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 |