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BIZET / VERDI / OFFENBACH / PUCCINI / BOITO / etc
Joseph Calleja - The Maltese Tenor Joseph Calleja (tenor) L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marco Armiliato, with Aleksandra Kurzak, soprano [ Decca Music Group / CD - released 26/May/2011 ] "Calleja's timbre, brilliant, caressing, keenly focused, is entirely individual...All in all, this is a fine calling-card for a tenor, still only in his early thirties, on the threshold of greatness, during a transition phase of his career. The... |
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ERASMUS van ROTTERDAM
Erasmus van Rotterdam: In Praise of Folly La Capella Reial de Catalunya & Hespèrion XXI, Jordi Savall [ Alia Vox 3 SACD set with large book / 6 Hybrid SACD - released 20/Jan/2013 ] "This is another outstanding release from Alia Vox...The singing and playing of La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hesperion XXI display, as usual, an exemplary combination of stylistic awareness, passion and panache." Sunday Times |
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BUXTEHUDE
Membra Jesu Nostri La Chapelle Rhenane / La Maitrise de Garcons de Colmar / Benoit Haller [ K617 Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 20/May/2008 ] "One long oration in music" is how the musicologist Gilles Cantagrel describes this cycle, unique in Buxtehude's output. These meditations on the 'Seven Words of Christ on the cross' possess a truly mystic dimension.This performance by Benoît Haller... |
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FELIX MENDELSSOHN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mendelssohn: Psaume [Psalms]s La Chapelle Royale, Collegium Vocale, Philippe Herreweghe, with Peter Kooy (baritone), Eiddwen Harrhy (soprano), Hervé Lamy (tenor) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 10/May/1988 ] "Elegant and fluent singing" - Gramophone |
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La Fonte Musica; Michele Pasotti
Zacara da Teramo: Enigma Fortuna (Complete Works) [ Alpha Classics / 4 CD - released 27/Aug/2021 ] In this recording entitled Enigma Fortuna, the ensemble La Fonte Musica, directed by Michele Pasotti, aims to shed light on the mysterious and eccentric personality of Antonio Zacara da Teramo (1355-1416). A contemporary of Boccaccio, Donatello and... |
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GIUSEPPE TARTINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tartini: Trio Sonatas / Violin Sonatas Op 2 and Op 6 La Magnifica Communita with Enrico Casazza (violin) [ Brilliant Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2008 ] Giuseppe Tartini's best-known work must be his sonata for violin 'Devil's trill'. Now meet the virtually unknown Tartini on these three CD's. |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Il Trovatore (complete opera recorded in 2012) La Monnaie de Munt / Misha Didyk, Marina Poplavskaya, Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo, Scott Hendricks / Marc Minkowski (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques DVD / DVD - released 20/Dec/2014 ] Stage Direction, Set Design, Costumes: Dmitri Tcherniakov After the success of 'Rigoletto', Verdi called on librettist Salvadore Cammarano in 1851 for his new opera 'Il Trovatore', based on the eponymous play by Spanish playwright Antonio García... |
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BROSSARD / CARISSIMI / CHARPENTIER
Sacrifices La Nuova Musica, David Bates [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 15/Sep/2014 ] "To these affecting narratives (separated by instrumental interludes by De Brossard), La Nuova Musicabring superbly straight tone, unerring tuning and plangent phrasing." The Observer, 20th July 2014 **** |
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JOSEF HAYDN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Haydn: Symphonies Nos 90 & 91 La Petite Bande, Sigiswald kuijken [ Virgin Veritas / CD - released 22/Mar/1995 ] "The performances of both symphonies are energetic, and thoughtful; the sound is outstanding." Review |
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WEIDEMAN / SAMMARTINI / HANDEL / OSWALD / CASTRUCCI
London Circa 1740: (suite de London 1720, 20 years later…) La Rêveuse, Florence Bolton & Benjamin Perrot [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 18/Aug/2023 ] For this new instalment of their series devoted to British music of the eighteenth century, the musicians of La Rêveuse take us to London in the 1740s. The leading Italian and German virtuosos Handel invited to play in his orchestra brought a... |
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GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Maria Stuarda (complete opera recorded in 2008) La Scala Opera / Anna Caterina Antonacci / Mariella Devia / Paola Gardina / Antonino Fogliani (con) [ Arthaus Musik / DVD - released 1/Apr/2009 ] Two queens on one island. A recipe for disaster. Especially as both have a legitimate claim to the other's throne. They are, after all, related… So the power politics are the name of the game. And, for reasons of state, one of the heads that wears a... |
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NICOLA VACCAJ
Vaccaj: Giulietta e Romeo (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY La Scala Opera / Bruno Taddia, Filippo Morace, Laura Giordano, Pietro Adaini / Federico Maria Sardelli (cond) [ Dynamic Blu-Ray / Blu-ray - released 1/Aug/2019 ] "Raffaella Lupinacci's characterful, fruity mezzo is matched by detailed and lively acting, and Leonor Bonilla brings a bright, elegant soprano and oodles of charm to Giulietta." Gramophone DVD/Blu-ray of the Month July 2019 |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: I vespri Siciliani (complete opera recorded in 1990) La Scala Opera / Giorgio Zancanaro, Enzo Capuano, Chris Merritt, Cheryl Studer / Riccardo Muti (cond) [ Opus Arte / Rai Trade / La Scala Collection DVD / DVD - released 25/Dec/2015 ] Verdi's 1855 Paris opera which followed Rigoletto, Il trovatore and La Traviata is treated to a performance of blazing energy and intimate refinement with a superb cast which includes Cheryl Studer and Chris Merritt. |
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TELEMANN / PISENDEL / BACH / VIVALDI / BRESCIANELLO
The Godfather: Master Of the German & Italian Baroque La Serenissima, Adrian Chandler [ Signum / CD - released 15/Nov/2019 ] "Already riding high in the classical charts, and with a very favourable mention on BBC Radio 3's Essential Classics, The Godfather is yet another hit from Adrian Chandler and La Serenissima." MusicWeb Recommended |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Bomba Flamenca La Tempête, Simon-Pierre Bestion [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 24/Apr/2026 ] Simon-Pierre Bestion immerses us in the world of Charles V and a Spain marked by Arab-Andalusian culture. From 1515 onwards, Spain also welcomed musicians and singers from Flanders: this Capilla flamenca had an explosive effect on Spanish music... |
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GEORG FREDERIC HANDEL / GIOVANNI BONONCINI / ATTILIO ARIOSTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: A Royal Trio: Arias & Scenes Lawrence Zazzo (counter-tenor) / La Nuova Musica, David Bates [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 29/Oct/2014 ] "This is an accomplished recital from both singer and orchestra, the latter playing freshly under Bates's direction in a programme which contains some rarely heard music." International Record Review, November 2014 |
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FRANZ LISZT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Liszt: Piano works Lise de la Salle (piano) [ Naive / CD - released 1/May/2011 ] "de la Salle gives us a Liszt recital of astonishing strength, poetry and, for one so young, musical maturity." Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine, September 2011 |
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CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: La Mer / Nocturnes L'Orchestre De La Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet [ IMP / CD - released 29/Aug/2011 ] "The richness of the strings is displayed here beautifully for fans of the classical Golden Age - it's practically impossible to hear that kind of string sound on any recording made in the last thirty years" On The Record |
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MAURICE RAVEL / CLAUDE DEBUSSY / IGOR STRAVINSKY
Ernest Ansermet and the Ballets Russes L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet [ Decca ABC Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2018 ] A generous collection of classic Decca stereo recordings, illuminating the idiomatic sympathy of the Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet for ballet music and specifically the scores commissioned by Serge Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes. |
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GLINKA / BORODIN / MUSSORGSKY / PROKOFIEV
Ansermet In Russia (recorded 1952-54) L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 10/Oct/2018 ] Russian music was always a fundamental part of Ansermet's vast repertoire. Of course, he spent seven years as conductor with the famous Ballets Russes during a particularly glorious period for the company. Formed in 1907 by Serge Diaghilev, the... |