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W. A. MOZART
Die Zauberflote [The Magic Flue] (completeopera recorded in 2014) BLU-RAY Dutch National Opera / Maximilian Schmitt, Christina Landshamer, Thomas Oliemans, Brindley Sherratt, Íride Martínez / Marc Albrecht (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/May/2015 ] "Subtle touches ease what we now find chauvinist and racist in the original...Ingenious. Recommended." (Gramophone Blu-ray of the Month May 2015) |
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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame (complete opera recorded in 2017) Dutch National Opera / Misha Didyk, Alexey Markov, Vladimir Stoyanov / Mariss Jansons (cond) [ C Major DVD / DVD - released 1/Jun/2018 ] "Musically, standards are extremely high, led by Mariss Jansons's inspired presence in the pit...Aksenova sings a steely Lisa...Diadkova is remarkable as the Countess - singing rather than growling her role." Gramophone |
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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... |
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ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak: Rusalka Chorus of Dutch National Opera, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Joana Mallwitz (conductor) [ Naxos / DVD - released 11/Sep/2026 ] With its wonderfully poetic and sensual score, Rusalka is Antonín DvoĆák's most beloved opera, filled with musical effects that evoke the beauty and magic of a world inhabited by nymphs and water sprites. Jaroslav Kvapil's libretto is based on a... |
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ANTONIN DVOARK
Dvorak: Symphonic Poems [Incls 'The Golden Spinning Wheel'] Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stephen Gunzenhauser [ Naxos / CD ] "Gunzenhauser gives warm, vivid performances." Penguin Guide |
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EDUARDAS BALSYS
Eduardas: Violin Concerto No. 1 / Dramatic Frescoes / Reflections of the Sea Dzeraldas Bidva (violin), Indre Baikstyte (piano), Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas [ Ondine / CD - released 2/Apr/2021 ] This new album introduces to international audience the music of Eduardas Balsys (1919-1984), a key figure in Lithuania's music from the 1950s until his death in 1984. This album release by the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by... |
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RICHARD STRAUSS
Strauss, (R,): Symphony No. 2, Op. 12 / Romanze in F major / Six Songs, Op. 68 Eileen Hulse (soprano) Raphael Wallfisch (cello) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Neeme Jarvi (conductor) [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 12/Oct/2004 ] 'Järvis Strauss series is an important set of recordings that will hold an honoured place alongside Chandos Prokofiev and Bax cycles.' Fanfare |
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ARTHUR SULLIVAN
Sullivan: The Beauty Stone (complete opera) Elin Manahan Thomas, Toby Spence, Rebecca Evans, Alan Opie, Stephen Gadd, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Richard Suart / BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Rory [ Chandos Classics / 2 CD - released 15/Nov/2013 ] "It has never been recorded by professional singers before, and Rory Macdonald seems to have prepared with academic scrupulousness...it's very strongly cast, too, but there's no sense of an important rediscovery here." (Guardian) |
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GIACOMO MEYERBEER
Meyerbeer: L'étoile du nord (complete opera) Elizabeth Futral, Darina Takova, Agnete Munk Rasmussen, Patrizia Cigna, Juan Diego Flórez / National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Vladimir Jurowski [ Naxos / 3 CD Box Set - released 13/May/2022 ] After composing a spectacular series of grand operas for the Paris Opéra, Meyerbeer turned to two comic operas with spoken dialogue. One of these was L'Étoile du Nord ('The North Star'). |
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ALVARS / ALBRECHTSBERGER / SAINT-SAENS
Harp Concertos Elizabeth Hainen (harp) / Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra / Rossen Milanov [ Avie Records / CD - released 2/May/2011 ] "a complete harpist who knows and uses her instrument's strength and brilliance and strikes its fire" - Miami Herald |
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LEOS JANACEK
Janacek: Jenufa (Complete opera in English) Elizabeth Vaughan; Nigel Robson; Dame Josephine Barstow / Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera. Sir Charles Mackerras [ Chandos / 2 CD - released 1/May/2004 ] "In the hands of that master Janácek conductor, Sir Charles Mackerras, this English-language recording puts a finger on the work's pulse: it's a truly magnificent achievement." - Editor's Choice Gramophone magazine (August 2004) |
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EDGARD VARESE
Orchestral Works Vol 2 (Incls 'Ameriques' & 'Ionisation') Elizabeth Watts (soprano) Maria Grochowska (flute) Thomas Bloch (Ondes MArtenot) / Polish National Orchestra / Christopher Lyndon-Gee [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Jun/2008 ] "An excellent disc, which serves as a welcome introduction to the work of this largely under-valued composer. Varèse's music divulges a creative genius who was undoubtedly a long way ahead of his time, and one can only listen in awe at his work. The... |
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SAMUEL BARBER
Barber: Vanessa (complete opera) Ellen Chickering (soprano) / Andrea Matthews (soprano) / Marion Dry (contralto) / Ray Bauwens, tenor / Ukranian National Capella Dumka / Gil Rose [ Naxos American Opera Classics / 2 CD - released 1/Jan/2007 ] "...the all-American cast of a recent Boston revival is vocally more than adequate and dramatically convincing, while the conductor of that revival draws full-blooded playing from the excellent Ukranian orchestra...this set is a valuable account of... |
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JOHN PICKARD
Pickard: Symphonies 2 & 6; Verlaine Songs Emma Tring (soloist) BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martyn Brabbins [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/May/2024 ] John Pickard is best known for his powerful orchestral and instrumental works, and his music has been widely praised for its large-scale sense of architecture and bold handling of an extended tonal idiom. This recording brings together three works... |
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ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
Airlines (LP) Emmanuel Pahud (flute) / Orchestre National de France, Florentino Calvo, Myriam Lafargue, Alexandre Desplat [ Warner Classics / LP - released 28/Aug/2020 ] With Airlines, supreme instrumentalist, flautist Emmanuel Pahud, takes the music of an Oscar-winning film composer, Alexandre Desplat, into new realms. The album is entirely devoted to world premiere recordings - of original concert works and of... |
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ADOLPHE ADAM
Adam: Le Corsaire (complete ballet recorded August 2014) English National Ballet / Alina Cojocaru, Vadim Muntagirov, Erina Takahashi / Gavin Sutherland (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/May/2015 ] Set in the exotic surroundings of the Ottoman Empire and with a narrative encompassing abduction, murder and shipwreck, Le Corsaire is a swashbuckling pirate drama that delights for its spectacular nature and which includes some of the most bravura... |
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ADOLPHE ADAM
Le Corsaire (complete ballet recorded August 2014) BLU-RAY English National Ballet / Alina Cojocaru, Vadim Muntagirov, Erina Takahashi / Gavin Sutherland (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/May/2015 ] Set in the exotic surroundings of the Ottoman Empire and with a narrative encompassing abduction, murder and shipwreck, Le Corsaire is a swashbuckling pirate drama that delights for its spectacular nature and which includes some of the most bravura... |
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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) |
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BENJAMIN BRITTEN
The Rape of Lucretia (complete opera recorded in 2001) English National Opera / Sarah Connolly, Christopher Maltman, Catherine Wyn-Rogers / Paul Daniel (conductor) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 25/Nov/2013 ] Sarah Connolly's 'outstanding' (The Guardian) portrayal of the wronged Roman noblewoman, written originally for Kathleen Ferrier, lies at the heart of David McVicar's powerfully stark production for English National Opera as 'an everyday sort of... |
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GUILLAUME CONNESSON
Cosmic Trilogy / The Shining One Eric le Sage (piano) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Stephane Deneve [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Jan/2010 ] "If there's another living composer who combines fantasy with shimmering orchestral virtuosity as brilliantly as Guillaume Connesson, I've yet to hear him." (Daily Telegraph) |