Opera

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

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Stanford: Shamus O’Brien (Retrospect Opera)

The premiere recording of Stanford’s fourth opera in an excellent performance [JQ]

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Verdi: Nabucco (Deutsche Grammophon)

(Déjà Review) Worth the price for Guleghina’s Abigaille [RJF]

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Donizetti: L’esule di Roma (Opera Rara)

An opera overlooked for far too long is presented in the best possible light [MC]

Wagner: Die Feen (Orfeo)

A very fine cast and excellent sound makes this a decent version of Wagner’s difficult first opera [MP]

Rossini: Elisabetta, Regina d’Inghilterra (Naxos)

Rossini’s rarely performed Elizabethan opera is given a lacklustre performance in the latest in Naxos’s Rossini Wildbad series [PT]

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Weber: Oberon (RCA)

Weber’s magical score is lovingly presented on this fine set [MP]

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Bertin: Fausto (Bru Zane)

A long-lost operatic curiosity. Well-performed but recorded harshly, with no sense of stage atmosphere [MP]

Busoni Doktor Faust Meister Dynamic 37998 DVD

Busoni: Doktor Faust (Dynamic)

Good singing and lighting do not outweigh poor orchestral playing and perverse staging [SB]

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Janáček: Káťa Kabanová (LSO Live)

We seem to observe the tragic events as they might really have happened – no hyperbole, just committed singing [MS]

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Rameau: Platée (Bel Air Classiques)

Laurent Pelly’s production has matured with age and Brownlee gives the performance of his career in the title role [MP]

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Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor (Pristine Audio)

Pristine refreshes Callas’s 1959 stereo recording and prompts a re-evaluation of its considerable merits [PT]

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Puccini: Il trittico (Decca)

Not a first choice recording but worth spending some time with for a few excellent individual contributions [MP]

Leoni: L’Oracolo (Decca)

Worth getting to know even in a less than successful recording [MP]

Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia (C Major)

Vocal riches in a depressingly hyperactive production that is devoid of amusement [MP]

Handel: Theodora (Alpha Classics)

A splendidly cohesive musically-rewarding example of integrated casting and performance [JW]

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Weber: Der Freischütz (Deutsche Grammophon)

One might go hunting for a more complete version of this opera, but this one does the trick in most respects [MP]

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Wagner: Die Walküre (Decca)

The last instalment of the Decca ‘Ring’ enhanced by remastering in magnificent sound [JQ]

Humperdinck Hansel und Gretel Eichhorn RCA G010004592376Y

Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel (RCA)

Christa Ludwig’s amazing Witch is the crowning achievement of this still essential recording [MP]

Cavalli: Il Xerse (Naxos)

A well-sung performance of a little-recorded work [RWe]

Puccini: La bohème (Warner Classics)

This old recording still has plenty of rewards to offer [MP]

donizetti elvida opera rara

Donizetti: Elvida (Opera Rara)

(Déjà Review) I strongly recommend all lovers of the composer’s music and the bel canto genre to add it to their collections [RJF]

Verdi: Nabucco (Deutsche Grammophon)

Sinopoli and a powerhouse cast reveal unsuspected depths in Verdi’s early opera [MP]

Wagner: Das Liebesverbot (Orfeo)

A colourful Wagnerian romp with two outstanding interpreters among the large cast [MP]

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Wagner: Das Rheingold (Decca)

A classic Wagner recording in magnificently remastered sound [JQ]