LEO DELIBES
Delibes: Lakme (Complete opera recorded in 1968) Joan Sutherland, Alain Vanzo, Gabriel Bacquier / Orchestra and chorus of Monte Carlo National Opera, Richard Bonynge [ Decca / 2 CD - released 12/May/1999 ] "(Joan's) "Bell Song" is treasurable, with an ease of execution which is almost frightening and a sinuousness which reeks of oriental mystery. Bacquier's Nilakantha is magnificent." MusicWeb |
LEO DELIBES
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Delibes: Lakme (Complete opera recorded in 1968 with complete libretto) Joan Sutherland, Alain Vanzo, Gabriel Bacquier / Orchestra and chorus of Monte Carlo National Opera, Richard Bonynge [ Decca / 2 CD - released 12/May/1989 ] "(Joan's) "Bell Song" is treasurable, with an ease of execution which is almost frightening and a sinuousness which reeks of oriental mystery. Bacquier's Nilakantha is magnificent." MusicWeb |
PUCCINI / VERDI / BELLINI / DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Love Duets Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti / National Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge [ Decca Opera Gala / CD - released 5/Apr/1999 ] The ardour and passion of some of the best-known love duets from Italian Opera are brought out to the full by the stunning voices of two of the world's greatest singers. |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: La Traviata (Complete Opera recorded in 1981 with libretto) Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Matteo Manuguerra / National Philharmonic / Richard Bonynge [ Decca Records / 2 CD - released 27/Sep/2001 ] Classic 1981 recording, with full libretto and translations. |
AMBROISE THOMAS
Thomas: Hamlet (complete opera recorded in 1984) Joan Sutherland, Sherrill Milnes, James Morris / Chorus and Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Richard Bonynge [ Decca Eloquence / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Mar/2017 ] "In the title role, Milnes is simply superb … I can't think of a better performance of his on disc! Sutherland, despite an occasional unsteady moment, continues to astound" Fanfare |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Symphonies (with works by Rodrigo, Berlioz & Strauss) [recorded 2012-14] Johan Reuter (bass) Pepe Romero (guitar) / Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos [ Dacapo Blu-ray / 3 Blu-ray Box Set - released 1/Jul/2017 ] "It's a really gorgeous performance" American Record Guide |
CARL NIELSEN
Maskarade (complete opera) Johan Reuter, Stephen Milling, Niels-Jørgen Riis, Dénise Beck / Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Choir, Michael Schønwandt [ Da Capo SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2015 ] "The new performance, like all previous rivals, builds on the strength of home casting at the work's alma mater, the Royal Danish Opera...there's a suitably towering comic monster performance from Stephen Milling." Gramophone Editor's Choice |
GILBERT AND SULLIVAN
G & S: The Pirates of Penzance (complete operetta) John Mark Ainsley, Rebecca Evans, Donald Adams, Richard Suart / Orchestra & Chorus of Welsh National Opera, Charles Mackerras [ Telarc Records / CD - released 1/Jan/2007 ] "Sir Charles Mackerras directs a riveting performance with an exceptional cast. The numbers race along without any dragging tempos - witness the Pirate Kings song and 'How beautifully blue the sky'." Mel@Marbecks |
JULES MASSENET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Massenet: Werther (complete opera recorded in 2010) Paris National Opera / Jonas Kaufmann, Sophie Koch, Ludovic Tezier / Michel Plasson (cond) [ Decca Music Group DVD / 2 DVD - released 14/Oct/2010 ] Hard on the heels of a triumphant Lohengrin, Decca follows up with an equally astonishing debut performance from Jonas Kaufmann: Goethe's love-lorn hero Werther, in Massenet's romantic opera. |
VANGELIS / MORRICONE / PORTMAN / ROTA / RODGERS / etc
The Sound of Movies [Limited Deluxe Edition] Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Jochen Rieder [ Sony Classical / CD - released 15/Sep/2023 ] Great songs from classic movies have been a passion of Jonas Kaufmann throughout his life, and his new album celebrates that with almost a century of unforgettable movie songs that have thrilled global audiences. |
MOZART / SCHUMANN / CHOPIN / RACHMANINOV / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Jozef & Rosina Lhevinne Jozef & Rosina Lhevinne (piano) with Juilliard Orchestra, Members of the National Orchestra Assiociation [ Philips Great Pianists Of The 20th Century Vol. 64 / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2000 ] "These discs celebrate both an incomparable partnership and two Moscow Gold Medallists who achieved a legendary status in their separate careers." Gramophone |
FRANK MARTIN
Golgotha (complete oratorio) Judith Gauthier (sop) Marianne Beate Kielland (alto) Adrian Thomson (ten) / Cappella Amsterdam / Estonian National Symphony Orchestra / Daniel Reuss [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 1/Mar/2010 ] "Reuss maintains a tight grip on the unfolding drama...there is such an obvious intensity and love of this extraordinary piece that it never feels as though it is dragging...A revelatory recording." Gramophone Awards 2010 Finalist - Choral |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saëns: La princesse jaune Judith van Wanroij; Mathias Vidal; Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse; Leo Hussain [ Bru Zane / CD/Book - released 27/Aug/2021 ] That globetrotting composer Camille Saint-Saëns wrote La Princesse jaune in 1872, exemplifying the current craze for all things Japanese. Kornélis, played by the tenor Mathias Vidal, dreams only of the Land of the Rising Sun. Under the influence of a... |
GEORGES BIZET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bizet: Carmen (complete opera with full libretto) Julia Migenes Johnson, Placido Domingo, Ruggiero Raimondi, Faith Esham / National Orchestra of France, Lorin Maazel [ Erato / CD - released 1/May/1984 ] "Carmen is sung here by Julia Migenes Johnson. Her Habanera is wonderfully shapely and sexy, in a quite light flirty manner. In Act 4 she and Placido Domingo (as Don José) give us a wonderfully dramatic climax to the opera." (MusicWeb) |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (Complete Opera recorded in 1984) Julia Migenes, Placido Domingo, Ruggero Raimondi / National Orchestra of France, Lorin Maazel [ Warner Erato Classics Home of Opera / 2 CD - released 20/May/2016 ] "Maazel's buoyant lightness and edgy rhythmic energy are suitably Gallic, and his principals are visually and vocally compelling." (Gramophone) |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers) [complete opera] Julie Fuchs, Cyrille Dubois, Florian Sempey, Luc Bertin-Hugaul / Orchestre National de Lille, Alexandre Bloch [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] Les Pêcheurs de Perles is best known for its glorious duet, but Georges Bizet's opera has much more to offer. This live recording more than ever brings out the brilliance of this oriental story about love, duty and friendship. In the last 150 years,... |
RICHARD RODGERS / OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II
Rodgers: South Pacific [First complete recording] Justino Diaz & Paige O'Hara / 1996 Cast with national Symphony Orchestra, John Owen Edwards [ Jay Digital / 2 CD Box Set - released 17/May/1997 ] Paige O'Hara makes a perky Nellie Forbush, a really believable and likable "cockeyed optimist"; Pat Suzuki is a solid and warm Bloody Mary, who brings warmth and seductiveness to "Bali Ha'i"; and Sean McDermott plays a virile Lt. Cable. |
KARL JENKINS
Jenkins: The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace National Youth Choir of Great Britain, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Jenkins [ Decca / CD - released 25/May/2019 ] The result of a special millennial commission from the Royal Armouries and the latest in a six century old tradition of "Armed Man" masses that take the fifteenth century French song "L'Homme Armé" as their starting point. |
GEORGE GERSHWIN / JOAN TOWER / WALTER PISTON / JOHN HARBISON
Gershwin: Concerto in F (with works by Tower, Piston & Harbison) Kevin Cole (piano) / National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic, David Alan Miller [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 13/Nov/2020 ] "From the very opening [Gershwin] with its timpani motto, the piece goes like the wind, not sounding rushed so much as bracingly correct. Miller and pianist Kevin Cole set perfect tempos for the cakewalk passage in the first movement" Fanfare |