Opera
Reviews of full operas as well as collections and recitals of arias
Ponchielli: La Gioconda (Pristine Audio)
Pristine’s fine new transfer gives a boost to Maria Callas’ first recording of La Gioconda with impressive results [MP]
Verdi: Il trovatore (Pristine Audio)
An obligatory buy for lovers of Il trovatore, never mind how many modern recordings you have [GF]
Rameau: Les Boréades (Erato)
This splendid production might convert newcomers to the delights of French baroque [SB]
Maria – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Warner Classics)
Callas’ voice restored for a film score; if you love her voice, maybe this is one for you [KT]
Puccini: Turandot (Pristine Audio)
Birgit Nilsson’s first Turandot now remastered on Pristine Audio brings the recording back into the field of comparison [PCG]
Tippett: The Midsummer Marriage (London Philharmonic Orchestra)
Step into a magical forest and the transcendent realm of Tippett’s Midsummer Marriage [PH]
Bellini: Norma (Pristine Audio)
Pristine’s remastering into Ambient Stereo both enhances the beauty of Callas’ Norma and amplifies that which is less admirable here [RMo]
Puccini: La Bohème (Decca)
A classic recording in a splendid remastering [JQ]
Mussorgsky: Sorochintsï Fair & Salammbô Suite (Naxos)
A completely convincing account of a rarely performed opera in a new orchestration for chamber orchestra [MP]
Raff: Die Eifersüchtigen (Naxos)
A delightful and musically substantial premier recording [MP]
Recordings of fifteen lesser-known Massenet operas
A survey by Ralph Moore
Offenbach: La vie parisienne (Bru Zane)
An admirable effort to reconstruct the original version of a once popular work which veers between the highly entertaining and the banal [RMo]
Puccini: Turandot (Pristine Audio)
A most worthwhile remastering of this classic Turandot, with sonic improvements throughout [EJW]
Monteverdi: L’Orfeo (Château de Versailles)
L’Orfeo with a difference, especially in instrumental colour and dramatic projection [RWe]
Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano): Falcon (Aparté)
Aleksandra Kurzak is in striking form with an album of arias sung by legendary French soprano Cornélie Falcon [MC]
Raff: Samson (Schweizer Fonogramm)
An operatic discovery which delivers a musical and dramatic feast despite some deeply flawed vocal performances [MP]
Rameau: The Sound of Light (Sony Classical)
Put aside preconceptions of “authenticity” and enjoy this for what it is – a celebration of some of Rameau’s most appealing music [RMo]
Cimarosa: L’Olimpiade (Château de Versailles)
Rousset and his team earn a gold medal for this premiere recording of a long-unheard opera [MP]
Benjamin: Picture a day like this (Nimbus Records)
This powerful, moving, beautiful and disturbing new work is a triumph [SB]
Wagner: Götterdämmerung (Pristine Audio)
All Wagnerians should consider this 1956 live Bayreuth Götterdämmerung [SB]
Lehár: Schön ist die Welt (cpo)
A qualified recommendation for a new recording of Lehár’s final operetta for Berlin [PT]
Saimir Pirgu (tenor) Saimir (Opus Arte)
A comprehensive recital: a lot of brilliant and heroic singing, and some subtle and lyrical [GF]
Huw Montague Rendall (baritone): Contemplation (Erato)
Superb, sensuous, subtle singing from a highly gifted British lyric baritone [RMo]
Puccini: Turandot (Pristine Audio)
Yet another classic opera recording given new lustre by Pristine’s remastering [RMo]
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Featured Naxos review |
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