New technologies have made it possible for Angela Gheorghiu to record a duet with legendary soprano Maria Callas. This track, the Habanera from Bizet's Carmen, has been recorded as a special bonus for Gheorghiu's new studio album Homage to Maria Callas and can be accessed by buying the deluxe edition or the iTunes download edition next week, but we are able to preview it exclusively here on guardian.co.uk/music.

The orchestral accompaniment was painstakingly stripped away using Cedar Retouch Technology – "like audio Photoshop" explains recording engineer Jonathan Allen from Abbey Road Studios, who masterminded the project - leaving just Callas's voice. The players of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra then recorded a new accompaniment. Gheorghiu performed to this new accompaniment and finally the two singers were spliced in, sometimes in unison and sometimes apart. "We needed to create the illusion that Angela and Maria were in the same acoustic space," says Allen. "If it comes across as over-processed, it won't work. Angela's voice is incredibly rich in overtones, probably more so than Callas', so we had to reduce some of her sound - without degrading it - to match."

Angela Gheorghiu's new album Homage to Maria Callas is out 7 November on EMI Classics. Pre-order it now at Amazon.co.uk.