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 |
KAIJA SAARIAHO
Saariaho: Only the Sound Remains (complete opera recorded in 2016) BLU-RAY Dutsch National Opera / Philippe Jaroussky (counter-tenor), Davóne Tines (baritone) / André De Ridder (conductor) & Peter Sellars (stage director) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 15/Nov/2017 ] This DVD and Blu-ray derive from the world premiere performances, at the Dutch National Opera in 2016, of Only the Sound Remains, a Japanese-inspired double bill by Kaija Saariaho. Her first opera, L'Amour de loin, has captivated audiences around the... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Alcina (complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Festival Aix-en-Provence / Patricia Petibon, Philippe Jaroussky, Anna Prohaska, Katarina Bradic / Andrea Marcon (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Jul/2016 ] 'The direction of the singers is outstanding' (BBC DVD/Blu-ray of the Month September 2016) |
HANDEL / LEO / PURCELL / GESUALDO / STRAUSS
In War & Peace - Harmony Through Music (recorded in Barcelona, June 2017) Joyce DiDonato (mezzo) / Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev [ Erato DVD / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/May/2018 ] ""DiDonato sings with poise and elegance, a few pitchy notes above the stave notwithstanding; her sorrow and passion are clear to see and appreciate - it is an incredibly giving performance." Opera Now |
HANDEL / LEO / PURCELL / GESUALDO / STRAUSS
In War & Peace - Harmony Through Music (recorded in Barcelona, June 2017) BLU-RAY Joyce DiDonato (mezzo) / Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev [ Erato Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Apr/2018 ] "DiDonato sings with poise and elegance, a few pitchy notes above the stave notwithstanding; her sorrow and passion are clear to see and appreciate - it is an incredibly giving performance." Opera Now |
WAGNER
Tristan und Isolde (Complete opera recorded live in 2007) BLU-RAY La Scala Opera / Waltraud Meier, Ian Storey, Gerd Grochowski, Matti Salminen / Daniel Barenboim (conductor) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 16/Nov/2015 ] "The gaudiest event of the opera season in Europe, La Scala's opener on Dec. 7 was a sublime new version of Tristan und Isolde directed by Patrice Chéreau under the baton of the house's new principal guest conductor, Daniel Barenboim." New York Times |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: La finta giardiniera, K196 (complete opera sung in Italian recorded in 2014) BLU-RAY Le Concert d'Astrée / Carlo Allemano, Erin Morley, Enea Scala, Marie-Adeline Henry / Emmanuelle Haim (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jun/2015 ] The French conductor Emmanuelle Haïm conducts here her music ensemble Le Concert d'Astrée during this performance of Mozart's La Finta Giardiniera at the Opéra de Lille (France) on March 22nd and 25th 2014. This production, directed by David Lescot |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Rodelinda (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY Le Concert d'Astrée / Jeanine de Bique, Jakub Józef OrliĆski, Tim Mead, Benjamin Hulett, Avery Amereau / Emmanuelle Haim (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 5/Nov/2019 ] With this Blu-ray of Rodelinda, one of Handel's most emotionally complex operas, conductor Emmanuelle Haïm adds to her impressive Erato catalogue of the composer's works. The imaginative production, by Jean Bellorini, was seen at the Opéra de Lille... |
MICHEL LEGRAND / JACQUES DEMY
Legrand: Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) BLU-RAY Châtelet Theatre, Paris / Marie Oppert, Natalie Dessay, Vincent Niclo, Laurent Naouri / Michel Legrand (cond) [ Warner Erato Classics Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 11/May/2015 ] Recorded live at Paris' Châtelet Theatre in Autumn 2014, this is a magical stage adaptation of Jacques Demy's iconic 1964 film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg). Michel Legrand conducts a 75-piece symphony orchestra in his own... |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de Perles [The Pearl Fishers] (complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Metropolitan Opera / Diana Damrau, Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecien, Nicolas Teste / Gianandrea Noseda (cond) [ Erato Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 24/Jan/2017 ] "The Met has thrown everything they have at Les Pêcheurs de Perles. The current new production, shared with English National Opera, serves in New York as a vehicle for star soprano Diana Damrau." The Guardian |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Maria Stuarda (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Metropolitan Opera / Joyce DiDonato, Elza van den Heever, Matthew Polenzani, Matthew Rose / Maurizio Benini (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 16/Nov/2015 ] On New Year's Eve 2012 Joyce DiDonato became the first singer to take the title role in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda at New York's Metropolitan Opera. With her at its heart, the production became, in the words of Opera magazine, "a high point of the... |
VINCENZO BELLINI
Bellini:Norma (complete opera recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Metropolitan Opera / Joyce DiDonato, Sondra Radvanovsky, Joseph Calleja, Matthew Rose / Carlo Rizzi (cond) [ Erato Blu-ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc - released 15/Nov/2018 ] To open the Met's 2017-18 season, powerhouse soprano Sondra Radvanovsky tackled one of opera's most fearsome roles, the title druid priestess of Bellini's Norma, who wrestles with love and betrayal before making the ultimate sacrifice on a funeral... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: La Traviata (Complete opera recorded in 2014) BLU-RAY Paris Opera / Diana Damrau, Francesco Demuro, Ludovic Tézier / Francesco Ivan Ciampa (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 4/Sep/2015 ] "Violetta is played by Diana Damrau, a soprano of matchless intelligence. Technically, she is perfectly at ease in a role that has sometimes been described as demanding too much of one singer." Guardian |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia [The Barber of Seville] (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Florez, Pietro Spagnoli, Ferruccio Furlanetto / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Nov/2015 ] "The Royal Opera's cheerful and colourful new production of Rossini's most popular work is a copper- bottomed hit." The Daily Telegraph |
FRANCIS POULENC
Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmélites (Complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Théâtre des Champs-Elysées / Patricia Petibon, Sophie Koch, Véronique Gens, Sandrine Piau / Jérémie Rhorer (cond) [ Warner Erato Classics Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 15/Feb/2015 ] "[Plowright's] performance has a dramatic veracity that is disturbing in the extreme...Long sceptical about the piece, I was completely won over - the highest complement I can pay it." The Guardian |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore (complete opera recorded in 2005) BLU-RAY Vienna State Opera / Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, Leo Nucci, Ildebrando D´Arcangelo / Alfred Eschwé (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Nov/2015 ] Theatrical magic between Rolando Villazón and Anna Netrebko in Donizetti's delightful and ever-popular comedy L'elisir d'amore |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Cantatas Aleksei Tanovitski (bass) & Kostiantin Andrejev (tenor) / Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Narva Boys Choir & Estonian Concert Choir, Paavo Järvi [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 20/Jun/2015 ] "Järvi's Estonians perform with fervour and the Razin makes the issue worthwhile." (Sunday Times) |
FREDERIC CHOPIN
Chopin: Journal Intime Alexandre Tharaud (piano) [ Erato Classics / CD - released 22/Feb/2010 ] "memorably refined and stylish performances...Here, as so often with Tharaud, there is an aristocratic balance of sense and sensibility, though his brilliant fury in the Second Ballade's Presto storm is breathtaking" Gramophone |
ALEXANDER SCARLATTI
Scarlatti: Alexandre Tharaud plays Scarlatti Alexandre Tharaud (piano) [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 20/Mar/2011 ] "Tharaud brings all of the resources of the modern grand piano to Scarlatti's music and is unapologetically pianistic in his approach." (Recording of the Month MusicWeb March 2011) |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Alexandre Tharaud - Le poète du piano Alexandre Tharaud (piano) with various orchestras & conductors [ Erato / 3 CD - released 23/Oct/2020 ] Thirty years of recording. A discography built from stones of many different, and sometimes clashing, colours, but a discography with a broad and solid structure, a kind of self-portrait. |