Opera
Reviews of full operas as well as collections and recitals of arias
Meyerbeer: L’Africaine (Naxos)
This praiseworthy live recording of L’Africaine will undoubtedly assist Meyerbeer’s rehabilitation [MC]
Havergal Brian: The Cenci (Toccata Classics)
A 1997 concert performance restored in good sound with splendid documentation [JW]
Rossini: La donna del lago (Opera Rara)
(Déjà Review) Sets the gold standard for recorded performances of this work [RJF]
Aigul Akhmetshina (mezzo-soprano): Aigul (Decca)
By far the best mezzo-soprano to emerge for a generation [RMo]
Mozart: Mezzo Mozart (Aparté)
Marina Viotti makes this an album of great Mozart arias hard to resist. [MC]
Zemlinsky: Eine florentinische Tragödie (Pentatone)
A gripping performance of a macabre, strangely compelling work [RMo]
Wagner: Das Rheingold (Pristine Audio)
This is a rewarding set, and fans of the singers, in particular, will be pleased [SB]
Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen (Arthaus Musik)
(Déjà Review) Mackerras conducts with love and understanding. The pacing is ideal, and the music’s lyrical intensity is experienced at every stage [TB]
Verdi: Il trovatore (High Definition Tape Transfers)
A legendary classic from the early 1950s is resurrected in revelatory high definition sound [GF]
Martial Singher (baritone) French Opera Arias (Pristine Audio)
(Déjà Review) I defy anyone to play these tracks through once and not do so immediately again [ED]
Wagner: Parsifal (Opus Arte)
(Déjà Review) If you come to terms with some controversial aspects, you could be watching one of the finest all-round operatic performances you will ever see [JL]
Massenet: Werther (Bru Zane)
I will return to this recording with pleasure when I am in baritone mood [GF]
Meyerbeer: L’Africaine (Naxos)
A welcome chance to reassess Meyerbeer’s posthumous opera in a new critical edition [MP]
Tchaikovsky: The Queen of Spades (Delos)
(Déjà Review) A real feeling of spontaneity and excitement [CC]
Cilea: Gloria (Dynamic)
A fine production of a neglected work, not quite Adriana Lecouvreur melodically, but a feast for admirers of Italian opera [EJW]
Bellini: Norma (Pristine Audio)
A classic ensemble recording further enhanced by Pristine’s remastering into gloriously full and detailed, if slightly over-reverberant, sound [RMo]
Zemlinsky: Eine florentinische Tragödie (BR Klassik)
A good version but there are better [SB]
Wagner: The Complete Experience and its Meaning to Us (De la Porte Publishing)
Now a truly complete guide to Wagner’s operas, in a fine new edition [RWe]
Cimarosa: L’Olimpiade (Château de Versailles)
L’Olympiade is a worthy addition to the Cimarosa discography [GF]
Verdi: Il Trovatore (Divina Records)
One of Callas’ most inspired performances now slightly more listenable [MBu]
Cimarosa: Le Astuzie Femminili (cpo)
In its Full, Original Glory: Le astuzie femminili [DF]
Adèle Charvet (mezzo-soprano) Teatro Sant’Angelo (Alpha Classics)
A nice mixture of arias by Vivaldi and his less well-known colleagues [JV]
Rosenberg: The Isle of Bliss (Phono Suecia)
(Déjà Review) Highly approachable music … any lover of late-romantic opera will feel at home [GF]
Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel (Naxos)
(Déjà Review) An unmissable bargain, which I cannot recommend highly enough [JQ]