Opera

Yes – we are hearing something special here [RMo]

Lully’s Thésée sounds glorious in this period-instrument performance [MC]

An enjoyable production of Humperdinck’s King’s Children, beautifully performed in effective modern staging [EJW]

(Déjà Review) The set should be heard for its documentation of an extraordinary musical meeting [CH]

A stream of imperturbably sedate tone, virtually devoid of characterisation [RMo]

An indifferent Scarpia, so this is not a premier choice, but great singing by Melody Moore and Ștefan Pop [GF]

(Déjà Review) The score is bright, carries warm harmonies and is fast moving with enjoyable themes, and catchy motifs [RW]

A subtle, carefully crafted opera, beautifully sung even if in the end it lacks melodic memorability [RMo]

Ten very well-filled discs documenting six glorious decades at the Paris Opera [RMo]

A superbly persuasive recording of Tippett’s most difficult opera [MP]

An astounding new opera from John Corigliano receives a benchmark performance [PCG]

A ground-breaking recording of a ground-breaking American musical [PCG]

An operatic rarity returns to the catalogue, and remains a worthwhile encounter [PCG]

by Ralph Moore

A musically and emotionally intense opera by a composer at the peak of his career [EJW]

Powerful performances, but spare and drab staging [LW]

This concert performance of Cardillac makes a strong case for the opera [MC]

A staging of French baroque opera at its finest [MP]

The singing doesn’t quite match the wonderful staging [DJB]

(Déjà Review) Recommendable both to lovers of zarzuela and to those new to it [RH]

A superior reissue of Peter Hall’s other superlative Britten production from Glyndebourne [PCG]

A welcome release, but with one important shortcoming [MP]

The first recording of Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald is severely underwhelming [JW]

A palpable improvement over the remastering of the original mono recording and a fine performance in itself [RMo]