Best known for his spectacular operas (including Il Crociato in Egitto and Semiramide recorded respectively on Naxos 8.660245-47 and 8.660205-06) Giacomo Meyerbeer also contributed to the more intimate world of French, German and Italian song . Often reflecting on the joys and pains of love or glowing with religious fervour, the 26 songs heard here are interpreted by Sivan Rotem, one of Israel’s outstanding singers, and Jonathan Zak, a graduate of The Juilliard School and professor at the Buchman-Mehta Music School of Tel-Aviv University.