Opera

The buffa side of Italian Opera in the heyday of Vienna’s pre-eminence [PH]

An unjustly neglected opera by the composer of Adriana Lecouvreur and L’Arlesiana [WK]

A pleasant diversion which does not engage one’s deeper emotions [MP]

This fast and furious performance of Il trovatore will please some more than others [PT]

A pleasing, generally very well sung performance of what remains essentially second-rank Donizetti but one with some rewarding passages [RMo]

by Philip Harrison

Hurrah for the Joint Stocks Companies Act of 1862! Ulahlica! [PH]

An interpretation of Prokofiev’s epic for our times [DHa]

This Siegfried definitely had me hooked from beginning to end [GF]

Tito Gobbi in one of his great roles at Covent Garden, by way of the BBC [PH]

Alfred battles with the Danes and the lack of star-quality singers in this slightly disappointing release [MP]

Neglected Hebridean songs fused into a folk opera [EJW]

A swings-and-roundabouts recording of the Dresden version of Tannhäuser – stick with Konwitschny and Solti [RMo]

A mediocre staging of Verdi’s first Shakespearean opera [DHa]

A historic recording of Grace Williams’ unique opera [PH]

(Déjà Review) A natural aural ambience tells in its favour as does the liveliness and vibrancy of the chorus [RJF]

Excellent performances, but the Regietheater production, with cuts and changes, might undermine its artistic worth for many [RC]

Keilberth ends Götterdammerung splendidly but that’s not enough – the world does not sound as though it is collapsing [DH]

A welcome set which will provide considerable pleasure with one outstanding performance [PSt]

(Déjà Review) Outstanding portrayals from Domingo and Bruson to compensate for an over-parted Freni [RJF]

An excellent film of a good production and performance [RWe]

A well-chosen selection from an already much-praised Flute [DM]

A mostly memorable night at the opera [RMas]

Jealousy, pain, loss, stifling shame, ultimate redemption – another episode in the LSO’s Janáček odyssey [PH]