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French Elegy

Brilliant Classics

Available as CD

$12.99

Feb 07, 2025

Coming into French and English from the Greek elegos ('lament'), an elegy (elegie) is a poetic or musical composition expressing sorrow or lamentation, typically mourning the loss of a loved one or reflecting on themes of grief and melancholy. Massenet's famous 'Clair de lune', presented here in an arrangement by the composer himself, envelops us in a dreamlike atmosphere, with the piano painting a delicate lunar landscape permeated by a subtle melancholy. The original is one of the most touching scenes in the opera Werther, when the protagonist feels his love for Charlotte rising within him. Contrary to popular belief, Ravel's Pavane pour une infante defunte is not dedicated to a departed soul. Rather, it is a nostalgic evocation of an imaginary childhood, rich in charm and mystery. Joseph Jemain's orchestration adds, if possible, further depth and suggestiveness to Ravel's music by introducing the piano into the ensemble, the protagonist of Ravel's original version. The violin and piano engage in a dialogue of deep contemplation in Saint-Saens's elegie in D, Op.143. The poignant melody and refined harmony express feelings of loss and consolation. This very intense and moving piece has secured an important place in the violin repertoire. The cello assumes the role of narrator in Faure's elegie, Op.24 recounting a story of pain and hope with great expressive intensity. A highly lyrical and touching piece, it is distinguished by it's expressive writing and singable melody. Debussy's Suite bergamasque transports us to a world of dreams and suggestions. Through four evocative dances with a Renaissance and Baroque flavour, the orchestra leads us on a musical journey rich in charm and delicacy. Wilhelm Renz's orchestration makes Debussy's picturesque music even more vivid. Renz is also the arranger of the Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals featured here. His orchestral version adds brilliance and colour to the composer's music while maintaining it's original spirit of fun and irony, streamlining the orchestration in some places and adding elements for a richer, more layered sound in others. Other information: - Recorded August 2023 in Anzio (Italy) - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Valerio Vicari and profiles of the orchestra and conductor - A beautiful program featuring French music from the turn of the 19/20th century, evoking a late-romantic and mildly impressionistic atmosphere in elegiac mood. - The works presented are Elegies by Saint-Saens (1835-1921), Faure (1845-1924), Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) and Massenet (1842-1912), the Suite Bergamasque by Debussy (1862-1918), Pavane by Ravel (1875-1937) and, to conclude in a more spirited mood, the Carnaval des Animaux by Saint-Saens. Several of the works are transcribed for an instrumental ensemble featuring flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello & double bass. - Sensuous and evocative performances by the Roma Tre Orchestra, conducted by Sieva Borzak.

French Elegy

$12.99
CD

Brilliant Classics

Feb 07, 2025

BRI97343

Souvenirs de Monte-Carlo

Alpha

Available as CD

$20.99

Jun 06, 2025

This recital by Jean-Francois Borras honours the fascinating history of the Opera de Monte-Carlo, the house that has performed more French repertoire than any other. Jean-Francois Borras, who received his initial training in the choir of the Monte-Carlo Cathedral and is an internationally-renowned ambassador of French vocal style, presents excerpts from works by Mascagni, Gunsbourg and Massenet that were composed for the Opera there. Raoul Gunsbourg was the director of the Opera de Monte Carlo (architect Charles Garnier) from 1893-1951 and the variety of his programming created the institution's exceptional renown. Borras sings arias from operas that he has performed on the stage of the Opera de Monte-Carlo, including Romeo et Juliette (Gounod), Manon, Herodiade, Werther (Massenet), Carmen (Bizet) and Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach), accompanied by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo under Pierre Dumoussaud, a young French conductor and specialist in operatic repertoire who is rapidly building an international career.

Souvenirs de Monte-Carlo

$20.99
CD

Alpha

Jun 06, 2025

ALPHA1095

Paysage / Gens, Niquet, Munich Radio Orchestra

Alpha

Available as CD

$20.99

Mar 29, 2024

In this recital, Véronique Gens and Hervé Niquet bring back to life a neglected aspect of France’s Romantic heritage: songs with orchestral accompaniment. Aside from a few pieces by Debussy and Duparc, and Berlioz’s famous Nuits d’été, orchestral mélodies form a virtually forgotten continent. In collaboration with the specialists of the Palazzetto Bru Zane, Alpha now revisits these musical landscapes, taking us from Brittany (Hahn) to Persia, whose beauties Fauré and Saint-Saëns exalt in very different ways. Mélodies by Chausson, Gounod and Dubois and rarely heard instrumental pieces by Massenet, Fauré and Fernand de La Tombelle round out the journey with their musical reveries.

Paysage / Gens, Niquet, Munich Radio Orchestra

$20.99
CD

Alpha

Mar 29, 2024

ALPHA1030

Par amour

Alpha

Available as CD

~~$20.99~~ $15.99

Feb 14, 2025

Love is the common thread running through this first recorded recital by soprano Vannina Santoni; it's also an opportunity to look back over her fifteen-year career, through her leading roles, alongside her favourite musicians. With the help of the Orchestre National de Lille and Quebecois conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni, she places her sensual voice at the service of famous operatic arias featuring the amorous heroines of Gounod, Massenet, Puccini ('O mio babbino caro'), Catalini ('Ne andro' from La Wally) and Verdi (Desdemona's poignant 'Ave Maria' from Otello). The programme also includes a rare but sublime aria from Franco Alfano's Tolstoy-inspired opera Risurrezione (1904), as well as the magnificent 'Saint-Sulpice' duet from Massenet's Manon, with tenor Julien Dran. Finally, Vannina Santoni pays homage to her Corsican roots with a new orchestration of the lullaby 'O Ciucciarella' that Corsican mothers have sung to their children for generations.

On Sale

Par amour

~~$20.99~~ $15.99
CD

Alpha

Feb 14, 2025

ALPHA1118

Massenet: Concerto For Piano And Orchestra; Franck: Variations Symphoniques

Alpha

Available as CD

~~$8.99~~ $6.99

Sep 01, 2007

French music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century abounds in fine and very original symphonic and concerted works that are rarely explored. During the symphonic revival initiated by Camille Saint-Saëns and César Franck, several famous virtuosos encouraged composers to write new works that were to leave their makr on the repertoire. One of those musicians was the pianist Louis Diémer, for whom César Franck composed his famous 'Variations symphoniques'. But we tend to forget that this masterpiece came into being largely thanks to the previous success of Franck's symphonic poem for piano and orchestra, based on a poem by Victor Hugo, 'Les Djinns'. At a time when composers were trying to get away from the traditional image of music, it opened up a new path that others were to follow. As for Jules Massenet's 'Piano Concerto', it represents the lesser-known side of a very great composer, who is remembered above all for his operas. It combines virtuosity and sensitivity, refinement and lyricism, not to forget the 'exotic' touch in the final movement, with the inspiration of Slovakian folk music. Recorded in Bilknet Concert Hall, Ankara, Turkey, on 16, 18 and 19 December 2005.

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Massenet: Concerto For Piano And Orchestra; Franck: Variations Symphoniques

~~$8.99~~ $6.99
CD

Alpha

Sep 01, 2007

ALPHA104

Les Nuits de Paris - Dance Music from Folies Bergère to Opéra / Roth, Les Siècles

Bru Zane

Available as CD

$20.99

Jan 27, 2023

The dance permeated every layer of Romantic society. From popular dance halls to courtly salons, people showed their public face, enjoyed themselves and met one another in waltz time or to the rhythms of the quadrille or the polka. At the same time, ballet gained unprecedented fame on the stage of the Paris Opéra. The music that accompanied this frantic round in France has long been neglected, whereas the Viennese have never ceased to celebrate their waltzes. Under the expert baton of François-Xavier Roth, the orchestra Les Siècles has set out to rediscover this French repertory using historical instruments. Their album explores the output of both established composers – Camille Saint-Saëns, Ambroise Thomas, Charles Gounod, Jules Massenet – and their colleagues who specialized in Terpsichorean entertainment, including Philippe Musard, Isaac Strauss, Émile Waldteufel and Hervé.

REVIEWS:

Beautifully recorded and with Bru Zane’s customary excellent booklet notes, this is a disc to delight Francophiles, especially sweet-toothed ones like myself.

-- Gramophone

There is a blowsy joie de vivre in these performances by Roth’s French Orchestra Les Siecles that is hard to resist.

-- The Sunday Times (UK)

It’s all very French, and presented with great flair and warmth by Roth and his orchestra.

-- The Guardian (UK)

Les Nuits de Paris - Dance Music from Folies Bergère to Opéra / Roth, Les Siècles

$20.99
CD

Bru Zane

Jan 27, 2023

BZ2005

Rebelle

Alpha

Available as CD

~~$20.99~~ $15.99

Apr 11, 2025

To mark the 150th anniversary of Bizet's death and the premiere of his immensely popular Carmen, Alpha Classics and Le Palazzetto Bru Zane now pay tribute to Celestine Galli-Marie, the singer who created the title role. A remarkable actress and singer, she created sixteen roles in fifteen years at the Opera-Comique, including Ambroise Thomas' iconic Mignon and Jacques Offenbach's Fantasio. Eva Zaicik is delighted to take on the roles created by such a colourful artist: 'Celestine embodied a certain idea of artistic and feminine rebellion. Her voice, charisma and unique theatrical approach brought to life characters who were free, complex and often struggled with the norms of their time.' Supported superbly by Pierre Dumoussaud and the Orchestre National de Lille, the French mezzo not only brilliantly embodies characters created by Bizet, Massenet, Offenbach and Thomas but also breathes new life into arias by Paladilhe, Poise, Deffes, Masse, Guiraud, Cohen and Grisar.

On Sale

Rebelle

~~$20.99~~ $15.99
CD

Alpha

Apr 11, 2025

ALPHA1128

La Divina - The Best of Maria Callas

WARNER CLASSICS

Available as CD

$18.56

Mar 29, 2024

Maria Callas is credited with changing the history of opera. Known as La Divina, she continues to fascinate as a supreme artist, but also as a woman and an icon of style. Her interpretations were as compelling for their dramatic truth as for their musical integrity. Her voice, with it's extraordinary range, was as distinctive as her infallible sense for a phrase. A magnetic presence, she brought operatic heroines to vivid life, magically shaping and colouring her tone, and making insightful use of the text of the libretto.

La Divina - The Best of Maria Callas

$18.56
CD

WARNER CLASSICS

Mar 29, 2024

WCL766491.2

Massenet: Werther

Naxos

Available as CD

~~$29.99~~ $14.99

Jan 01, 2003

Massenet: Werther

On Sale

Massenet: Werther

~~$29.99~~ $14.99
CD

Naxos

Jan 01, 2003

8660072-73

My Paris - Music for Flute & Piano / Vega, Rivinius

PENTATONE

Available as CD

~~$17.99~~ $13.99

May 20, 2022

Flautist Ana de la Vega’s fourth PENTATONE album My Paris is a declaration of love to the glorious French capital and its rich flute history, as well as a trip down memory lane, featuring some of the greatest gems of French music history, including works by Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Massenet, Saint-Saëns, Satie, Poulenc, Mozart, Chaminade, Lili Boulanger, Von Paradis, as well as Bizet. De la Vega plays these pieces with verve and charm, full of reverence to centuries-old French flute-teaching traditions to which she still feels deeply connected and absorbed. She performs them together with the esteemed pianist Paul Rivinius. Flautist Ana de la Vega’s presents her fourth PENTATONE album, after having released Bach Unbuttoned (2021), Haydn Stamitz (2020) and Mozart Myslivecek (2018). Paul Rivinius makes his PENTATONE debut.

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My Paris - Music for Flute & Piano / Vega, Rivinius

~~$17.99~~ $13.99
CD

PENTATONE

May 20, 2022

PTC5186873

Teatro La Fenice Opera Collection, Vol. 1

Dynamic

Available as DVD

~~$96.99~~ $72.99

Oct 18, 2024

Teatro La Fenice has a tradition of opera production that goes back to 1792. This collection brings all of the live atmosphere and drama of six operatic masterpieces from a theatre that has seen more than it's fair share of historic premieres. This set includes the 19th-century romance of Bizet's Les pecheurs de perles, the intense drama of Verdi's Luisa Miller, Britten's hauntingly understated Death In Venice, Massenet's tragic tale of love and redemption in Tha�s, Wagner's final opera Parsifal and Korngold's Die tote Stadt, one of the great operatic successes of the 1920s. An entire century's worth of opera can be seen and heard in these acclaimed productions from Venice's legendary venue.

On Sale

Teatro La Fenice Opera Collection, Vol. 1

~~$96.99~~ $72.99
DVD

Dynamic

Oct 18, 2024

DYN-38055

Opera Rarities - Orfeo 40th Anniversary Edition

Orfeo

Available as CD

~~$53.99~~ $40.99

Feb 05, 2021

On the dark side of fame awaits the slide into obscurity. That’s certainly true for a number of operas that, while popular and highly lucrative during their composers‘ lifetime, soon followed their creators into the shadowy realm of oblivion. Operas, for example, that only ever get mentioned in connection with some much more famous sibling. Giuseppe Gazzaniga’s Don Giovanni – premiered half a year before Mozart’s masterpiece – is such an example, as is Ruggero Leoncavallo’s La Boheme and George Bizet’s Djamileh, widely considered the predecessor of Carmen. Other operas just do not stand out among other works by a composer – Jules Massenet’s operas for example are hardly a footnote of music history, his opera Therese, a thoroughly forgotten work, however, is. Two examples for works that are scarcely performed or even known outside of what is now the Czech Republic are also included in this collection of Opera Rarities on ORFEO: Antonin Dvorak’s last opera Armida and Zdenek Fibich’s Sarka.

REVIEW:

Containing radio performance recordings of six works by Dvorak, Massenet, Leoncavallo, Bizet, Gazzaniga, and Fibich mentioned often in histories of music but almost never on the bill, this is a box certainly precious for those who love opera.

– Classical Music Daily (Giuseppe Pennisi)

On Sale

Opera Rarities - Orfeo 40th Anniversary Edition

~~$53.99~~ $40.99
CD

Orfeo

Feb 05, 2021

ORF-C200081

Ashton Celebration / (Blu-ray Disc)

Opus Arte

Available as Blu-Ray

~~$39.99~~ $29.99

Oct 29, 2013

Note: This Blu-ray Disc is playable only on Blu-ray Disc players, and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

La Valse

Hikaru Kobayashi
Ryoichi Hirano
Samantha Raine
Bennet Gartside
Helen Crawford
Brian Maloney

Music:
Maurice Ravel: La Valse

Meditation from Thaïs

Leanne Benjamin
Valeri Hristov

Music:
Jules Massenet: Thaïs, Act II: Meditation

Voices of Spring

Yuhui Choe
Alexander Campbell

Music:
Johann Strauss: Fruhlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring), Op. 410

Monotones I and II

Emma Maguire
Akane Takada
Dawid Trzensimiech
Marianela Nuñez
Federico Bonelli
Edward Watson

Music:
Erik Satie: Gnoissienes and Gymnopedies

Marguerite and Armand

Tamara Rojo
Christopher Saunders
Sergei Polunin
Gary Avis

Music: Franz Liszt: Piano Sonata in B Minor, S178/R21

The Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Emmanuel Plasson, conductor

Frederick Ashton, choreographer

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, February 2013

Bonus:
- Introduction to Voices of Spring, Meditation, Monotones and The Ashton Foundation

---

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English
Running time: 97 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

On Sale

Ashton Celebration / (Blu-ray Disc)

~~$39.99~~ $29.99
Blu-Ray

Opus Arte

Oct 29, 2013

OA BD7128D

The Young Domingo

Sony Masterworks

Available as CD

$16.99

Aug 10, 1999

For Placido Domingo fans, THE YOUNG DOMINGO serves up more than enough satisfying fare. These two disks contain not only the entirety of three opera aria recordings made by Domingo from 1969 (the year following his triumphant debut at the Metropolitan Opera) to 1973. They also include two Ruggero Leoncavallo selections that were originally a part of Domingo's recording of 'I Pagliacci' and (most exciting) "Pourquoi me réveiller?" from Jules Massenet's 'Werther;' a recording that never made it to the original LP for reasons of space.
In the 1969 liner notes to 'Romantic Aria,' the earliest of the three recordings included on this disk, Richard Mohr wrote that Domingo, as a child, "began to dream of being a conductor, an ambition that still haunts him." In recent years, Domingo has moved in the direction of fulfilling that dream, conducting more and singing less. It seems appropriate, then, to begin looking back and taking stock of his remarkable career. While Domingo has kept much of his inimitable vocal luster over the past thirty years, the selections on this disk capture Domingo in his youthful bloom and testify to why he electrified the operatic community when he first came on the scene.

The Young Domingo

$16.99
CD

Sony Masterworks

Aug 10, 1999

09026635272

Reimagined - Trio Etoiles

Haenssler Classic

Available as CD

~~$20.99~~ $15.99

Oct 04, 2024

A rather unique piano trio The repertoire for piano trios is plentiful and varied. Composers such as Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven preferred to write for piano, violin, and cello. The repertoire for the combination of piano and two saxophones is rather limited in comparison. This is mainly to do with the fact that the instrument was first developed around 1840 by Antoine Joseph Sax, who opened a workshop in Paris in 1842 and built saxophones in seven different sizes. His patron, Hector Berlioz, was one of the first to incorporate the instrument into his orchestral compositions, and Jules Massenet used it prominently in his opera Werther in 1892, but the saxophone became more popular in French military music and, of course, in jazz, where it has been used as a solo instrument since around 1920.

On Sale

Reimagined - Trio Etoiles

~~$20.99~~ $15.99
CD

Haenssler Classic

Oct 04, 2024

HC24032

Verdi & Wagner - The Odeonsplatz Concert / Thomas Hampson, Ronaldo Villazon, Yannick Nezet-seguin

C Major Entertainment

Available as DVD

~~$26.99~~ $18.99

Jul 29, 2014

Also available on Blu-ray

This scintillating opera gala offers you the chance to experience the Odeonsplatz Concert 2013 with Rolando Villazón, Thomas Hampson and Yannick Nézet-Séguin in all its glory, featuring opera arias, duets, overtures and choruses by Verdi and Wagner.

THE ODEONSPLATZ CONCERT – Verdi and Wagner
Klassik am Odeonsplatz

Giuseppe Verdi:
Les vêpres siciliennes (I vesperi siciliani): Overture
Don Carlos: Autodafé / Dio, che nell’alma infondere
L’esule (arr. L. Berio)
Il trovatore, Act II: Vedi, le fosche notturne, “Anvil Chorus”
Il corsaro, Act III: Alfin questo corsaro … Cento leddiadre vergini
Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio, Act II: Ciel, che feci!
Nabucco, Act III: Vá pensiero, “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”

Jules Massenet:
Hérodiade, Act II: Ce breuvage pourrait … Vision fugitive
Le Cid, Act III: Ah! tout est bien fini … Ô souverain, ô juge, ô pere
Maurice Ravel: La valse (version for orchestra)

Richard Wagner:
Lohengrin: Preludes to Acts I & III
Tannhäuser: O du mein holder Abendstern / Entry of the Guests on the Wartburg

Rolando Villazón, tenor
Thomas Hampson, baritone

Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

Recorded live at Odeonsplatz, Munich, 2013

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 111 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

On Sale

Verdi & Wagner - The Odeonsplatz Concert / Thomas Hampson, Ronaldo Villazon, Yannick Nezet-seguin

~~$26.99~~ $18.99
DVD

C Major Entertainment

Jul 29, 2014

716708

Pavarotti in Central Park [Blu-ray]

C Major Entertainment

Available as Blu-Ray

~~$35.99~~ $17.99

Mar 17, 2023

When more than 500,000 people gathered in New York's Central Park on 26 June 1993, they wanted to hear only one thing: The voice of the greatest tenor of the twentieth century: the voice of Luciano Pavarotti. A year earlier, Pavarotti had thrilled the crowds in London's Hyde Park - here, in New York, he confirmed once again that he is an undisputed world star. He is accompanied by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Leone Magiera, featuring the flutist Andrea Griminelli and The Boys Choir of Harlem, whose voices can be heard on albums of Michael Jackson, Kathleen Battle and many more. The recording of this concert, without doubt one of Pavarotti’s most celebrated performances, includes the famous Puccini arias Nessun dorma and E lucevan le stelle and Neapolitanian songs as 'O sole mio.' This legendary concert is now available for the first time on Blu-ray!

On Sale

Pavarotti in Central Park [Blu-ray]

~~$35.99~~ $17.99
Blu-Ray

C Major Entertainment

Mar 17, 2023

762704

French Cello Sonatas, Vol. 1 - Lalo, Koechlin & Pierné / Tarasova, Sokolova

Brilliant Classics

Available as CD

$13.99

Jan 27, 2023

Born in Lille, Édouard Lalo (1823–1892) studied the violin before leaving home for good, against his father’s will, to enter the Paris Conservatoire. Having graduated without family support, he began to make a living in the capital as an orchestral violinist and violist and as a member of the Quatuor Armingaud (from 1855), one of many such ensembles which sprang up within a culture of chamber music that was then supported by the foundation of the Société nationale de musique. Lalo’s Cello Sonata in A minor is relatively unknown, despite its obvious beauty and clear Schumannesque qualities.

Charles Koechlin (1867–1950) studied composition at the Paris Conservatoire with Jules Massenet and Fauré. He composed frequently, producing a huge opus of well over 200 works, and in a fluent style distinguished above all by its melodic invention, with supple and eloquent melodic themes. In that regard, the spirit of Fauré is never far away in the Cello Sonata Op.66 – allusive, imbued with a retrospective spirit which unfolds into a kind of accompanied recitative, quintessentially cellistic. Koechlin wrote the Sonata in October 1917 in a flurry of chamber-music activity. Gabriel Pierné (1863–1937), also an alumnus of the Paris Conservatoire, was a successful musician and won the coveted Prix de Rome in 1882. Pierné became one of the most influential musicians in Paris, more at the time through his conducting than his composing. He introduced audiences at the Concerts Colonne to countless premieres of lasting significance, and was one of the principal conductors for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, conducting the world premiere of Stravinsky’s Firebird.

Pierné’s single-movement Cello Sonata in F sharp minor is in a cyclical form, following the example of Franck and Liszt.

French Cello Sonatas, Vol. 1 - Lalo, Koechlin & Pierné / Tarasova, Sokolova

$13.99
CD

Brilliant Classics

Jan 27, 2023

BRI96566

Romantic Arias / Machaidze

Sony Masterworks

Available as CD

~~$11.98~~ $8.99

Jun 28, 2011

ROMANTIC ARIAS • Nino Machaidze (s); Michele Mariotti, cond; Bologna Th O • SONY 88697841742 (73:00 Text and Translation)

Arias from MASSENET Manon. GOUNOD Roméo et Juliette. BELLINI Adelson e Salvini. La Sonnambula. ROSSINI Il Turco in Italia. DONIZETTI Lucia di Lammermoor. La Fille du régiment. Linda di Chamounix

Although Georgian-born soprano Nino Machaidze has been a member of the prestigious young artists development program at La Scala in Milan and actually made her leading-role debut there in 2007, she didn’t make a real splash in the international opera scene until she filled in for a pregnant Anna Netrebko as Gounod’s Juliette in a summer Salzburg production in 2008. (An obviously pregnant Juliette would really have made a splash!) After her success there, Machaidze has followed up with debuts at several prestigious opera venues, including both coasts in the U.S., appearing in Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia at the Los Angeles Opera and as Gilda in Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera. Machaidze’s lyric coloratura repertoire and her sultry Slavic beauty have led to the inevitable comparisons with superstar Netrebko. Here the young Georgian singer presents a debut album of well-known Romantic arias.

Among the program are two French arias from the Gounod opera of the two ill-fated lovers mentioned above, and the delightful “Adieu, nôtre petite table” as Manon sings goodbye to her furniture in Jules Massenet’s opera named for the heroine. The other six selections on the disc are bel canto and coloratura showpieces, a repertoire with which Machaidze seems the more comfortable. Instead of the usual mad scene from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor , we get the lovely act I entrance scena and aria for Lucia, “Regnava nel silenzio.” A beautiful aria from Vincenzo Bellini’s obscure first opera, Adelson e Salvini , “Dopo l’oscuro nembo,” is probably better known to operagoers as Giuletta’s “Oh, quante volte” after Bellini reused the tune in his I Capuleti e I Montecchi. Two extended scenes, one from Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment and the other the wonderful finale from Bellini’s La Sonnambula, here demonstrate Machaidze’s ability to span a range of emotions and a range of musical styles culminating in spectacular coloratura fireworks.

As to vocal production, Machaidze has all the breathtaking high notes and the vocal agility to sing florid passages with which only the young are blessed for too short a time. She does not possess the tonal beauty and solid security in her top range that Netrebko enchants us with, but both sopranos have the dusky, rich sound in the lower register often found with Slavic singers. Machaidze has been criticized in some live performances for occasional intonation problems, but one hears little of that here. The young coloratura sings very well, her Italian better than her French.

Booklet essays and complete texts are provided in English, German, French, and Italian. Sony takes advantage of the photogenic Machaidze with nine glamour photos. The Bologna Teatro Communale Orchestra is no doubt long familiar with these operatic chestnuts and supports the singer in excellent fashion. Machaidze bears watching and hearing; she is one of the young guns on the opera horizon. You will enjoy her work on this fine CD.

FANFARE: Bill White

On Sale

Romantic Arias / Machaidze

~~$11.98~~ $8.99
CD

Sony Masterworks

Jun 28, 2011

88697841742

Ropartz: Piano Music / McCallum

Toccata

Available as CD

~~$20.99~~ $15.99

Jan 08, 2016

It’s encouraging to see more and more of Joseph-Guy Ropartz’s music being recorded, as a casual glance at Amazon reveals. Timpani have led the way in promoting this unsung and largely forgotten composer; a couple of years ago I reviewed a delightful CD of instrumental music. I’m particularly fond of the five symphonies, a good starting point, and the six string quartets are similarly worth exploring. It’s promising that Toccata, a label to be lauded for its ventures off the beaten track, has now taken up the cause with this new release of the composer’s piano music; ‘first recordings’, as it states on 'the tin'.

Ropartz lived a long life into his nineties. He was born in Guingamp, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany, into a wealthy family. He started off on the path of law but in 1885 entered the Paris Conservatory, where he studied harmony with Theodore Dubois and composition with Jules Massenet. It was around this time that he struck up a friendship with the Romanian composer Georges Enescu. In 1887 he entered the organ class of César Franck. In 1894 he moved to Nancy in the east of France, where he became director of the Conservatory, a post he held for the next twenty-five years. This was followed by a ten year stint (1919-29) in a similar position in Strasbourg. Retiring in 1929, he went on composing until 1953, when he was struck down with blindness. He died two years later.

Opening the disc is the suite Dans l’ombre de la montagne, the most substantial work here. The sombre narrative extends across all seven movements, with recurring motives throughout, providing an idée fixe. Ropartz takes his lead from Vincent d’Indy’s Poème des Montagnes, Op.15 and Promenades, Op. 7 by Albéric Magnard, both of which have been recorded by McCallum. She suggests that Ropartz makes direct reference to the d’Indy work in his title. The music throughout is generally of a bleak, thoughtful and reflective persuasion, with some respite being provided by the more animated and cheery fifth movement, marked ‘Ronde’. Stephanie McCallum’s performance of intensity and rhetorical eloquence has exceptional appeal.

Originally conceived as an orchestral work for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1929, Un Prélude Dominical et six pièces à danser pour chaque jour de la semaine is cast in a more joyous and optimistic vein than the previous work. The ballet characterizes each day of the week with its associated activities. The score showcases Ropartz’s more impressionistic style, and the music is awash in colour which McCallum imaginatively conveys in this piano arrangement which the composer made in 1930. I particularly like the reflective contrasts in Jeudi, the fifth movement. The jaunty swagger of Samedi brings this alluring suite to a close.

The Choral varié of 1904 clearly shows a Franckian influence, almost taking its lead from Franck’s organ chorales. Indeed, the piece was arranged for organ by Ropartz’s student and later colleague at Nancy, Louis Thirion. It consists of four variations on a chorale, each separated by a fermato, whose duration is stipulated by the composer. Having listened to the work several times, I can imagine its character more successfully expressed on the organ. The final two pieces La chanson de Marguerite: Caprice Valse and First-Love: Bluette of 1886, predate the composer’s contact with Franck. These seductively lyrical pieces have an endearing intimacy. McCallum's performances encapsulate the affability, genteel charm and captivating essence of these beguiling miniatures.

These are winning performances, warmly recorded, and make a strong case for both the attractiveness and quality of this composer’s music. Stephanie McCallum’s enthusiastic advocacy adds to the success of the mix. Peter McCallum’s detailed annotations, in English only, provide fascinating and informative background. Will there be any more of Ropartz’s piano music to come? Let's keep our fingers crossed.

– MusicWeb International (Stephen Greenbank)

On Sale

Ropartz: Piano Music / McCallum

~~$20.99~~ $15.99
CD

Toccata

Jan 08, 2016

TOCC0326