Opera

Reviews of full operas as well as collections and recitals of arias

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Giordano: Fedora (Malibran-Music)

A powerful, idiomatic vintage recording of an unjustly neglected opera with some fascinating bonuses [RMo]

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Mercadante: Il proscritto (Opera Rara)

Neglected for almost 200 years, but undoubtedly worthy of its revival [MC]

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Halévy: La Juive (Malibran)

A compilation of superb recordings by some of the finest voices in this neglected opera [RMo]

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Żeleński: Janek (Naxos)

A buttoned–up attempt to transfer verismo opera to Poland, simply misses the point [MP]

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Britten: Noye’s Fludde (Pristine Audio)

Fine historical performances indispensable to any Britten collection [WH]

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Wagner: Die Walküre (Altus)

Schippers’s great Osaka Die Walküre is one of the great treasures of the Wagner discography [MB]

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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]

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Puccini: Turandot (Pristine Audio)

Not an ‘icon’ perhaps, but unmissable for admirers of Callas and Puccini [WH]

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Verdi: Falstaff (Pristine Audio)

Pristine revitalises another indispensable gramophone classic but the improvement over the RCA issue is only marginal [RMo]

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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]

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Atterberg: Aladin (cpo)

A decent performance of Atterberg’s last opera, a tuneful rendition of a fairy tale in an exotic musical setting [EJW]

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Handel: Acis and Galatea (Dorian)

A delightful recording that captures the energy of a live performance [KM]

Mussorgsky Boris Godunov Opus Arte OA1376D DVD

Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov (Opus Arte)

Sir Bryn Terfel triumphs in Mussorgsky’s original vision of his conscience-stricken Tsar [PCG]

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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]

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Remembering Tebaldi (Pentatone)

A lovely recital presenting Melody Moore as a worthy inhabitant of the pantheon of the present generation of sopranos [GF]

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Lully: Acis et Galatée (Dynamic)

A premiere filming of Lully’s major stage work: intelligent production, convincing performance [RWe]