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 |