Opera
Reviews of full operas as well as collections and recitals of arias
Wagner’s Tannhäuser – a survey of the major recordings
by Ralph Moore
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Arthaus Musik)
(Déjà Review) A very likeable performance [GF]
Glass: Einstein on the Beach (VLEK)
A new recording of Glass’s opera, the best yet [DHa]
Smyth: Der Wald (cpo)
A really successful recording which can’t get the better of this somewhat thorny opera [MP]
Wagner’s Lohengrin – a survey of the major recordings
by Ralph Moore
Diana Damrau (soprano): Mozart arias (Erato)
(Déjà Review) A bridge too far, too soon [RMo]
Mozart: L’Enlèvement du sérail (Château de Versailles Spectacles)
A mixed bag of achievements for the first recording in French of Mozart’s singspiel [MP]
Cutler: Sonata for Broken Fingers (NMC)
An interesting work which does not quite come off [SB]
Smyth: Der Wald (Resonus)
A good performance can’t overcome the flaws in this opera [JQ]
Corfield Godfrey: Musical Chapters from The Lord of the Rings
by Nicholas Fuller
Bizet: The Fair Maid of Perth (Pristine Audio)
Beecham gives a classic account of this gem of a score [MP]
Balfe: Falstaff (RTÉ Lyric FM)
A breath of fresh air [RW]
Galuppi: L’Olimpiade (Dynamic)
(Déjà Review) A desirable acquisition for lovers of baroque opera [GF]
Stenhammar: Tirfing (Sterling)
Impressive performance of a neo-Wagnerian opera [NB]
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (Pristine Audio)
A historical issue, the first Magic Flute to include dialogue, given a facelift and maintaining its significance after seventy years [PCG]
Janáček: The Makropulos Affair (SOMM Recordings)
A very fine and fitting centenary tribute to Sir Charles Mackerras [JQ]
Vivaldi: La Gloria e Imeneo (Naïve)
A revelatory addition to the ongoing series of the complete works of Vivaldi [MP]
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro (Pristine Audio)
A classic recording, with a great conductor and stellar singers, gets the Pristine treatment [RMo]
Strauss R: Elektra (Solo Musica)
Listeners seeking a completely unabridged Elektra may want to give this haphazard ‘karaoke version’ a miss [SSc]
Bruch: Arminius (cpo)
(Déjà Review) This recording is very welcome [CF]
Chausson: Le roi Arthus (Erato)
Heavily derivative of its Wagnerian models, Chausson’s sole opera intermittently impresses but is overlong and somehow remains unmemorable [RMo]
Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Erin Morley (soprano): Golden Age (Pentatone)
A superb recital which should find a welcome home under any Christmas tree [MP]
Strauss: Salome (Chandos)
(Déjà Review) Real emotional and sonic surge [DH]
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen (Testament)
Greater than the “Recording of the Century” [LD]
