The Phantom of the Opera
[ Universal Pictures / DVD - released 20/Apr/2005 ] Based on the hit musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the tale tells the story of a disfigured musical genius that haunts the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera, waging a reign of terror over its occupants. When he falls fatally in love with the lovely... |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Claude Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande Julien Behr, Vannina Santoni, Alexandre Duhamel, Marie-Ange Todorovitch, etc / Les Siècles, Chœur de l'Opéra de Lille François-Xavier Roth [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 28/Jan/2022 ] 'I enjoyed the orchestral contributions of Les Siècles and the lucidity that period instruments bring to Debussy's score...there's an almost clinical clarity to their playing.' Gramophone Award Finalist 2022 - Opera |
FRANCESCO CAVALLI
Ombra mai fu: Francesco Cavalli Opera Arias Philippe Jaroussky (counter-tenor) / Ensemble Artaserse, with Emöke Baráth (soprano) [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 15/Mar/2019 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 WINNER - Recital |
THOMAS ADES
Ades: The Exterminating Angel (complete opera recorded in 2017) Metropolitan Opera / Audrey Luna, Amanda Echalaz, Sally Matthews, Sophie Bevan, Alice Coote, Christine Rice, Iestyn Davies / Thomas Ades (cond) [ Erato DVD / DVD - released 20/Feb/2019 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 TOP THREE - Contemporary |
MALCOLM ARNOLD
Arnold: The Dancing Master, Op. 34 Eleanor Dennis (sop) Catherine Carby (mezzo) Fiona Kimm (contr) Ed Lyon (ten) Mark Wilde (ten), Graeme Broadbent (bass-bar), BBC Concert Orchestra [ Resonus / CD - released 25/Sep/2020 ] "Arnold's inventive, eclectic score is vividly brought to life...this is no dismissible pastiche, but a seriously worthwhile addition to the repertoire." BBC Music Award WINNER 2021 - Opera |
GOUNOD / PUCCINI / STEIBELT / MASSENET / MOZART / ROSSINI / etc
Miroir(s): Opera Arias Elsa Dreisig (soprano), Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie Pyrénées Méditerranée, Michael Schønwandt [ Erato Warner Classics / CD - released 20/Mar/2019 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 TOP THREE - Recital |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti - La Fille du Régiment [Daughter of the Regiment] & Don Pasqual (recorded 2005/2006) Juan Diego Florez, Patricia Ciofi, Isabel Rey, Ruggero Raimondi, etc [ Decca Music Group DVD / 3 DVD Box Set - released 12/Dec/2019 ] Juan Diego Flórez proves he's the new King Of The High C's in one of his greatest stage roles. He gives a sensational performance of Tonio's aria 'Ah! mes amis...' - with 9 top Cs sung not once, but twice! |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers) [complete opera] Julie Fuchs, Cyrille Dubois, Florian Sempey, Luc Bertin-Hugaul / Orchestre National de Lille, Alexandre Bloch [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] Les Pêcheurs de Perles is best known for its glorious duet, but Georges Bizet's opera has much more to offer. This live recording more than ever brings out the brilliance of this oriental story about love, duty and friendship. In the last 150 years,... |
MOZART / MEHUL / OFFENBACH / LEONCAVALLO / LEHAR / WAGNER / RAVEL / etc
Michael Spyres - BariTenor Michael Spyres (baritone/tenor) / Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg, Marko Letonja, Choeur d'hommes de l'Opéra national du Rhine [ Erato Classics / CD - released 1/Oct/2021 ] "The range of roles is astonishing, but then so are these performances...Spyres really is a tenor - and a baritone, it seems - who has the operatic world at his feet." Gramophone Award WINNER 2022 - Vocal & Ensemble |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Il Sogno di Scipione (complete opera) The Choir and Orchestra of Classical Opera, Ian Page [ Signum / 2 CD - released 13/Oct/2017 ] Classical Opera continue their continuing complete Mozart opera recording series with the one-act dramatic serenade 'Il sogno di Scipione', K126. Composed in 1771 as a celebratory homage to Prince Archbishop Sigismund Schrattenbach of Salzburg,... |