Houston Grand Opera is a driving force in American opera, cultivating a spirit of innovation with premieres of important 20th-century works like Leonard Bernstein's A Quiet Place and John Adams' Nixon in China. This tradition continues with the debut recording on their own record label-Jake Heggie's Intelligence. This epic work was commissioned by Houston Grand Opera and is the company's 75th premiere, building on it's legacy and commitment to the future of opera with a thrilling new recording. Intelligence explores the little-known story of two heroic women spies during the American Civil War: Elizabeth Van Lew, a privileged white woman; and Mary Jane Bowser, a black woman born into slavery in the Van Lew household. Composer Jake Heggie, librettist Gene Scheer and director/choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar join creative forces to transform this unique true story into a musical masterpiece. The opera features an all-star cast led by soprano Janai Brugger as Mary Jane Bowser, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as Elizabeth Van Lew and mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges as Lucinda. These awardwinning artists create a riveting performance, capturing the nuance and suspense of Heggie's acclaimed new opera in this exciting launch of Houston Grand Opera's record label.

AMERICANS: THE GOLDEN AGE OF SINGING

GIORDANO: MARINA

Newly remastered: the legendary first complete recording of Dvorak's Rusalka / The first complete Czech studio recording of Rusalka (1952), presented here in it's original remastered mono version, returns with a sensitive revival of it's authentic sound, reaffirming it's special place in the history of Czech operatic discography. Soprano Ludmila Cervinkova shines in the title role in an interpretation combining lyrical tenderness with dramatic urgency, an achievement that remains to this day among the pinnacles of Czech operatic artistry. Alongside her are legends of the golden generation of the Opera of the Prague National Theatre - Beno Blachut bringing ardent passion to the part of the Prince, Eduard Haken in a deeply moving portrayal of the Water Goblin, Marie Podvalova as the majestic Foreign Princess, and Marta Krasova evocatively portraying the Witch. Jaroslav Krombholc leads the Prague National Theatre Orchestra with exceptional sensitivity to Antonin Dvorak's melodicism, colour, and the dramatic sweep of the work, creating an interpretation that unites fairytale poetry with powerful dramatic intensity. With it's famous aria 'Song to the Moon', Rusalka is today one of the most frequently performed Czech operas around the world, and this historical recording remains a treasure, documenting Czech operatic artistry of the 20th century.

Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Gil Rose present the world premiere recording of Lysistrata, or The Nude Goddess, an opera by Mark Adamo. Far removed from the fa-miliar outlines of Aristophanes' ancient comedy, this daring reimagining reshapes a ca-nonical text into something far more psychologically intricate and musically electrify-ing. Set within a richly variegated score of shifting textures and mercurial transformations, the opera unfolds as a labyrinth of mirrored themes - where melodies change alle-giance, identities blur, and every gesture carries double meaning. The familiar premise of women withholding intimacy to halt war becomes the starting point for a deeper ex-ploration of desire, power, and identity. Adamo's libretto dismantles classical certain-ties, replacing caricature with complexity, and recasts Lysistrata as a figure who must confront not only the politics of war, but the far more disquieting ambiguities of love itself. Under the leadership of conductor Gil Rose, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project has become an unsurpassed advocate for 20th and 21st century American music. Alongside Adamo, this marks their collective return to PENTATONE, following their GRAMMY-nominated recording of John Corigliano's The Lord of Cries (2023).

In 1776, during a spell in Italy early in his career, the Ukrainian composer Dmytro Bortniansky (1751-1825) wrote Creonte, an opera seria based on Sophocles' tragedy Antigone and poised, like early Mozart, on the cusp between Baroque and Classical styles. Although a success in it's day, Creonte then vanished for 250 years, until it was discovered by chance in a Portuguese library. It may have been hidden there because it's tale of love versus power ends with a surprising democratic twist - a daring move in those autocratic times. Since it is the first surviving opera by a Ukrainian composer, it's revival in Kyiv in 2024 became a gesture of defiance, a symbol of national importance underlining the continued vigour of Ukrainian culture even in wartime. This remarkable recording then followed, made in sessions between Russian bombing, black-outs and power cuts - itself a testimony to Ukrainian national resilience.

This was the eighth release in Pentatone’s successful Wagner Edition and the second in the exciting Wagner Year of 2013. Previous releases in the edition have garnered rave reviews from major quarters: “…unquestionably the finest modern version on disc” (BBC Music Magazine). PentaTone’s Wagner Edition is an unprecedented project, uniting the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and acclaimed music director Marek Janowski with the greatest Wagner singers in the international opera scene today.

2014 collection from the best-selling vocalist. OPERA - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION showcases Bocelli's vibrant personal journey through the world of opera. This 2014 collection features the most popular tenor arias from well-known operas such as La Boheme, Tosca, La Traviata, Madame Butterfly and Romeo & Juliet plus a new recording of the much celebrated Nessun Dorma! From Puccini's Turandot is included; a signature piece for Bocelli as it was for his mentor Luciano Pavarotti. The album draws on arias which inspired Bocelli throughout his career, from his first memory of opera to his newest recording of the great aria Donna non vidi mai from Puccini's Manon Lescaut. Includes Bocelli's personal favorites from the masterpieces of Puccini and Verdi, as well as the very best of French opera, featuring arias by Massenet, Gounod & Bizet.

Montserrat Caballe, Jon Vickers and Josephine Veasey are the featured singers in Bellini's masterpiece. Giuseppe Patane conducts the orchestra of Teatro Regio di Torino.

SIMON BOCCANEGRA

Anna Netrebko and John Del Carlo star in this Metropolitan Opera production of the Donizetti opera conducted by James Levine and directed by Otto Schenk.

VESPERAE SOLEMNES CONFESSORE / AVE VERUM COSRPUS

GIUSEPPE DI STEFANO - COMPLETE DECCA RECORDINGS

PETER GRIMES

SPIRITUALS IN CONCERT

HEROES: OPERA ARIAS

JAMES LEVINE: LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL

OPIUM: MELODIES FRANCAISES

VIRTUOSO CANTATAS

LA TRAVITA

The master of musical parody, Professor Peter Schickele, brings US a complete opera by P.D.Q. Bach, a man who has been called a "pimple on the face of music", "the worst musician ever to have trod organ pedals", and "the most dangerous musician since Nero".

FIDELIO

The legendary soprano Anna Moffo stars in this expansive 1971 film of the opera, directed by Mario Lanfranchi, and lavishly filmed in authentic locales and castles.

150 minute DVD starring Joan Sutherland and Tatiana Troyanos in a complete live 1981 performance of Bellini's "bel canto" masterpiece.

This performance was captured live in 1976 as part of the Wolf Trap Festival and includes the cast Henry Price and Richard Fredricks. Conducted by Julius Rudel.