This recording is of a very highly regarded production of Wagner's Ring Cycle; the four operas are completely re-staged at Bayreuth every six years. When recorded in 1991/1992 at the famous Bayreuth opera house built by Richard Wagner himself, this version, staged and directed by Harry Kupfer and conducted by Daniel Barenboim, had matured over five years and is still well remembered and much requested. "If a cycle is going as well as the Harry Kupfer/Daniel Barenboim Ring was, the super-test of G�tterd�mmerung brings out the best in everyone. Barenboim manipulates his orchestra with Furtw�nglerian virtuosity, huge rits, pauses and all, tailor-made to the stage drama." Gramophone "All the cast work fiendishly hard. Tomlinson (and Kupfer) illustrate the glorious Prelude that Wagner called "Wotan's last ride", the lasers make a furious fire, and Evans is in streaming form as the awoken Br�nnhilde. Aptly weighty, Furtwangler-ish conducting." Gramophone 2006

Dido's famous lament, 'When I am laid in earth' has long featured in Joyce DiDonato's repertoire - and she has triumphed as the tragic Queen of Carthage in Berlioz's Les Troyens - but it was in early 2024 that she first performed Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas in it's entirety. With Il Pomo d'Oro, conductor Maxim Emelyanychev, and a cast including Fatma Said as Dido's companion Belinda, DiDonato toured extensively in Europe. This recording was made in Essen's Philharmonie, where Michael Spyres took the role of Aeneas. The two stars have been through this all before, as Spyres sang �n�e to DiDonato's Didon in the prizewinning Erato recording of Les Troyens, conducted in 2017 by the late John Nelson.

One of the great modern versions of Puccini's most celebrated opera. Angela Gheorghiu embodies an incandescent Tosca of rarely seen dramatic power and vocal flawlessness, and Roberto Alagna is an ideal Mario Cavaradossi, also at the peak of his art. Supported by a great artistic complicity, the warm and ample voices of these two star singers can flourish without restraint and unleash all the fires of passion. Ruggero Raimondi, masterful, portrays the infamous Scarpia as a model of perversity and darkness. Antonio Pappano, leading the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, once again proves himself one of the greatest operatic conductors of our time, preserving the slightest nuances of this multi-coloured score.

One of the 20th century's most questing and influential singers Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is celebrated above all for his extraordinary skill and insight in lieder. This complete collection of lieder and songs recorded for HMV, EMI Electrola, Teldec & Erato is brought together here for the very first time, showcasing not only his exceptional talent but also the evolution of his artistry and voice throughout his career, from 1951 to 1992. His relentless drive to renew the genre shines through as he explores a vast repertoire, from Schubert to Schoenberg, led by an unbounded curiosity that brought new dimensions to the art of singing. "... nobody could surely have prophesied that the singer would become such a prodigious phenomenon with a colossal achievement on record, never before matched and unlikely to be repeated in the future." Gramophone Magazine.

Christina Pluhar's new album, Terra Mater, is a hymn to nature. "This wonderful program is exposed to the four winds, in which you will hear the chirping of the nightingales, sweet birds, cuckoos, frogs and chickens, the whispers of the winds, heavy storms and the rumbling of the seas." Baroque repertoire, traditional music and improvisations are at the base of Terra Mater, recorded with L'Arpeggiata and the wonderful Swedish mezzo soprano Malena Ernman.

Fatma Said's third album, Lieder, is a very personal tribute to the art of German Song. Singing lieder has a central place in Fatma's musical life, it is a world of unique expression for her, listen to e.g. der Zwerg and it becomes crystal clear. Lieder is also a great collaborative project. Fatma recorded with the outstanding clarinettist Sabine Meyer, Anneleen Lenaerts on the harp, with our recently signed and critically acclaimed baritone Huw Montague Rendall, and many, many more

Fatma Said's third album, Lieder, is a very personal tribute to the art of German Song. Singing lieder has a central place in Fatma's musical life, it is a world of unique expression for her, listen to e.g. der Zwerg and it becomes crystal clear. Lieder is also a great collaborative project. Fatma recorded with the outstanding clarinettist Sabine Meyer, Anneleen Lenaerts on the harp, with our recently signed and critically acclaimed baritone Huw Montague Rendall, and many, many more

Following his acclaimed 2022 debut album, and his second solo release Nessun Dorma (2024), tenor Pene Pati brings his radiant voice to the Neapolitan song tradition, joined by the renowned ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro. 'Serenata a Napoli' brings together both iconic and lesser-known works by Capua, Tosti, Denza, and others, including beloved classics 'O sole mio' and 'O surdato 'nnammurato'. New arrangements by Antonio Paliotti balance tradition and freshness, offering an intimate, innovative rendition of Neapolitan repertoire. With it's warm melodies, 'Serenata a Napoli' evokes the charm and romance of Mediterranean nights, ideal for relaxed summer listening.

This 11-CD collection showcases four of Mozart's most celebrated operas, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cos� fan tutte and Die Zauberfl�te, with the inimitable Otto Klemperer at the helm. Featuring a host of star performers, including Lucia Popp as Despina, Elisabeth S�derstr�m as Countess Almaviva and Nicolai Gedda as Tamino, these classic recordings demonstrate Klemperer's supreme understanding of Mozart's operas.

Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Fl�rez, Simon Keenlyside, Alessandro Corbelli, and Ferruccio Furlanetto perform in this Royal Opera production of the Verdi opera conducted by Antonio Pappano. The DVD bonus features include an interview with Joyce on her stage accident and subsequent wheelchair performances.

Maria Callas is the quintessential diva who the face of the opera in the 20th century. The repertoire in this performance shows Callas at her best, both in recital and as an operatic actress.

2014 Maria Callas re-mastered series reissue. With this Abbey Road 24-bit 96 kHz re-master, engineers returned to the original master tapes, bringing new clarity & brilliance to her legendary studio recordings. Callas first sang Bellini's Norma in 1948, when she was just 25. She went on to perform the role of the heroic, but vulnerable Druid priestess -the ultimate embodiment of bel canto - more frequently than any other. In this second studio recording her conductor was again Tullio Serafin (he originally tutored her in the role in 1948), and the venue was again La Scala - where the opera was premiered in 1831. By 1960, Callas brought a wealth of new nuance to her interpretation, and she is aptly partnered by the creamy-voiced Christa Ludwig (in a rare recording of an Italian role) and the towering Franco Corelli.

There are marvelous things in this Fidelio, truly exquisite and infectious vocal play by Helga Dernesch. Jon Vickers as Florstan has a massive dependability with an overtly vile and detestable nature broad casting from the character. This is leaved by the always musical Pizzarro by Zoltan Kelemen and can truly be called one of the best recordings of 'Fidelio.' Deluxe 3 CD Set, Includes 20-Page Booklet.

2014 Maria Callas re-mastered series reissue. With this Abbey Road 24-bit 96kHz re-master, engineers returned to the original master tapes, bringing new clarity & brilliance to her legendary studio recordings. The role of the betrayed and finally murderous Medea became closely associated with Maria Callas. In 1969, several years after her final operatic performance, she even starred as Jason's spurned wife - as an actress, not as a singer - in a film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. She first appeared in Cherubini's opera in 1953 in Florence, with Vittorio Gui conducting, and later that year collaborated with Leonard Bernstein in a staging at La Scala; in 1962, the role brought her final appearances at Milan's great opera house.

Classical Music

2014 Maria Callas remastered series reissue. With this Abbey Road 24-bit 96kHz remaster, engineers returned to the original master tapes, bringing new clarity & brilliance to her legendary studio recordings. Callas never sang the role of Mim� on stage, but this did not prevent her recorded interpretation from being, as described by Philip Hope-Wallace in Gramophone, 'brilliantly realized, This Mim� comes alive and later haunts you in the most extraordinary way, one of the most moving I have ever heard.' Giuseppe di Stefano is an ardent Rodolfo and the young Anna Moffo makes a delectable Musetta.

2014 Maria Callas re-mastered series reissue. With this Abbey Road 24-bit 96kHz re-master, engineers returned to the original master tapes, bringing new clarity & brilliance to her legendary studio recordings. This Lucia di Lammermoor was the first complete recording that Callas made under the aegis of Walter Legge for EMI/Columbia - and also her first recording with Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi and her mentor Tullio Serafin. She had made her role debut as Lucia the previous year (1952), bringing tragic stature to the archetypal fragile bel canto heroine. Gramophone described her recorded performance as 'certainly some of the finest singing of our time'.

2014 Maria Callas re-mastered series reissue. With this Abbey Road 24-bit 96kHz re-master, engineers returned to the original master tapes, bringing new clarity & brilliance to her legendary studio recordings. Violetta, the most complex and fully-rounded of Verdi's heroines, was one of the roles that defined Maria Callas as an artist. She performed it more than 60 times between 1951 and 1958, most famously in Luchino Visconti's production at La Scala in 1955/56. It is often said that the role demands a different kind of voice for each act, and, when she made this recording for the Cetra label in 1953, Callas offered youthful, ringing power complemented by coloratura prowess and the capacity for great delicacy. More than 60 years on, her characterization, in it's subtlety and truth, still sets the standard for La traviata.

Starring Jay Hunter Morris, Bryn Terfel, Deborah Voigt.

2014 Maria Callas remastered series reissue. With this Abbey Road 24-bit 96kHz remaster, engineers returned to the original master tapes, bringing new clarity & brilliance to her legendary studio recordings. In the six years that had passed since 1953, and her first recording of Lucia di Lammermoor, Callas's voice had maybe become less robust, but her singing had become still more perceptive. As Gramophone said: 'Mme Callashas refined her interpretation of the role, and made it more exquisite, more fascinating, musically and dramatically more subtle - in a word, more beautiful.'

Angela Gheorghiu, an iconic artist with a beautiful voice and a star quality that dazzles on stage, captivated the world in her role as Tosca, at the Royal Opera House in July 2011. Puccini's ever-popular opera, Tosca, returned to the Royal Opera House, where the stellar cast included Jonas Kaufmann, Bryn Terfel, the Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, who were under the baton of Antonio Pappano, the Music Director of the Royal Opera House. With the all-star cast, opera history was in the making and was, by far, the hottest ticket in town. For the majority of US who were not lucky enough to be there, it has been captured on this DVD, exclusively released by EMI Classics. Gheorghiu received much praise and accolades as Tosca. Laura Kate Wilson of Bach track wrote As Gheorghiu delivered the chilling O Scarpia, avanti a Dio! (Oh Scarpia, we shall meet before God!) and that final heart-wrenching refrain rose from the orchestra pit it was clear that opera history had been made, and I felt incredibly lucky to have witnessed it. Rupert Christiansen of the Telegraph added that the velvety smoothness of (Angela Gheorghiu's) line and tone was something to marvel at.

2014 Maria Callas remastered series reissue. With this Abbey Road 24-bit 96kHz remaster, engineers returned to the original master tapes, bringing new clarity & brilliance to her legendary studio recordings. Callas's second studio recording of La Gioconda was made in 1959, six years after her last stage performances of the role, which in 1947 has been the vehicle for her Italian debut (at the Arena di Verona).The recording came at a turning point in Callas's life when her relationship with Aristotle Onassis led to her separation from her husband, Giovanni Battista Meneghini. Writing in Gramophone in 1960, PhilipHope-Wallace said: 'I simply cannot imagine anyone getting more out of the role than she does this time, the total effect is riveting.' Joining Callas were two young Italian singers destined for great careers: themezzo-soprano Fiorenza Cossotto as her rival, Laura, and, as the sinister Barnaba, baritone Piero Cappuccilli.

Classical Music

Lamberto Gardelli draws rich and lucid playing from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, giving a splendid performance of the overture and the ballet music and accompanying tactfully and with a quick ear for the textures and the sometimes very original scoring which Rossini employs. 4 CD & 1 CD-ROM.

EMI France and Michel Plasson have created many recordings of major works of French composers, some never recorded before. Many have since received the highest distinctions worldwide. In May 1984, Michel Plasson conducted 16 performances of Aida at the Palais Omnisport de Paris-Bercy for an audience of nearly 200.000 spectators. Since that time, he has performed Turandot (1985), Verdi's Requiem (1986) and Nabucco (1987) with the same success. "All those who love this impassioned Coethe setting have a treat in store for them here; so do lovers of eloquent singing."