mp
Mike Parr
Raff: Samson (Schweizer Fonogramm)
An operatic discovery which delivers a musical and dramatic feast despite some deeply flawed vocal performances [MP]
Cimarosa: L’Olimpiade (Château de Versailles)
Rousset and his team earn a gold medal for this premiere recording of a long-unheard opera [MP]
Wagner: Das Rheingold (Deutsche Grammophon)
A stunning new high resolution transfer of this classic recording [MP]
Gerhard: La Dueña (Chandos)
An opera with patches of real brilliance in a more than acceptable recording [MP]
Donizetti: Don Pasquale (Warner Classics)
A good alternative choice recording featuring some very winning performances among the cast [MP]
Mozart: Idomeneo (Archiv Produktion)
Idomeneo tastefully presented but takes the risk of being too often over-refined [MP]
Rimsky-Korsakov: Kashchey the Immortal (Philips)
A decent representation of Rimsky-Korsakov’s rarely staged opera [MP]
Monteverdi: Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (Sony Classical)
An audio treasure trove of fine performances, in an orchestration contrary to modern period performance dictates [MP]
Rossini: Ermione (Naxos)
A happy release due to Fogliani’s impressive conducting, although there are a few reservations about the singing [MP]
Meyerbeer: Le prophète (LSO Live)
A welcome release that promises much but doesn’t always deliver [MP]
Verdi: Rigoletto (Warner Classics)
A powerful recording with much to commend it in spite of a few failings among the cast [MP]
Meyerbeer: L’Africaine (Naxos)
A welcome chance to reassess Meyerbeer’s posthumous opera in a new critical edition [MP]
Rossini: Le Siège de Corinthe (C Major)
A fine cast of singers are thrown out to sea by a pointless, dismal production [MP]
Wagner: Lohengrin (RCA)
There is much to savour in this 59 year-old set [MP]
Tchaikovsky: None But The Lonely Heart (Naxos)
The singing is especially good from some impressive young singers but the staging… [MP]
Donizetti: Maria de Rudenz (Warner Fonit)
Coarse at times, but often exciting, as one would expect a bleeding nun to be [MP]
Mozart: Così fan tutte (Deutsche Grammophon)
Despite cuts and a less than perfect ensemble, the sense of being a part of an exciting occasion is boldly realized here [MP]
Le Berger Innocent – recital (Ricercar)
This fills a gap in the musical repertoire of the French Rococo [MP]
Mademoiselle Duval: Les Génies (Château de Versailles Spectacles)
A Baroque opera rarity is one of CVS’s happiest releases of recent years [MP]
R Strauss: Intermezzo (Warner Classics)
The only studio recording of Strauss’s biographical opera is a complete winner on all front [MP]
Janáček: Káťa Kabanová (LSO Live)
A good cast and excellent sound are featured on Rattle’s challenge to the Mackerras hegemony [MP]
Massenet: Le Cid (Sony Classical)
This version of Massenet’s opera is somewhat marred by the coarse recording, but there are a few thrills to be encountered nonetheless [MP]
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Warner Classics)
Beautiful sonorities throughout but the conductor’s approach is an emotional letdown and hampers the stellar cast [MP]
Stravinsky: The Nightingale (Sony Classical)
Stravinsky’s own recording is a flawed yet pleasurable account of this little opera [MP]
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