Opera

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

rossini donna lago opera rara

Rossini: La donna del lago (Opera Rara)

(Déjà Review) Sets the gold standard for recorded performances of this work [RJF]

Aigul Akhmetshina (mezzo-soprano): Aigul (Decca)

By far the best mezzo-soprano to emerge for a generation [RMo]

Mozart: Mezzo Mozart (Aparté)

Marina Viotti makes this an album of great Mozart arias hard to resist. [MC]

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Zemlinsky: Eine florentinische Tragödie (Pentatone)

A gripping performance of a macabre, strangely compelling work [RMo]

Wagner Rheingold Knappertsbusch Pristine PACO210

Wagner: Das Rheingold (Pristine Audio)

This is a rewarding set, and fans of the singers, in particular, will be pleased [SB]

Deja Review Janacek Cunning Little Vixen Mackerras Arthaus DVD 100240

Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen (Arthaus Musik)

(Déjà Review) Mackerras conducts with love and understanding. The pacing is ideal, and the music’s lyrical intensity is experienced at every stage [TB]

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Verdi: Il trovatore (High Definition Tape Transfers)

A legendary classic from the early 1950s is resurrected in revelatory high definition sound [GF]

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Martial Singher (baritone) French Opera Arias (Pristine Audio)

(Déjà Review) I defy anyone to play these tracks through once and not do so immediately again [ED]

Wagner: Parsifal (Opus Arte)

(Déjà Review) If you come to terms with some controversial aspects, you could be watching one of the finest all-round operatic performances you will ever see [JL]

Massenet: Werther (Bru Zane)

I will return to this recording with pleasure when I am in baritone mood [GF]

Meyerbeer: L’Africaine (Naxos)

A welcome chance to reassess Meyerbeer’s posthumous opera in a new critical edition [MP]

Tchaikovsky: The Queen of Spades (Delos)

(Déjà Review) A real feeling of spontaneity and excitement [CC]

Cilea Gloria Dynamic Blu-ray DYN 58004

Cilea: Gloria (Dynamic)

A fine production of a neglected work, not quite Adriana Lecouvreur melodically, but a feast for admirers of Italian opera [EJW]

bellini norma pristine

Bellini: Norma (Pristine Audio)

A classic ensemble recording further enhanced by Pristine’s remastering into gloriously full and detailed, if slightly over-reverberant, sound [RMo]

Zemlinsky: Eine florentinische Tragödie (BR Klassik)

A good version but there are better [SB]

Wagner: The Complete Experience and its Meaning to Us (De la Porte Publishing)

Now a truly complete guide to Wagner’s operas, in a fine new edition [RWe]

Cimarosa: L’Olimpiade (Château de Versailles)

L’Olympiade is a worthy addition to the Cimarosa discography [GF]

Verdi trovatore DVN25

Verdi: Il Trovatore (Divina Records)

One of Callas’ most inspired performances now slightly more listenable [MBu]

Cimarosa Le astuzie femminili cpo 5555952

Cimarosa: Le Astuzie Femminili (cpo)

In its Full, Original Glory: Le astuzie femminili [DF]

Adèle Charvet (mezzo-soprano) Teatro Sant’Angelo (Alpha Classics)

A nice mixture of arias by Vivaldi and his less well-known colleagues [JV]

Rosenberg: The Isle of Bliss (Phono Suecia)

(Déjà Review) Highly approachable music … any lover of late-romantic opera will feel at home [GF]

Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel (Naxos)

(Déjà Review) An unmissable bargain, which I cannot recommend highly enough [JQ]

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Strauss: Capriccio (Orfeo)

A good but hardly distinguished production, in terms of both performance and sound [RMo]

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Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Pristine Audio)

A deeply touching Butterfly and a thrilling Pinkerton who are all the more striking in Pristine’s vivid remastering [RMo]