VARIOUS COMPOSERS
The King's Singers - When You Wish Upon a Star: 100 Years of Disney Songs The King's Singers, with Joyce DiDonato (mezzo), Pene Pati (tenor), Pene Pati (tenor), Edgar Moreau (cello), Lucienne Renaudin Vary (trumpet) [ Warner Classics / CD - released 28/Apr/2023 ] Featuring songs from Disney's most iconic animated films from every decade, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937 through the hits of 2020 |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette / Cléopâtre Joyce DiDonato (mezzo) / Cyrille Dubois (ten), Christopher Maltman (bar) / Coro Gulbenkian, Chœur de l'OnR, Philharmonique de Strasbourg, John Nelson [ Erato / Warner Classics / 2 CD - released 31/Mar/2023 ] "What makes Hector Berlioz such a great composer?", asks conductor John Nelson. "In one word, originality ... He broke all existing traditions of orchestration, structure, harmonic language and storytelling. Even today, his music is fresh, surprising... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Theodora (complete oratorio) Lisette Oropesa, Joyce DiDonato, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, Michael Spyres, John Chest / Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev [ Erato / 3 CD Box Set - released 18/Nov/2022 ] BBC Music Magazine Award Nomination 2023 - Choral |
IVES / MAHLER / COPLAND / CAVALLI / GLUCK / HANDEL / MYSLIVECEK / etc
Joyce DiDonato - Eden Joyce DiDonato (mezzo) / Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev [ Erato Classics / Warner Classics / CD - released 25/Jan/2022 ] "I'm brought to tearful wonder by the album's close. DiDonato's farewell, 'Ombra mai fù' from Handel's Serse, is a performance so beautiful that it makes your insides ache." Gramophone Editor's Choice March 2022 |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Winterreise Joyce DiDonato (mezzo) Yannick Nézet-Séguin (piano) [ Erato Classics / Warner Classics / CD - released 22/Oct/2021 ] "Her quieter word paintings, ushering in pained memories, can be exquisite. When cold winds arrive, we shiver on cue. And the last song, with the organ-grinder grinding away unheeded on the ice, is as devastating as ever." The Times |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Ariodante (complete opera) Joyce DiDonato, Karina Gauvin, Sabina Puertolas, Marie Nicole-Lemieux / Il Complesso Barocco / Alan Curtis [ Erato Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 7/May/2021 ] |
JACK HEGGIE
Heggie: Great Scott (complete opera recorded in 2015) Dallas Opera / Joyce DiDonato, Ailyn Perez, Frederica von Stade, Anthony Roth Costanzo / Patrick Summers (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics DVD / DVD - released 12/Mar/2021 ] WQXR, the USA's leading classical music radio station, welcomed as a "deeply moving and musically brilliant work" that "should enter the standard repertory just as Heggie's two previous masterpieces - Dead Man Walking and Moby-Dick - already have". |
Joyce Manor
Songs From Northern Torrance Ltd (LP) [ Epitaph / LP - released 23/Oct/2020 ] This 10-track compilation is a collection of early material that offers a glimpse into the acclaimed Joyce Manor's humble beginnings as an acoustic two-piece. Originally recorded between 2008-2010, many of the tracks have become fan favourites... |
SIR ARTHUR BLISS
Sir Arthur Bliss: the Decca Originals Eileen Joyce (piano) Alfredo Campoli (violin) Griller Quartet (string quartet), Colin Hampton (cello), Philip Burton (viola) / Sir Arthur Bliss, Muir [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 19/Jun/2020 ] "This is a convenient, well-transferred compilation of some of the finest performances of music by a still-underrated composer. Bliss's version of the Colour Symphony is better paced than many of its successors." BBC Music |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Classical Masterpieces [3 CD set] Alexandre Tharaud, Joyce DiDonato, Natalie Dessay, Martha Argerich, Philippe Jaroussky, George Li, Edgar Moreau, John Nelson, David Fray, etc [ Warner Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] A wealth of classical masterpieces … All-time favourites and tempting discoveries that span musical eras from the baroque right up to the present day … Moods that range from tranquil and reflective to fast and furious … |
BRAHMS / DVORAK / HAHN / STRAUSS / etc
Morgen: Songs For Cello & Piano Andrew Joyce (cello), Rae de Lisle (piano) [ Atoll Records / CD - released 28/Feb/2020 ] The return of one of New Zealand's favourite pianists. This is a special album for Rae de Lisle, who has created it with her son-in law Andrew (NZSO's Principal Cello) and daughter Julia (Principal Viola with the NZSO). |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Agrippina (complete opera) Joyce DiDonato, Elsa Benoit, Biagio Pizzuti, Franco Fagioli, Andrea Mastroni, Jakub Józef OrliĆski / l Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev [ Erato Classics / 3 CD - released 31/Jan/2020 ] "With DiDonato nonpareil in the title-role and a uniformly strong cast, this now becomes a first choice for Handel's Venetian masterpiece." Gramophone Awards 2020 WINNER - Opera |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust Michael Spyres, Joyce DiDonato, Nicolas Courjal, Alexandre Duhamel / Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, John Nelson [ Erato / Warner Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 22/Nov/2019 ] "The most dramatic piece that Berlioz ever wrote," is how conductor John Nelson describes La Damnation de Faust. The composer designated this thrilling hybrid of oratorio and opera a 'légende dramatique'. Following in the triumphant footsteps of Les... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
100 Piano Masterpieces Frank Braley, Paul Lewis, Alexander Melnikov, Olga Kern, Javier Perianes, Alain Planes, Beatrice Rana, Joyce Yang, etc [ Harmonia Mundi / 6 CD Box Set - released 30/Aug/2019 ] "It's an appealing package of six discs, each with a brightly-coloured sleeve. Equally colourful is the music selection, which features a veritable royal family of keyboard stars." BBC Music |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: L'Ange de Nisida (complete opera) Joyce El-Khoury, David Junghoon Kim, Laurent Naouri, Vito Priante / Royal Opera Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Sir Mark Elder [ Opera Rara / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Mar/2019 ] Opera Rara presents, 179 years after it was written, the world premiere recording of a Donizetti 'lost' masterpiece, restored and brought thrillingly back to life. Written in 1839 for the Theâtre de la Renaissance in Paris, rehearsals started but the... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Songplay Joyce DiDonato (mezzo) with Craig Terry (keyboard), Chuck Israels (dble-bass), Jimmy Madison (drums), Lautaro Greco (bandoneon), Charlie Porter (trum) [ Erato Classics / Warner Classics / CD - released 10/Feb/2019 ] "The real twist here is that DiDonato retains the 'formality' of her operatic sound and delivery while attempting to apply a jazzer's instincts." Gramophone |
DONIZETTI / MEYERBEER / ROSSINI / HALEVY / BERLIOZ / etc
Écho Joyce El-Khoury (soprano), Michael Spyres (tenor) / The Hallé, Carlo Rizzi [ Opera Rara / CD - released 10/Feb/2019 ] "El-Khoury supplies firm, sensitively coloured tone and technical finish in everything she does...she is nigh-on technically immaculate as well as remarkably eloquent" Opera |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Fantastique Berlioz [3 CD set] Simon Rattle, Renaud Capuçon, .Leonard Bernstein, Kent Nagano, Joyce DiDonato, Riccardo Muti, John Barbirolli, Louis Fremaux, Janet Baker, etc [ Erato / Warner Classics / 3 CD - released 10/Feb/2019 ] Hector Berlioz, France's greatest Romantic composer, exemplifies the spirit of his age - yet his genius was also ahead of its time. Reflecting his colourful life, his music is astonishing for its originality and ambition, and for orchestration of... |
GEORGE GERSHWIN / COLE PORTER / ROGERS & HAMMERSTEIN / etc
The Best Of The John Wilson Orchestra The John Wilson Orchestra, with Kim Criswell, Louise Dearman, Joyce DiDonato, Anne-Jane Casey & others [ Warner classics / 2 CD - released 5/Dec/2018 ] The Best of The John Wilson Orchestra - a double-album celebrating a decade of BBC Proms performances with a selection of hit songs and music from Hollywood's greatest movie musicals. Featuring Seth MacFarlane, Curtis Stigers, Joyce DiDonato plus a... |
VINCENZO BELLINI
Bellini:Norma (complete opera recorded in 2017) Metropolitan Opera / Joyce DiDonato, Sondra Radvanovsky, Joseph Calleja, Matthew Rose / Carlo Rizzi (cond) [ Erato DVD / 2 DVD - released 15/Nov/2018 ] In 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 pyre. |