Opera

Cuts aside, a very fine performance of one of Fux’s works for the stage [JV]

A colourful and dramatic performance of “The only perfect English opera” – with a modern twist [GF]

The superb Asmik Grigorian sings all three female leads in the generally impressive performances from the 2022 Salzburg Festival [RWe]

A beautifully sung Faust, expertly conducted and superior to the later studio recording in everything but sound [RMo]

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

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

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

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

Fine historical performances indispensable to any Britten collection [WH]

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

A compilation demonstrating the versatility and musicality of Toscanini’s favourite tenor [RMo]

An interesting pair of early operas with roots in the African-American musical tradition [GF]

(Déjà Review) Not just for anoraks, this is a marvellous introduction to Puccini [CF]

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

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

This recording is superb in every respect; nobody is likely to be disappointed by either the singing or the music [GF]

Werner Herbers’s swansong with his Ebony Band: more previously unrecorded Weimar delights [JW]

An unmatchable and irreplaceable video makes a welcome return to the catalogues [PCG]

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

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

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

A premiere recording that is mainly of interest to Opera Seria completionists [MP]

A delightfully entertaining modern take on Rossini brings overtones of Fellini to the action [PCG]

A radical feminist staging for a very well-sung account of Handel’s late masterpiece [RWe]