Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Its style falls a good distance from the historical niceties of our modern era’s historically informed performance standards, but yet it still lands squarely in the most enjoyable listen category. Sir Colin Davis is near the beginning of his brilliant career to come when this Glyndebourne Festival live 1960 production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte was staged. He leads a cast including Richard Lewis, Pilar Lorengar, Heather Harper, Geraint Evans and Hungarian bass Mihaly Szekely as Sarastro, whose formidable presence on opera house stages had been overwhelming audiences since the 1920s.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

From the private collection of the late, great dramatic soprano Martha Mödl comes this 1955 live broadcast recording of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre, captured in excellent MONO sound and differing from the Testament label Die Walküre release of the same year’s performance with the same conductor (Joseph Keilberth) in both its sound (stereo) and, ever so slightly, in cast, first and foremost in the case of Ms. Mödl as Brünnhilde, but both, of course, first-rate dream casts. The other glorious, featured voices from this production include Astrid Varnay, Ramon Vinay, Josef Greindl and Hans Hotter.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

What many celebrate as the reference studio recording of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro was recorded in 1959 with the same orchestra, chorus, conductor and famed soprano in the role of the Countess Almaviva. This live recording, captured a mere two years later London in 1961, with almost an entirely different cast excepting the great German soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in the aforementioned role makes for a superb complimentary recording to it's near contemporary, it's fine cast including, among others, Heather Harper and Elisabeth S�derstrom at the start what became prominent careers.

Though it's at first blush less than star-studded in the international sense when taking in account the long, historical view of opera recordings, there is Ettore Bastianini and Boris Christoff to contend with, and Italian casting of Italian opera was in fairly fine mettle in the 1960s. Giuseppe Verdi certainly had his struggles with Don Carlo, but the opera, his longest when performed at full length, tells a powerful story of personal and political conflict, and there's much glorious music to enjoy in this superb performance, preserved in excellent sound, conducted by Mario Rossi in 1961.

Classical Music