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,... |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Death in Venice (complete opera recorded in 2013) English National Opera / John Graham-Hall, Andrew Shore, Tim Mead / Edward Gardner (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 3/Mar/2014 ] "Graham-Hall is a real stage-animal, convincing us utterly of his descent into obsession...every colour, timbre and texture of this richly imaginative score comes blazing through under Gardner's baton". (Gramophone Award Nomination 2015 - Opera) |
GIACOMO MEYERBEER
Meyerbeer: Robert le Diable (complete opera) John Osborn, Nicolas Courjal, Amina Edris, Erin Morley, Nico Darmanin / Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine; Marc Minkowsk [ Bru Zane CDs + Book / 3 CD/Book - released 23/Sep/2022 ] "It all adds up to a formidable re-evaluation of a seminal if neglected work, as well as being a remarkable achievement in its own right." Gramophone Recording of the Month Awards Issue 2022 |
GEORGE BENJAMIN
Benjamin: Written on Skin (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Christopher Purves, Barbara Hannigan, Bejun Mehta, Victoria Simmonds / George Benjamin (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Aug/2014 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD WINNER 2014 - Contemporary |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Turandot (Complete Opera) Sondra Radvanovsky, Jonas Kaufmann, Ermonela Jaho, Michele Pertusi / Orchestra e Coro dell'Accadmia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano [ Warner Classics / 2 CD - released 10/Mar/2023 ] "A Turandot for the ages? This recording holds its own against venerable competition and, in the original Alfano completion, is unique." Gramophone Award Finalist 2023 - Opera |
GLUCK
Gluck: Iphigénie en Aulide & Iphigénie en Tauride (complete operas recorded in 2011) Netherlands Opera / Véronique Gens / Mireille Delunsch / Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble, Marc Minkowski [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 20/Feb/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Opera |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Peter Grimes (complete opera filmed on Aldeburgh beach in 2013) Alan Oke, Giselle Allen, David Kempster / Guildhall School of Music & Drama & Britten-Pears Orchestra, Steuart Bedford [ Arthaus DVD / DVD - released 10/Mar/2014 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD NOMINATION 2014 |
SCHUMANN
Der fliegende Holländer Christian Gerhaher, Christiane Iven, Alaistair Mills, Werner Gura / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Nikolaus Harnoncourt [ RCO Live SACD / 2 CD - released 24/Nov/2014 ] "Anja Kampe provides one of the best Sentas on disc … there's a welcome fullness and firmness to her tone, together with a sense of identification with the character's obsessiveness." (Gramophone Award Nomination 2015 - Opera) |
CHARLES GOUNOD
Gounod: Faust (complete original opera production from 1859) Véronique Gens, Andrew Foster-Williams; Benjamin Bernheim; Jean-Sébastien Bou /Flemish Radio Choir, Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset [ Bru Zane / 3 CD/Book - released 23/Aug/2019 ] "It also happens to be a terrific recording on its own terms...Rousset underpins it all with conducting that is fleet and dramatically engaged." Gramophone Awards 2020 Short list - Opera |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Don Giovanni, K527 (complete opera) Dimitris Tiliakos, Vito Priante, Myrtò Papatanasiu, Kenneth Tarver, Karina Gauvin / MusicAeterna, Teodor Currentzis [ Sony Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Mar/2017 ] "Do not expect a familiar 'warm bath' experience here; it offers an invigorating shower of fresh new insights" BBC Music Magazine Awards 2017 - Opera Winner |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Death in Venice (Complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY English National Opera / John Graham-Hall, Andrew Shore, Tim Mead / Edward Gardner (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/May/2014 ] "Graham-Hall is a real stage-animal, convincing us utterly of his descent into obsession...every colour, timbre and texture of this richly imaginative score comes blazing through under Gardner's baton". (Gramophone Award Nomination 2015 - Opera) |
FANTINI:/ MALVEZZI / CACCINI / MARENZIO / BRUNELLI / STRIGGIO
Stravaganza d'Amore!: The Birth of Opera at the Medici Court Ensemble Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD Box Set - released 15/Nov/2017 ] "The performances are highly polished, chorus and ensemble, producing a glossy and liberally embellished sound while the dozen soloists give fine and well-balanced contributions." BBC Music Opera Choice Oct 2017 |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Le Willis (complete original production) Ermonela Jaho, Arsen Soghomonyan, Brian Mulligan / Opera Rara Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder [ Opera Rara / CD - released 25/Sep/2019 ] "The chorus and orchestra are both impressive, while conductor Mark Elder delivers a lively and loving account of the score" BBC Music Award Finalist 2020 |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Elektra (complete opera recorded in 2013) Festival d'Aix-en-Provence / Evelyn Herlitzius, Waltraud Meier, Adrianne Pieczonka, Mikhail Petrenko / Esa-Pekka Salonen (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques DVD / DVD - released 1/Aug/2014 ] "There's nothing utilitarian about the cast, though, least of all its Elektra. Precise in pitch, unfailingly intense and charismatic, the German soprano Evelyn Herlitzius conquers every challenge." (Gramophone Award WINNER 2015 - Opera) |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Elektra (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Festival d'Aix-en-Provence / Evelyn Herlitzius, Waltraud Meier, Adrianne Pieczonka, Mikhail Petrenko / Esa-Pekka Salonen (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2014 ] "There's nothing utilitarian about the cast, though, least of all its Elektra. Precise in pitch, unfailingly intense and charismatic, the German soprano Evelyn Herlitzius conquers every challenge." (Gramophone Award WINNER 2015 - Opera) |
SCHOENBERG
Moses und Aron Franz Grundheber, Andreas Conrad / SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg & EuropaChorAkademie, Sylvain Cambreling [ Hanssler Classic / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 30/Jun/2014 ] "This imposing, intriguing opera is one of the most powerful contributions to 20th-century musical modernism and this recording does it justice." (Gramophone Award Nomination 2015 - Opera) |
ALBAN BERG
Wozzeck (complete opera recorded at the Bolshoi in 2010) Bolshoi Theatre / Georg Nigl, Mardi Byers, Maxim Paster / Teodor Currentzis (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques DVD / DVD - released 20/Sep/2012 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Opera |
BRETT DEAN
Dean: Hamlet (Complete opera recorded in 2018) Glyndebourne Opera / Allan Clayton, Sarah Connolly, Barbara Hannigan, Rod Gilfry / Vladimir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/Jun/2019 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 WINNER - Contemporary |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini (complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Dutch National Opera / John Osborn, Mariangela Sicilia, Maurizio Muraro, Michèle Losier / Sir Mark Elder (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 5/May/2018 ] "Osborn has all the vocal verve and dash to make the devil-may-care sculptor the constant centre of attention. Mariangela Sicilia uses her fearless, technically brilliant vocalism to sustain his beloved Teresa's vibrant personality…a musical treat" |
WAGNER
Siegfried (complete opera) (Recorded in stereo live at the 1955 Bayreuth Festival) Hans Hotter, Astrid Varnay, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gustav Neidlinger / Bayreuth Festival Orchestra / Joseph Keilberth [ Testament / 4 CD - released 1/Mar/2006 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD WINNER 2006: Historic - "I keep relistening to Keilberth's forging scene closing Act I. Keilberth naturally unfolds the lyrical strength of full rich Bayreuth strings, basses and timps deepen and gather force, Mime animates... |
SCHOENBERG
Moses und Aaron Franz Grundheber, Andreas Conrad, Johanna Winkel, Katharina Persicke / SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg & EuropaChorAkademie, Sylvain Ca [ Hanssler SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 30/Jan/2015 ] "This imposing, intriguing opera is one of the most powerful contributions to 20th-century musical modernism and this recording does it justice." (Gramophone Award Nomination 2015 - Opera) |
AGOSTINO STEFFANI
Steffani: Niobe Regina di Tebe (complete opera) Karina Gauvin, Philippe Jaroussky, Amanda Forsythe, Aaron Sheehan / Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs [ Erato / Warner Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 18/Jan/2015 ] "The performance is never forced but always emotive...An exemplary testament of superb musicianship from all participants...this is a landmark event in Steffani's much-deserved rehabilitation." (Gramophone Magazine Award Nomination 2015 Baroque Vocal |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Partenope, HWV 27 (complete opera) Karina Gauvin, Philippe Jaroussky, John Mark Ainsley, Teresa Iervolino / Il Pomo d'Oro, Riccardo Minasi [ Erato / Virgin Records / 3 CD Box Set - released 5/Nov/2015 ] Handel's sparkling opera Partenope reunites Erato' star countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and the captivating Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin, who both made such an impact in the Erato recording of Steffani's rediscovered opera Niobe, released in early... |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Lohengrin [complete opera] Klaus Florian Vogt, Annette Dasch, Susanne Resmark / Rundfunkchor Berlin & Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Marek Janowski [ Pentatone SACD / 3 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Opera |
ALBAN BERG
Berg: Lulu (complete opera recorded in 2012) La Monnaie, Brussels / Barbara Hannigan (Lulu), Natascha Petrinsky, Tom Randle, Dietrich Henschel / Paul Daniel (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Aug/2014 ] "It's a comparatively rare occurrence to encounter a performance on the opera stage that has such a magnetic visual and physical impact as Barbara Hannigan's portrayal of Berg's tragic heroine." (Gramophone Award Nomination 2015 - Opera) |
ANTONIO SALIERI
Salieri: Armida Lenneke Ruiten, Teresa Iervolino, Florie Valiquette, Ashley Riches / Les Talens Lyriques, Chœur de Chambre de Namur, Christophe Rousset [ Aparte / 2 CD - released 22/Jan/2021 ] GRAMOPHONE Award Nomination 2021 - Opera |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Ottone (complete opera) Max Emanuel Cencic, Lauren Snouffer, Pavel Kudinov, Ann Hallenberg / Il Pomo d'Oro, George Petrou [ Decca / 3 CD Box Set - released 11/Sep/2017 ] "this new recording is emphatically the version to have of an opera whose dramatic flaws are redeemed by magnificent individual scenes and any number of good tunes." Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice, September 2017 |
LEONARDO VINCI
Vinci: Artaserse (complete opera) Max Emanuel Cencic, Philippe Jaroussky, Franco Fagioli, Valer Barna-Sabadus / Concerto Köln, Diego Fasolis [ Erato / 3 CD Box Set - released 25/Jan/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Baroque Vocal |
THOMAS ADES
Ades: The Exterminating Angel (complete opera recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Metropolitan Opera / Audrey Luna, Amanda Echalaz, Sally Matthews, Sophie Bevan, Alice Coote, Christine Rice, Iestyn Davies / Thomas Ades (cond) [ Erato Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 20/Feb/2019 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 - Contemporary |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte (Complete opera) Miah Persson, Angela Brower, Rolando Villazón, Mojca Erdmann / Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin [ Deutsche Grammophon / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Aug/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD NOMINATION 2014 |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Les Troyens (complete opera recorded in 2012) Royal Opera House, Bryan Hymel, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Eva-Maria Westbroek / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Nov/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD NOMINATION 2014 |