Following its successful full length opera, ‘Artaxerxes’, Classical Opera return with the first in an epic series of Mozart operas ‘Apollo et Hyacinthus’. Classical Opera has mounted two staged productions of Mozart's Apollo et Hyacinthus (1998 and 2006), with both receiving wide critical acclaim. This recording has been eagerly awaited since its 2007 debut CD, ‘The A-Z of Mozart Opera’ was released, described by David Vickers in Gramophone as ‘glorious...fresh, diverse, insightful and illuminating’. The company features a mix of seasoned and young performers including Klara Ek (Melia), Sophie Bevan (Hyacinthus), Lawrence Zazzo (Apollo), Christopher Ainslie (Zephyrus) and Andrew Kennedy (Oebalus). Classical Opera was founded in 1997 by conductor Ian Page. It specialises in the music of Mozart and his contemporaries, performing with its own period-instrument orchestra, and is considered one of Britain's most exciting and highly regarded young arts organisations.