Opera

A complete recording of Donizetti’s La Favorite is let down by some less than beautiful singing [PT]

A welcome release that promises much but doesn’t always deliver [MP]

A survey by Ralph Moore

A wholehearted recommendation for the unhackneyed programme and the magnificent singing [GF]

A version with a baritone title role, much more than a curiosity [RWe]

A powerful recording with much to commend it in spite of a few failings among the cast [MP]

This praiseworthy live recording of L’Africaine will undoubtedly assist Meyerbeer’s rehabilitation [MC]

A 1997 concert performance restored in good sound with splendid documentation [JW]

(Déjà Review) Sets the gold standard for recorded performances of this work [RJF]

By far the best mezzo-soprano to emerge for a generation [RMo]

Marina Viotti makes this an album of great Mozart arias hard to resist. [MC]

A gripping performance of a macabre, strangely compelling work [RMo]

This is a rewarding set, and fans of the singers, in particular, will be pleased [SB]

(Déjà Review) Mackerras conducts with love and understanding. The pacing is ideal, and the music’s lyrical intensity is experienced at every stage [TB]

A legendary classic from the early 1950s is resurrected in revelatory high definition sound [GF]

(Déjà Review) I defy anyone to play these tracks through once and not do so immediately again [ED]

(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]

I will return to this recording with pleasure when I am in baritone mood [GF]

A welcome chance to reassess Meyerbeer’s posthumous opera in a new critical edition [MP]

(Déjà Review) A real feeling of spontaneity and excitement [CC]

A fine production of a neglected work, not quite Adriana Lecouvreur melodically, but a feast for admirers of Italian opera [EJW]

A classic ensemble recording further enhanced by Pristine’s remastering into gloriously full and detailed, if slightly over-reverberant, sound [RMo]

A good version but there are better [SB]

Now a truly complete guide to Wagner’s operas, in a fine new edition [RWe]