SPYRIDON SAMARAS
Samaras: Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle (Complete opera) Angelo Simos, Tassis Christoyannis, Pavlos Maropoulos, Pantelis Kontos / Kaval Choir of Sofia, Pazardzhik Symphony, Byron Fidetzis [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 11/Jun/2021 ] Remembered today for the Olympic Anthem, Spyridon Samaras was the most distinguished Greek composer of his day and the first to gain international recognition. |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Ciro in Babilonia (complete opera) Anna Rita Gemmabella / Islam-Ali-Zade / Riccardo Botta / ARS Brunensis Chamber Choir / Wurttemberg Philharmonic Orchestra / Antonino Fogliani [ Naxos Opera / 2 CD - released 4/Mar/2007 ] Rossini's Ciro in Babilonia is a bold fusion of biblical and secular subjects set to brilliant, thrilling music. Although intended to be staged during Lent, Ciro includes all the time-honoured ingredients of serious opera such as the test of love,... |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: La Favorite (complete opera recorded in 2022) Annalisa Stroppa (mezzo-soprano) Javier Camarena (tenor) Florian Sempey (baritone) Evgeny Stavinsky (bass) / Orchestra Donizetti Opera, Riccardo Frizz [ Naxos / 3 CD Box Set - released 19/Apr/2024 ] Written for the Opéra in Paris, Gaetano Donizetti's La Favorite contains some of his most famously enthralling arias. While its much-reduced Italian version has continued in popularity, this superb production from the Donizetti Opera Festival in... |
DEEMS TAYLOR
Peter Ibbetson [Complete Opera] Anthony Dean Griffey / Lauren Flanigan / Richard Zeller / Seattle Symphony and Chorale / Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos American Opera Classics / 2 CD - released 1/Aug/2009 ] From its triumphant, star-studded première in 1931 until 1985, Peter Ibbetson was the most-performed American opera at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The story (based on the novel by George Du Maurier) of two star-crossed lovers who secretly... |
VERDI
La Traviata (complete opera recorded in 1955) Antonietta Stella (soprano) Giuseppe di Stefano (tenor) Tito Gobbi (baritone) / Milan La Scala Orchestra / Tullio Serafin [ Naxos Historical / 2 CD - released 1/Dec/2007 ] Having already recorded La Traviata for CETRA Maria Callas was contractually barred from taking part in this 1955 recording of the opera, which featured, instead, the emerging Italian soprano Antonietta Stella, who went on to become an acclaimed... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Rinaldo (Complete opera) Aradia Ensemble, Kevin Mallon (Conductor), Nicole Bower (Soprano), Catherine Affleck (Soprano), Lenard Whiting (Tenor) [ Naxos Opera / 3 CD - released 18/Apr/2006 ] "Fine soloists make the most of their coloratura opportunities, especially Barbara Hannigan as the enchantress Armida and Kimberly Barber in the title role. Recorded in Canada, this budget-price version led by Kevin Mallon is a welcome addition to... |
RAFFAELLO DE BANFIELD
Lord Byron's Love Letter (complete opera recorded in 1958) Astrid Varnay / Gertrude Ribla / Nicoletta Carruba / Mario Carlin / Academy Symphony Orchestra of Rome / Nicola Rescigno [ Naxos Historical Great Opera Recordings / CD - released 10/May/2011 ] The RCA Victor recording of Raffaello de Banfield's 1955 opera Lord Byron's Love Letter is a true rarity, remaining in their catalogue for only a short time and never reissued on CD before now. Based on a Tennessee Williams play set in late... |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Walkure (The Valkyries) (complete opera recorded live in 1941) Astrid Varnay / Helen Traubel / Lauritz Melchior / Kerstin Thorborg / Friedrich Schorr / Alexander Kipnis / Metropolitan Opera Orchestra / Erich Leins [ Naxos Great Opera Performances / 3 CD - released 1/Jan/2007 ] Saturday 6th December 1941 was a momentous afternoon in the history of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, The opera - Die Walkure - was well enough known to the theatre and radio audiences that day, but this particular performance was eagerly... |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Gotterdammerung (complete opera, recorded in 1936) Lauritz Melchior / Marjorie Lawrence / Ludwig Hofmann / Artur Bodanzky (cond) [ Naxos Great Opera Performances / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Jun/2010 ] Naxos Historical's Ring cycle continues with this formidable live performance of Gotterdammerung, the fourth and final part of the tetralogy. |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Eduardo e Cristina (complete opera) Baurzhan Anderzhano, Laura Polverelli, Silvia Dalla Benetta, Kenneth Tarver, Xiang Xu / Virtuosi Brunensis, Gianluigi Gelmetti [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 19/Jul/2019 ] Rossini's Eduardo e Cristina was a huge success in its day, but as perhaps the last centone opera (one assembled from previously existing material) by a major composer, it became forgotten under the subsequent tide of Romantic idealism. Today we can... |
JOHANN SIMON MAYR
Mayr: Innalzamento al trono del giovane re Gioas (Oratorio) Cornel Frey, Andrea Lauren Brown, Andreas Burkhart, Robert Sellier / Bavarian State Opera Chorus, Simon Mayr Choir, Simon Mayr Ensemble, Franz Hauk [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 3/Sep/2012 ] "American soprano Andrea Lauren Brown is brilliant and expressive in the fiery role of Sebia, which is enhanced in the oratorio with arias originally intended for other roles in I Misteri." Opera News |
MASCAGNI
Cavalleria Rusticana (complete opera recorded in 1940, conducted by the composer) + opera overtures Beniamino Gigli / Lina Bruna-Rasa / Gino Bechi / Giulietta Simionato / La Scala Orchestra and Chorus / Pietro Mascagni [ Naxos Historical Great Opera Recordings / 2 CD - released 1/Jan/2007 ] The fiftieth anniversary of the first staging of Cavalleria rusticana was the occasion of particular celebration, represented by the present recording under the composer’s direction. |
ALEXANDER ZEMLINSKY
Zemlinsky: Der Zwerg (complete opera recorded in 2019) Berlin Deutsche / Elena Tsallagova. Emily Magee, Philipp Jekal, Flurina Stucki / Donald Runnicles (cond) [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 20/May/2020 ] Based on Oscar Wilde's story The Birthday of the Infanta, Zemlinsky's single-act opera Der Zwerg is the tragic tale of a dwarf who is presented at court, falls in love with the beautiful Donna Clara, but is ultimately forced to see himself as others... |
ALEXANDER ZEMLINSKY
Zemlinsky: Der Zwerg (complete opera recorded in 2019) BLU-RAY Berlin Deutsche / Elena Tsallagova. Emily Magee, Philipp Jekal, Flurina Stucki / Donald Runnicles (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 20/May/2020 ] Based on Oscar Wilde's story The Birthday of the Infanta, Zemlinsky's single-act opera Der Zwerg is the tragic tale of a dwarf who is presented at court, falls in love with the beautiful Donna Clara, but is ultimately forced to see himself as others... |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Das Rheingold (complete opera recorded in 2021) Berlin Opera / Derek Welton, Tobias Kehrer, Thomas Blondelle, Markus Blondelle / Sir Donald Runnicles (cond) [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 16/Feb/2024 ] As early as 1851, Wagner wrote, 'I propose to produce my myth in three complete dramas, preceded by a lengthy Prelude.' The Prelude was Das Rheingold ('The Rhine Gold') the preliminary evening of Wagner's epic tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen ('The... |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Das Rheingold (complete opera recorded in 2021) BLU-RAY Berlin Opera / Derek Welton, Tobias Kehrer, Thomas Blondelle, Markus Blondelle / Sir Donald Runnicles (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 16/Feb/2024 ] As early as 1851, Wagner wrote, 'I propose to produce my myth in three complete dramas, preceded by a lengthy Prelude.' The Prelude was Das Rheingold ('The Rhine Gold') the preliminary evening of Wagner's epic tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen ('The... |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Gotterdammerung (complete opera recorded in 2021) BLU-RAY Berlin Opera / Nina Stemme, Clay Hilley, Thomas Lehmann, Aile Asszonyi / Sir Donald Runnicles (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / 2 Blu-ray - released 17/May/2024 ] Götterdämmerung ('Twilight of the Gods') is the final opera of Wagner's epic tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen ('The Ring of the Nibelung') in which his visionary masterpiece reaches its cataclysmic conclusion. Betrayal and death, murder and remorse,... |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Walkure (complete opera recorded in 2021) Berlin Opera / Nina Stemme, Iain Paterson, Brandon Jovanovich, Elisabeth Teige / Sir Donald Runnicles (cond) [ Naxos DVD / 2 DVD - released 15/Mar/2024 ] Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen ('The Ring of the Nibelung') comprises four operas of which Die Walküre ('The Valkyrie') is the second, famous for its spectacular set-pieces such as the Ride of the Valkyries and Wotan's Farewell. |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Walkure (complete opera recorded in 2021) BLU-RAY Berlin Opera / Nina Stemme, Iain Paterson, Brandon Jovanovich, Elisabeth Teige / Sir Donald Runnicles (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / 2 Blu-ray - released 15/Mar/2024 ] Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen ('The Ring of the Nibelung') comprises four operas of which Die Walküre ('The Valkyrie') is the second, famous for its spectacular set-pieces such as the Ride of the Valkyries and Wotan's Farewell. The plot focuses on... |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen (complete operas recorded in 2021) BLU-RAY Berlin Opera / Nina Stemme, Iain Paterson, Brandon Jovanovich, Elisabeth Teige / Sir Donald Runnicles (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / 4 Blu-ray Box Set - released 15/Sep/2022 ] "Donald Runnicles leads an impressive account of the score. His deep knowledge of the music comes through in the naturalness of the discourse, the easy communication with the singers and the vibrant colours he draws from the orchestra." Fanfare |