Opera
Reviews of full operas as well as collections and recitals of arias
Corigliano: The Lord of Cries (Pentatone)
An astounding new opera from John Corigliano receives a benchmark performance [PCG]
Rodgers: Oklahoma! (Chandos)
A ground-breaking recording of a ground-breaking American musical [PCG]
Egk: Columbus (Orfeo)
An operatic rarity returns to the catalogue, and remains a worthwhile encounter [PCG]
Visiting Robert Massard
by Ralph Moore
Schreker: Der Schatzgräber (Naxos)
A musically and emotionally intense opera by a composer at the peak of his career [EJW]
Janáček: Káťa Kabanová (Unitel Edition)
Powerful performances, but spare and drab staging [LW]
Hindemith: Cardillac (BR Klassik)
This concert performance of Cardillac makes a strong case for the opera [MC]
Charpentier: David & Jonathas (Château de Versailles)
A staging of French baroque opera at its finest [MP]
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (Opus Arte)
The singing doesn’t quite match the wonderful staging [DJB]
Breton: La Verbena de la Paloma (Naïve)
(Déjà Review) Recommendable both to lovers of zarzuela and to those new to it [RH]
Britten: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opus Arte)
A superior reissue of Peter Hall’s other superlative Britten production from Glyndebourne [PCG]
Cavalli: Il Xerse (Dynamic)
A welcome release, but with one important shortcoming [MP]
Smyth: Der Wald (Resonus)
The first recording of Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald is severely underwhelming [JW]
Puccini: Manon Lescaut (Pristine Audio)
A palpable improvement over the remastering of the original mono recording and a fine performance in itself [RMo]
Verdi: Falstaff (Warner Classics)
(Déjà Review) Truly one of the ‘Great Recordings of the Century’ [CF]
Jonathan Tetelman (tenor) The Great Puccini (DG)
A star Is born! Let’s hope he will resist overexposure [GF]
Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex (Dynamic)
A well-performed Stravinsky masterpiece, and a related work by Pizzetti [RWe]
Halévy: La Juive (Philips)
This sole studio recording of a thoroughly entertaining opera makes a strong case for its rehabilitation [RMo]
Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) Mascagni is a powerful advocate of his own music – his fluid, dramatic reading is filled with moving moments and telling detail [FC]
Wagner: Götterdämmerung (Decca)
A recording for the ages, revealed in full splendour in a new re-mastering [JQ]
Hindemith: Cardillac (BR Klassik)
A fine tribute to the late conductor which currently has the field to itself on CD [MP]
Fux: La corona d’Arianna (Arcana)
Cuts aside, a very fine performance of one of Fux’s works for the stage [JV]
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas (Pentatone)
A colourful and dramatic performance of “The only perfect English opera” – with a modern twist [GF]
Puccini: Il trittico (Unitel Edition)
The superb Asmik Grigorian sings all three female leads in the generally impressive performances from the 2022 Salzburg Festival [RWe]
