Opera

Reviews of full operas as well as collections and recitals of arias

Cimarosa: L’Olimpiade (Château de Versailles)

L’Olympiade is a worthy addition to the Cimarosa discography [GF]

Verdi trovatore DVN25

Verdi: Il Trovatore (Divina Records)

One of Callas’ most inspired performances now slightly more listenable [MBu]

Cimarosa Le astuzie femminili cpo 5555952

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]

Strauss capriccio C230152

Strauss: Capriccio (Orfeo)

A good but hardly distinguished production, in terms of both performance and sound [RMo]

puccini butterfly pristine

Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Pristine Audio)

A deeply touching Butterfly and a thrilling Pinkerton who are all the more striking in Pristine’s vivid remastering [RMo]

Rossini: Le Siège de Corinthe (C Major)

A fine cast of singers are thrown out to sea by a pointless, dismal production [MP]

Mozart: Mozart, You Drive me Crazy! (Alpha Classics)

Attractive in every respect to lovers of Mozart, or of opera in general [GF]

donizetti dalinda oehms

Donizetti: Dalinda (Oehms Classics)

Good, honest, open-throated singing in an intriguing and highly enjoyable reconstruction of a formerly lost work – and a star performance by the lead soprano [RMo]

offenbach helene regis

Offenbach: La Belle Hélène (Regis)

Not for nothing has this Offenbach been counted among the five all-time great recordings of French opera [CH]

Thomas Quasthoff (bass- baritone) Evening Star (Deutsche Grammophon)

A cunningly devised programme ideally showcasing Quasthoff’s vocal versatility and dramatic gifts [RMo]

Wagner Meistersinger Oper Berlin Naxos 2.110766-67 DVD

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Naxos)

Some good performances do little to redeem this drab, even absurd production of Meistersinger [LW]

Deja Review Janacek Makropulos Case Prague Supraphon 10835126122

Janáček: The Makropulos Case (Supraphon)

(Déjà Review) This has an unmistakably authentic feel about it [TH]

Opera Arias in Turin in 18th Century (cpo)

Charming but stylistically uniform arias from Turin in the later 18th century [CRo]

Schmidt Fredigundis ORF Vienna Orfeo C380012

Schmidt: Fredigundis (Orfeo)

The only recording of Schmidt’s second opera does full justice to an unjustly neglected work [EJW]

mascagni leoncavallo pristine

Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana & Leoncavallo: I Pagliacci (Pristine Audio)

A pleasure to hear Björling in these excellent Pristine transfers, even if these two roles are not amongst his greatest [PT]

Mercadante: Orazi e Curiazi (Opera Rara)

The best of a composer forever doomed to dwell in Verdi’s shadow, performed by a first-rate cast and starring the great Nelly Miricioiu [RMo]

Donizetti favorite naxos

Donizetti: La favorite (Naxos)

Javier Camarena as Fernand is worth a listen, but the singing on the whole is too compromised for a general recommendation [GF]

Strauss Frau 900219

Strauss: Die schweigsame Frau (BR Klassik)

A lovely supplement to the complete live recording in much better sound [RMo]

Rossini: La Cenerentola (Warner Classics)

A welcome return to the catalogue of an excellent performance [RJF]

Gluck Orfeo Euridice Orlinski Erato 5054197897535

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (Erato)

Thrilling Orfeo ed Euridice starring Jakub Józef Orliński [DF]

Deja Shostakovich Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Rostropovich Warner 3712342

Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Warner Classics)

(Déjà Review) A stunning recording – overcome your prejudice and buy it [RMK]