Opera, Operetta, and Oratorio
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Hugo Alfven: Complete Orchestral Songs
$18.99CDDB Productions
Sep 19, 2025DBCD218 -
Leos Janacek: Jenufa
$27.99CDSterling Records
Oct 03, 2025CDA1879 -
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Wilhelm Stenhammar: Tirfing
$27.99CDSterling Records
Jan 02, 2026CDO1134 -
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Rudolf Tobias: Joonas (Jonah Oratorio)
$26.99CDOndine
Jan 30, 2026ODE 1456-2D -
Onute Narbutaite: Centones Meae Urbi (Oratorio)
$16.99CDOndine
Jan 30, 2026ODE 1455-2
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, TH 5 (Sung in German) [L
Verdi: Falstaff
Mozart, Berg, Beethoven, Strauss, Wagner / Walter Berry
There is hardly a singer who has sung so many and such varied (main) roles as Walter Berry - both tragic and comic, German and Italian, and with such well-loved singing partners and conductors. All this can be heard in our selection from his fifty-year career at the vienna State Opera.
Verdi: Macbeth / Currentzis , Urmana, Tiliakos, Furlanetto [Blu-ray]
Also available on standard DVD
After public and critical acclaim for his Eugene Onegin (available on DVD from BelAir), "Macbeth" on Blu-ray and DVD is the latest production from Russian stage director Dmitri Tcherniakov, recorded at the Paris Opera.
Coproduced with Siberia's Novosibirsk Opera, this new Macbeth uses cutting-edge multimedia technology to give the viewer a fresh perspective on the work. Google Earth satellite images plunge us into the heart of the action: a gloomy square surrounded by soulless buildings, and the interior of an aristocratic residence. Witches are no more a part of Tcherniakov's Macbeth that the duel was of Onegin, but once again the atmosphere is one of brooding claustrophobia. Tcherniakov has chosen a great cast, beginning with the marvellous Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana as Lady Macbeth. Greek baritone Dimitris Tiliakos is a powerful presence as Macbeth, while the Italians Ferruccio Furlanetto (bass) and Stefano Secco (tenor) are sumptuous as, respectively, Banquo and Macduff. In this, his second production at the Paris Opera, Teodor Currentzis, music director of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre conducts with verve and a splendid theatrical sense.
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Format: Stereo, DTS-HD 5.1, Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Director: Andy Sommer & Denis Sneguirev
Beethoven: Fidelio - 1805 Version / Nylund, Streit, de Billy, ORF Radio Symphony Vienna
REVIEWS:
"All Fidelio and Beethoven fans will need this."
As most opera lovers know, Beethoven toiled greatly over his sole opera which was premiered in 1805 and revised in 1806--and then finally again in 1814, in the version that is now famous and beloved. The recording under consideration here is of the first version; this is the third time it has been recorded commercially.
Listening to this version...is an ear-opener: much music was eventually used in the familiar 1814 version, but even within those many pages there are small alterations everywhere and they're great fun to spot.
The performance is excellent, indeed marginally better than [the recording by John Eliot] Gardiner. It's as tightly led in exciting passages but Bertrand de Billy also captures some rapturous stillness and warmth in "Mir ist so wunderbar" and elsewhere, while Gardiner seems a bit clinical. De Billy also has slightly better singers. Camilla Nyland's sound is grander than Hillevi Martinpelto, and her reading of the text is deeper; Kim Begley and Kurt Streit are vocally both fine, but Streit's sweetness and goodness make a better case for Florestan. Peter Rose's understated Rocco is never mugged, and while I prefer a heavier voice than Gerd Gochowski's as Pizarro, his ease with the vocal line is a pleasure to hear. Dietmar Kerschbaum's Jaquino never cloys and Brigitte Geller's Marzelline is beautifully sung. De Billy gets thrilling playing from the Vienna Radio Symphony--the scoring in this version of the opera is very horn-heavy and generally heftier than the 1814--and I have a preference for ORF's non-period instruments here. The Arnold Schoenberg Choir sings with accuracy and feeling. All Fidelio and Beethoven fans will need this.
-- ClassicsToday.com
Rutter: Three Musical Fables - The Reluctant Dragon, Etc.
'This is an enchanting recording' Church Music Quarterly Three Christmas Fables for children and eavesdropping adults. (Formerly available on COLCD115)
Schoenberg: Pelleas Und Melisande, Erwartung / Craft, Silja
Musica Warmiensis, Vol. 4
Hugo Alfven: Complete Orchestral Songs
Leos Janacek: Jenufa
Wagner: Die Walkure / Cristofoli, Aarhus Symphony
Die Walkure is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. The story of Die Walkure is based on the Norse mythology told in the Volsunga saga and the Poetic Edda. In this version, the Volsung twins Sieglinde and Siegmund, separated in childhood, meet and fall in love. This union angers the gods, who demand that Siegmund must die. Sieglinde and the couple's unborn child are saved by the defiant actions of Wotan's daughter, the title character, Valkyrie Brunnhilde, who as a result faces the gods' retribution.
Wilhelm Stenhammar: Tirfing
Hallen: Waldemarsskatten - Opera in Four Acts
The opera Waldermarsskatten is a fantasy around a real historical event on the island of Gotland on the east coast of Sweden, “The Valdemar Atterdag holding Visby to ransom, 1361”. The trade in the Baltic Sea was dominated by the German trading monopoly The Hanseatic League, which existed around 1150–1650. The city of Visby was included in this association. After a plague pandemic in the Nordic countries in the 1350s, the so-called ‘black death’, in which a third of the population died, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag wanted the rich merchants of the Hanseatic League to pay for a renewal of their trade privileges. Valdemar set off to Visby with about thirty ships to Gotland at the end of July 1361. Battles were fought, first on the coast-line then at Visby’s city wall, and in total around 1 800 Swedes are said to have lost their lives, while the Danes’ loss was around 300 souls. An unfair fight, one might think, as the Danish army consisted of German mercenaries, while Gotland was defended by civilian farmers.
Bartok: Duke Bluebeard's Castle
Flury: Casanova e l'Albertolli, Comedia lirica in due atti
Schürmann: Jason or the Capture of the Golden Fleece / Hochman, Barockwerk Hamburg
Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius; The Apostles; The Kingdom / Elder, Halle Orchestra
Sir Mark Elder has long been hailed for his interpretation of the works of Sir Edward Elgar. This special release box set celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the Hallé label and marks Hallé’s Elgar oratorios festival at the Bridgewater Hall in June 2023. Elgar’s three major oratorios are brought together in this special release box set. The multiple award-winning recordings feature the highly acclaimed Hallé Chorus and Youth Choir and a stellar line-up of major international vocal soloists.
L'inganno felice
Handel: Alcina / Kožená, Morley, Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre
Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre return to Handel with a complete recording of his opera Alcina. The title role is interpreted by Magdalena Kožená, who reunites with Les Musiciens and maestro Minkowski after a series of acclaimed baroque recordings. She is joined by an excellent casts of soloists, consisting of Erin Morley (Morgana), Anna Bonitatibus (Ruggiero), Elzabeth DeShong (Bradamante), Alois Muhlbacher (Oberto), Valerio Contaldo (Oronte) and Alex Rosen (Melisso). This studio recording transports the listener to Alcina’s enchanted island, and shows Handel at the peak of his power: the score is dramatic, lush and colourful as well as introspective and profound where the story requires it. Since its foundation in 1982, and under the baton of its founder and musical director Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre have developed into one of the world’s best period-instrument ensembles, with a vast discography. The ensemble returns to Pentatone after having presented Mozart’s Mass in C Minor in 2020. Alcina is star mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožena’s fifth album as part of her exclusive collaboration with Pentatone, after having presented the baroque cantatas recital album Il giardino dei sospiri and the songs in chamber-musical setting project Soiree in 2019, as well as Nostalgia together with Yefim Bronfman (2021) and Folk Songs with the Czech Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle (2023). The other soloists all make their Pentatone debut.
REVIEW:
There are relatively few recordings of Alcina out there, even though Handel’s Tempest-like opera of infatuation, rescue and enchantment is one of his most popular on stage. This new one scores highly, partly for the dramatic relish with which the conductor Marc Minkowski and his Musiciens du Louvre dispatch the music, but principally for a tour de force performance in the title role from the mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená.
— Guardian (UK)
Remembering Tebaldi / Moore, Foster, Transylvania State Philharmonic
Melody Moore pays tribute to the legendary soprano Renata Tebaldi, presenting a selection of arias and scenes by Rossini, Verdi, Boito, Catalani, Puccini, Mascagni, Giordano, Cilea and Alessandro Scarlatti, documenting the most important stages in the career of “la voce d’angelo”. Moore performs these pieces together with the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra under the baton of Lawrence Foster. Melody Moore and Lawrence Foster both have a vast Pentatone discography, including collective complete recordings of Verdi’s Otello (2017) and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and La Fanciulla del West (both 2021). The latter album was also the Pentatone debut of the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra.
REVIEW:
Does Moore sound like Tebaldi? Not exactly: a track-by-track comparison reveals subtle differences in timbre and interpretation. But this is an act of homage, not impersonation, and Tebaldi’s repertoire certainly suits Moore’s voice and showcases her versatility, as she differentiates each heroine from the next.
-- BBC Music Magazine
Puccini: Tosca / Montanaro, Berlin Radio Symphony
The Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and conductor Carlo Montanaro present a powerful interpretation of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, together with a cast of soloists including Melody Moore (Tosca), Stefan Pop (Cavaradossi) and Lester Lynch (Scarpia). Tosca has been an audience favourite from the onset. Premiered in 1900, it marks the beginning of twentieth- century opera, in which sex, violence and the uncanny abysses of the human psyche would be explored, inspiring composers to expand the musical means of expression in all thinkable ways. Until today, Tosca has lost little of its expressive power, and Puccini’s intricate score deserves to be taken seriously. Its symphonic qualities are fully brought out by the inspired playing of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, led by the seasoned maestro Carlo Montanaro.
Melody Moore, Stefan Pop and Lester Lynch bring the passionate, electrifying score to life with performances of dazzling power. The splendid cast is completed by Kevin Short (Angelotti), Alexander Köpeczi (Un Sagrestano), Colin Judson (Spoletta), Georg Streuber (Sciarrone), Axel Scheidig (Un Carceriere), and Lean Miray Yüksel (Un Pastore). The members of Rundfunkchor Berlin and Kinderchor der Deutschen Oper Berlin add their marvelous choral sound to the recording, culminating in the famous Te Deum. Melody Moore and Lester Lynch both have a vast Pentatone discography, including complete opera recordings as well as solo recitals. The Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin also has a long history with the label, having recorded multiple orchestral works, as well as Wagner’s ten mature operas, often in collaboration with the Rundfunkchor Berlin. Stefan Pop makes his Pentatone debut.
Getty: Goodbye, Mr. Chips / Doubin, Barbary Coast Orchestra
Verdi: Un ballo in maschera / Janowski, Monte Carlo Philharmonic
Maestro Marek Janowski, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir present Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera (1859), together with a stellar cast consisting of Freddie De Tommaso (Riccardo), Lester Lynch (Renato) and Saioa Hernández (Amelia). Un ballo in maschera is Verdi’s tragicomic masterpiece, in which the composer skilfully switches gears between the light and tragic, as well as between his earlier and more mature style. As such, it is both an entertaining and highly sophisticated work. The three main soloists are all seasoned Verdi interpreters, while Janowski approaches this ingenuous score with his eye for symphonic architecture, resulting in a performance that is lively and balanced.
Marek Janowski is one of the most celebrated conductors of our time, and has a vast Pentatone discography, mostly consisting of German operas and symphonic works. After Cavalleria rusticana and Il Tabarro (both 2020), this is his third Italian opera recording for the label. Lester Lynch also has a longstanding relationship to Pentatone, and starred in many opera recordings, including Otello (2017), Cavalleria rusticana and Il Tabarro (both 2020), as well as La Fanciulla del West, Madama Butterfly (both 2021), and La Traviata (2022). The Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir has featured on several opera recordings, while the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo appeared on Arabella Steinbacher’s Fantasies, Rhapsodies & Daydreams (2016). Freddie De Tommaso and Saioa Hernández make their Pentatone debut.
REVIEWS:
The Transylvanian choir is in fine fettle, and as always with Pentatone the quality of the recording is beyond reproach. The prerequisites for a successful performance are, in other words, favourable.
No opera performance stands or falls completely with the singing and acting of one specific soloist, but...[tenor Freddie De Tommaso's] entrance [as Riccardo,] Amici miei… Soldati…ai deputati (CD 1 track 3) is like a fresh summer wind: lyric beautiful tone, elegant phrasing and that special Italian warmth and youthfulness. This is a happy governor and just a minute or so later he intones that wonderful love theme, which we first encountered in the prelude and which also returns in the last act, La rivedrà nell’estasi. He never forces, he never distorts the phrases with lachrymose gulps in the Gigli manner. He is tasteful and full of life. Di’ tu se fedele (CD 1 track 14) in the Ulrica scene is again elegant, sung with appropriate swagger and he takes that giant downward leap to the bass register with confidence. In the long duet with Amelia on the gallows hill he is palpably in love with her; his tone glows, and the whole scene becomes the highpoint it should be. Forse la soglia attinse – Ma se m’è forza perderti in the last act also glows and Ella è pura is so tender. The recording is worth its price for De Tommaso’s achievement alone – but there are further reasons for acquisition as well.
Saioa Hernández’ Amelia is one. In both her arias as well as the duet on the gallows hill she sings with feeling. Her horror in Ecco l’orrido campo – Ma dall’arido stelo (CD 1 track 20) when the bell rings at midnight is moving, and so is the prayer that rounds off the aria proper. Her second aria Morrò, ma prima in grazia (CD 2 track 4) is even more heartrending. She has the voice also for the more dramatic outbursts, maybe with a certain hardness of tone at fortissimo, but there is a thrill in her singing.
Annika Gerhards’ Oscar is charming and glittering and Elisabeth Kulman’s Ulrica impresses greatly. Here is a contralto of the old school with solid chest notes (CD 1 track 9). The basses Samuel and Tom are also forces to be reckoned with, in particular Kevin Short’s Samuel. Jean-Luc Ballestra is also an expressive Silvano in the Ulrica scene.
And how does this production stand the test against existing competitors? Very well, I would say. Leinsdorf-Bergonzi will never be redundant, but this Janowski-De Tommaso recording is an admirable newcomer that should be heard by all admirers of Verdi.
-- MusicWeb International
Rudolf Tobias: Joonas (Jonah Oratorio)
