Opera
Reviews of full operas as well as collections and recitals of arias
Giordano: Fedora (Malibran-Music)
A powerful, idiomatic vintage recording of an unjustly neglected opera with some fascinating bonuses [RMo]
Mercadante: Il proscritto (Opera Rara)
Neglected for almost 200 years, but undoubtedly worthy of its revival [MC]
Halévy: La Juive (Malibran)
A compilation of superb recordings by some of the finest voices in this neglected opera [RMo]
Żeleński: Janek (Naxos)
A buttoned–up attempt to transfer verismo opera to Poland, simply misses the point [MP]
Britten: Noye’s Fludde (Pristine Audio)
Fine historical performances indispensable to any Britten collection [WH]
Wagner: Die Walküre (Altus)
Schippers’s great Osaka Die Walküre is one of the great treasures of the Wagner discography [MB]
Aureliano Pertile (tenor) Disques Columbia (Malibran-Music)
A compilation demonstrating the versatility and musicality of Toscanini’s favourite tenor [RMo]
Johnson: De Organizer, The Dreamy Kid (Naxos)
An interesting pair of early operas with roots in the African-American musical tradition [GF]
Puccini: Le Villi (naïve)
(Déjà Review) Not just for anoraks, this is a marvellous introduction to Puccini [CF]
Puccini: Turandot (Pristine Audio)
Not an ‘icon’ perhaps, but unmissable for admirers of Callas and Puccini [WH]
Verdi: Falstaff (Pristine Audio)
Pristine revitalises another indispensable gramophone classic but the improvement over the RCA issue is only marginal [RMo]
Gluck: Écho et Narcisse (Chateau de Versailles)
This recording is superb in every respect; nobody is likely to be disappointed by either the singing or the music [GF]
Grosz: Achtung, Aufnahme!! (Channel Classics)
Werner Herbers’s swansong with his Ebony Band: more previously unrecorded Weimar delights [JW]
Britten: Albert Herring (Opus Arte)
An unmatchable and irreplaceable video makes a welcome return to the catalogues [PCG]
Atterberg: Aladin (cpo)
A decent performance of Atterberg’s last opera, a tuneful rendition of a fairy tale in an exotic musical setting [EJW]
Handel: Acis and Galatea (Dorian)
A delightful recording that captures the energy of a live performance [KM]
Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov (Opus Arte)
Sir Bryn Terfel triumphs in Mussorgsky’s original vision of his conscience-stricken Tsar [PCG]
Graun: Silla (cpo)
A premiere recording that is mainly of interest to Opera Seria completionists [MP]
Rossini: Il turco in Italia (C Major)
A delightfully entertaining modern take on Rossini brings overtones of Fellini to the action [PCG]
Handel: Theodora (Opus Arte)
A radical feminist staging for a very well-sung account of Handel’s late masterpiece [RWe]
Mozart: Arias for Aloysia Weber (Glossa)
An attractive collection no lover of Mozart will regret acquiring [GF]
d’Albert: Die Toten Augen (cpo)
(Déjà Review) You will want to luxuriate in this fine score [RB]
Remembering Tebaldi (Pentatone)
A lovely recital presenting Melody Moore as a worthy inhabitant of the pantheon of the present generation of sopranos [GF]
Lully: Acis et Galatée (Dynamic)
A premiere filming of Lully’s major stage work: intelligent production, convincing performance [RWe]
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