Launched by its prologue Das Rheingold (8660374-75), Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) - one of the supreme works in the history of music - continues with Die Walküre. Part II of the tetralogy centres on the young lovers Siegmund and Sieglinde, whose relationship angers Ficka, goddess of marriage, and on the disobedience of the Valkyrie Brünnhilde who is sent to carry out Fricka’s wishes. Performed by an all-star international cast, the work features thrilling set-pieces such as Wotan’s Farewell and the Ride of the Valkyries.

Classical Music

Rossini wrote Semiramide in the winter of 1822/23 for La Fenice of Venice. The libretto is based on Voltaire's drama Semiramis, written by the French philosopher and scholar in 1748. In some respects a conclusive opera, Semiramide contains traditional elements alongside innovative ones. Semiramide summarizes and completes Rossini's serious arc and is paradigmatic of all that would follow.

MOZART (rev. STRAUSS, R.): Idomeneo (Complete)

Wagner's Ring, introduced by expert author Stephen Johnson with excerpts from the music dramas.

"Completed in Wahnfried on November 21, 1874. I say nothing further!!” With these words written at the bottom of his Götterdämmerung score, Wagner thus finished his composition of the entire Ring Cycle. The Frankfurt Opera also concluded Vera Nemirova’s highly praised production of the work in January, thus raising the bar.

REVIEWS:

Tempos and forward-movement are well-judged…The characters play off one another, diction is close to flawless; we can hear the sarcasm in Hagen as well as the craziness in Alberich…

The quiet evil with which the second act begins…is about as creepy as anything I’ve ever heard, with the high strings nervously stuttering and the winds and brass roiling—not to mention those trills on the Wagner tubas as the scene changes! Wagner’s solos for winds are as suddenly noticeable as Mozart’s. You are never bombarded by sound save for the truly big moments: the end of the prologue, the scene with the vassals, Siegfried’s Funeral March, and the final cataclysm, making these moments all the more powerful.

The cast is worthy. Lance Ryan…remains a bright-voiced hero…both of his high Cs are amazing…in general he is in solid voice. He is very moving in his death scene, phrasing handsomely and with a quiet resignation that is unbeatable on recordings.

Susan Bullock continues the Cycle as Brünnhilde…Every word counts: her conviction in the Waltraute scene; her horror when a stranger breaks through the fire; her reaction to Siegfried’s entrance for the Wedding Scene…and a fine Immolation Scene…suffice it to say that as far as wedding the words and music, she’s second to none, and her enunciation is spotless.

Gregory Frank[’s]…voice is big and dark enough…and he has an audible sneer that can send chills down the spine. His hatred, jealousy, and cunning are omnipresent, and he’s a fine phony in the first act.

Jochen Schmeckenbecher’s Alberich is about as unnerving as any you will ever hear in his scene with Hagen. Anja Fidelia Ulrich is a good, alluring Gutrune. The three Norns are excellent (Mahnke is the second; Meredith Arwady is the first; and the deliciously-named Angel Blue is the third); the Rhinemaidens are very expressive…

The chorus…is another of this set’s glories. Along with Weigle’s non-intrusive, clear-as-a-bell story-telling and the stunning playing of the Frankfurt Opera, this set is a winner. It’s among the most committed sets around. The sonics are spectacular.

-- ClassicsToday (Robert Levine)

11-year-old Alice lives in the not terribly exciting town of Grimthorpe. On a boring Wednesday in the summer holidays Alice’s family, wandering around town, gets caught in a downpour. They rush into the nearest shelter, which turns out to be a pet shop – much to Alice’s parents’ delight. Alice is lost in a daydream of exotic holidays... Suddenly she is jolted out of her reverie by one of the animals – a white rabbit – who starts talking to her... Opera Holland Park’s production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a family opera by composer Will Todd and librettist Maggie Gottlieb, comes to CD for the first time after two critically praised runs in 2013 and 2014.

The latest release in hänssler CLASSIC's Historical SeriesNicolai Gedda was one of the most famous singers of the 20th centuryA valuable compilation of recordings of the great Nicolai Gedda from the SWR archives

puccini tebaldi; gianni poggi;manuel ausensi;nedda rovero;guilio neri;alberto albertini; nov. 1954 bacelona live la boheme

Classical Music

Orff: Carmina Burana

World premiere on Blu-ray! Beatrice di Tenda is a tragic opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini. In Beatrice very diverse elements coexist: there are music patterns already experimented in Norma and used here to their utmost potential, side by side with new ways and techniques, which would be treasured by Verdi.

Hanottere - Däichwou

Classical Music

One of the outstanding composers of his day, Johann Adolph Hasse was seen as possessing "the same qualities of true genius, taste and judgment" as his librettist Pietro Metastasio. Didone abbandonata represents the once hugely popular 18th century genre of opera seria, exploring the same tragic story as Purcell's earlier Dido and Aeneas while expanding the heroine's conflicts between regal duties, love, and helplessness in the face of desertion.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Russian Folk Culture Is One the Richest I Know. In Recent Years, Some of It Lighter Aspects Have Been Commandeered By the Entertainment And Tourist Industries: With This Recording I Wanted to Go Backwards And Present Songs I Have So Often Heard - But Never Sung Myself - in a Direct And Unvarnished, Yet Classical Way. The Songs I Selected [for CD 1] I Feel Are Truly Russian - Many Are Melancholy, Most Are Bittersweet, with the Kind of Mocking Irony Which Counterbalances Sentimentality. Two I Decided to Sing Alone, in Honor of Chaliapin, But in My Own Way. For the Rest of This Program I Was Privileged to Work with the Magnificent Ossipov Russian Folk Orchestra, Who Live And Breathe This Music. They Made Me Feel a Welcome Guest in Repertoire Far from My Operatic Home, But Very Close to My Heart. Dmitri Hvorostovsky This Double CD Set Returns Two Popular CDs to the Catalogue - Hvorostovsky Performing Songs with Orchestra (CD 1) And with Choir (CD 2). Winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World, He Has Gone on to Give Great Performances in Operas By Verdi And Is Unequalled in the Russian Baritone Opera Repertoire Today. This Repertoire Is Dear to His Heart And in It He Invests Every Ounce of Artistry That Marks His Performances on the Operatic Stage And the Concert Platform. Artists: Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Ossipov Russian Folk Orchestra / Nikolai Kalinin (CD 1), St. Petersburg Chamber Choir / Nikolai Korniev (CD 2)

Lalo: Le Roi d'Ys

The two-act comic opera L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love) by Gaetano Donizetti was written hurriedly in only six weeks. It has endured massive success in its life, and remains one of Donizetti’s most performed works. The recording featured here is from 1952, and features the Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Roma della RAI, conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni. Soloists featured here include Alda Noni, Cesare Valletti, Sesto Bruscantini, Afro Poli, and Bruna Rizzoli.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Clemency, a chamber opera for five singers and string orchestra in one act; composed 2009-10 and the third operatic collaboration between composer James MacMillan and poet Michael Symmons Roberts to date – is a work exploring a central but enigmatic Old Testament episode. The composer has commented that Clemency is set in the present day and ‘is not intended as an old Hollywood style Biblical drama. Abraham and Sarah are modern people who are visited by three strange but modern figures that, it turns out, have something terroristic about them. There is something of the ancient and the modern in the piece; the ancient, Biblical tale but also the kinds of thing people face today in many parts of the world.’ For the first U.S. production and its world premiere recording, Boston Lyric Opera, with the approval of both composer and librettist, decided to introduce the figure of Hagar, servant to Sarah but also the mother of Abraham’s first child, Ishmael. This is done by incorporating a version of Schubert’s early song Hagar’s Lament as a prelude to this opera, challenging us to measure the impact of our lives in a modern world that continues to be marked politically and spiritually by acts of mercy and acts of vengeance.

A wonderfully relaxed and good humoured performance in which nearly everything seemed to have gone right.

There is a small but important group of operas that are essentially ensemble works, and in which the presence of a few star singers is less important than the quality of the team as a whole. Die Meistersinger, From the House of the Dead and Peter Grimes are prime examples but surely Falstaff comes at the top of the list. Everyone involved, including the chorus and orchestra as well as the many smaller parts, needs to be aware of their part in the work as a whole and in the chosen approach. If this is the case any small weaknesses in the main parts can easily be forgiven and the nature of the work can be triumphantly realised. That is surely the ambition of any opera company serious about its task, and is clearly the case here. I would not want to suggest that the present set is superior to all its many distinguished predecessors but it is certainly another vindication of the importance of ensemble in opera.
 
Glyndebourne took its productions to the early Edinburgh Festivals right from the first Festival in 1947 onwards. In 1955 it took Falstaff in a production originally intended to be conducted by Vittorio Gui but taken over by Giulini when the former became unwell. A later Glyndebourne version of the opera conducted by Gui with Geraint Evans, the original choice as Ford, has now been released on Glyndebourne’s own label. The usual very thorough rehearsal which has always been a feature of this company’s work is especially relevant to this opera. The result is a single-minded approach to its musical and dramatic character that is very striking. Whether this is due to the conductor’s efforts, to the long rehearsals or to careful casting I do not know but the result is a real overall success.
 
The individual casting is admirable. Fernando Corena’s recordings of buffo music by Donizetti and Cimarosa had shown his ability in this field. It is surprising that this production appears to have been his first performances as Falstaff. The part is often given to a baritone but a bass voice does have the advantage of suggesting the character’s scale without needing to resort to “funny” voices. He does not play with the words in quite the detailed way of, say, Tito Gobbi or Geraint Evans, but instead he exudes a more general good humour. I found it wholly convincing, especially when set within a cast all of whom display their character’s individual “humours” musically and without exaggeration. Walter Monachesi has a voice very different from Corena’s, which helps a lot in their scene together, and if the Merry Wives are not so well distinguished from each other, neither are they in most performances of the opera or indeed in Shakespeare. The role of Mistress Quickly is a gift for a singer with the necessary power in the lower register and ability of characterisation. Oralia Dominguez has both of these qualities and stands out even in such distinguished company. All of the other, by no means minor, parts are well filled. One oddity is that Kevin Miller takes over in Act 3 from Juan Oncina as Fenton. He may lack the same lyrical beauty of voice but there is no serious loss.
 
As I explained earlier, it is the quality of the ensemble that distinguishes this recording. All of the big complicated ensembles which can sound simply confused or untidy are here clear and transparent. Even with a recording which is adequate for a broadcast of the period but little more there is no real loss to the music. There are occasional stage noises, including what is probably the prompter at times, and some obtrusive applause but this simply makes the listener even more aware of what must have been a tremendous theatrical occasion. There is no libretto or even a synopsis which is regrettable but understandable in a version likely to appeal mainly to collectors who have more modern versions in their collections already. I would happily have exchanged the seven pages of listing of the ICA catalogue for more pictures of the original production - or indeed a more detailed description of it.
 
There are many distinguished recordings of Falstaff in the catalogue, including those conducted by Karajan (with Gobbi), Toscanini, and (some years later) Giulini in Los Angeles. The present set takes its place with them, like them offering hours of pleasure and delight. If the opera has a lesson it is the composer and librettist’s sheer delight in the varied character of humanity and its many frailties. This recording captures that varied character to perfection in a wonderfully relaxed and good humoured performance in which nearly everything seemed to have gone right.
 
-- John Sheppard, MusicWeb International