads and sound samples of all tracks on Joslynne Sealey – Famous Arias available from Amazon.com and GooglePlay.com with iTunes.com coming soon.