Marking the 25th anniversary of her international debut, famous Korean soprano Sumi Jo has released “Libera,” an album which encompasses musical genres from opera arias to musical numbers. The album title, meaning “free” in Italian, represents her 25 years of free spirit, expressing all kinds of music she wanted to express. Among the 13 tracks, Jo picked three as her favorites: “Hijo De La Luna” by José Maria Cano, “Songs My Mother Taught Me from ‘Gypsy Melodies’ Op. 55” by Antonín Dvořák and “Song for Reunification” by Ahn Byeong-won and Kim Texu. The recording was done with Prague Philharmonia, conductor Ondřej Lenard, violinist Kim Su-yoen, tenor Jo Jung-ki and baritone Han Myung-won.

Prague Philharmonia (or Pražská komorní filharmonie – www.praguephilharmonia.cz), one of the leading Czech classical music orchestras, is also coming to Seoul for two concerts presenting Rossini, Beethoven, Dvořák and Mozart on October 22 and 23, 2011 at Seoul Arts Center (www.sac.or.kr).