GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Lucia Di Lammermoor (complete opera recorded in 1971) Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge [ Decca 2 CDs plus Blu-ray audio & Libretto / 3 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Jun/2019 ] Remastered in ultra-high quality 96kHz/24-bit audio at Abbey Road Studios in 2014 under the supervision of long-term Decca balance engineer Philip Siney. |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Rigoletto (complete opera recorded in 1971) 2 CDs plus Blu-ray audio Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Huguette Tourangeau / London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge [ Decca 2 CDs plus Blu-ray audio / 3 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 27/Sep/2019 ] "May I say straight away that quite apart from the splendid contributions of Sutherland and Milnes, Pavarotti's Duke has a special flair with free and characterful vocalising which is one of the great strengths of the set." Gramophone |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Complete Opera recorded in 1961) Remastered CDs plus Blu-ray audio Birgit Nilsson, Fritz Uhl, Regina Resnik / Wiener Philharmoniker / Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Records CD + Blu-ray audio / 4 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Jul/2019 ] "Working with Georg Solti in the studio, as well as on stage, was extremely rewarding for me … I treasure our collaboration as one of the most stimulating in my whole career" (Birgit Nilsson) |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Fidelio (Complete Opera recorded in 1978) [Remastered CDs plus Blu-ray Audio] Gundula Janowitz, Lucia Popp, Rene Kollo, Hans Sotin, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Manfred Jungwirth / Wiener Philharmoniker, Leonard Bernstein [ Deutsche Grammophon Remasteres CDs plus Blu-ray audio / 3 CD Box Set - released 15/Aug/2019 ] "The set has a lot to recommend it: strong atmosphere, plentiful musical detail, dialogue to appreciate, real characters and much fine singing." (Gramophone) |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore (complete opera recorded in 1971) [2 CDs plus Blu-ray audio] Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge [ Decca 2 CDs plus Blu-ray audio / 3 CD Box Set - released 27/Sep/2019 ] "The "L'elisir" set was one of the loveliest things Sutherland ever did on record . . . As Donizetti's Adina she is charming -- touching, exuberant, virtuoso (her coloratura is astounding), and always very human." (Gramophone) |
JOHANN STRAUSS II
Strauss, (J.): Die Fledermaus (Complete operetta) [2 CDs plus Blu-ray audio] Julia Varady, Lucia Popp, Hermann Prey / Bavarian State Opera Orchestra / Carlos Kleiber [ Deutsche Grammophon 2 CDs + Blu-ray audio / 3 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 25/Nov/2019 ] "Twenty-five years after its original release there's still no recording of Die Fledermaus that, for many collectors, matches this one for the compelling freshness of its conductor's interpretation " Gramophone |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Parsifal (Complete Opera recorded in 1973) [4 CDs + Blu-ray audio] Rena Kollo, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christa Ludwig, Zoltan Kelemen, Gottlob Frick / Wiener Philharmoniker [Vienna Philharmonic], Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Records / 5 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Apr/2018 ] This recording of Parsifal was the first studio recording of the work. A stellar cast is assembled with René Kollo as Parsifal, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Amfortas and Christa Ludwig as Kundry. |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande (complete opera) Christian Gerhaher, Magdalena Kožená, Bernarda Fink, Franz-Josef Selig / London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle [ LSO Live SACD + BLU-RAY AUDIO / 4 Hybrid SACD - released 6/Dec/2017 ] "Rattle maintains both a clear pulse in individual scenes and a through line which positively celebrates Debussy's and Maeterlinck's radical intercutting of scenes of varied physical and emotional locations in the central acts." Gramophoe |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: La Traviata (Complete Opera) [2 CDs plus Blu-ray audio] Ileana Cotrubas, Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes / Bayerisches Staatsorchester. Carlos Kleiber (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon CDs plus Blu-ray audio / 3 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jul/2017 ] "[Kleiber] is fresh and vibrant, detailed but never fussy, heartfelt but never indulgent … This set's probably still difficult to beat when it comes to studio recordings in (good) stereo sound, and it's a 'classic' in its own right." Gramophone |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro, K492 [The Marriage of Figaro] (complete opera) [plus Blu-ray audio] Fanie Antonelou, Christian van Horn, Simone Kermes, Andrei Bondarenko / MusicAeterna, Teodor Currentzis [ Sony Classics / 4 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Aug/2017 ] "Currentzis's cast has a character and blend of its own. A premium has been put on crackling recitative, deft vocalisation (limited vibrato) and dramatic truthfulness: the sense of ensemble is palpable." Financial Times, 14th February 2014 *****t |
PUCCINI
Turandot (Complete Opera) Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballe, Nicolai Ghiaurov / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta [ Decca Records CD + Blu-ray audio / 3 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 17/Feb/2015 ] 2CDs+High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc containing the complete opera at 24-Bit |