DUKAS / OFFENBACH / ROSSINI / TCHAIKOVSKY
Solti at the Ballet [Incls 'La Boutique fantasque' & 'Gaîté Parisienne'] Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 20/Jul/2016 ] "an absolutely splendid recording …This Solti performance [of La Boutique fantasque] is sheer delight, played as it is with a combination of style and gusto it needs; a most exhilarating performance …this is an excellent debut on Decca" Gramophone |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: The Pilgrim's Progress (Complete Opera) Gerald Finley, Rebecca Evans / Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Hickox [ Chandos Classics / 2 CD - released 21/Sep/2001 ] Rosette (Penguin Stereo Guide) - "The Chandos recording is superb, spacious and atmospheric, with the many onstage effects beautifully balanced, yet with words always clear…(an) overpowering recording." |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: The Turn of the Screw (Complete Opera with libretto) Helen Donath, Heather Harper, Robert Tear, Ava June / Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sir Colin Davis [ Philips Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Aug/1995 ] "The Philips recording boasts luscious stereo sound and a good cast, including a youthful sounding Helen Donath as an appropriately idealistic Governess" (EnjoyTheMusic.com) |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Don Giovanni (highlights from the opera recorded in 1991) Ingvar Wixell, Luigi Roni, Martina Arroyo, Stuart Burrows,Kiri te Kanawa / Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sir Colin Davis [ Philips remastered / CD - released 20/Nov/1996 ] Originally recorded in London,1973 |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: La Cenerentola [Cinderella] (Highlights from the opera) Jennifer Larmore, Raul Gimenez, Gino Quilico, Alessandro Corbelli / Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Carlo Rizzi [ Teldec / CD - released 14/Jun/2004 ] "What really makes a reading of Cenerentola stand out is the handling of the ensembles. In this respect Carlo Rizzi is outstanding." (MusicWeb July 2004) |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: Spring Symphony / Cantata Academica / Hymn to St Cecilia Jennifer Vyvyan, Norma Procter, Peter Peras / Royal Opera House Orchestra & Chorus, Benjamin Britten / London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, George Malc [ Decca / CD - released 10/Apr/1995 ] A great introduction to the choral works of Benjamin Britten |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore (complete opera recorded in 1971) [2 CDs with libretto] Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 27/Sep/2000 ] "Though some of the girlish freshness of voice which marked the 1961 recording had disappeared by the 1971 set, Sutherland's detailed understanding was intensified. Power is there as well as delicacy, and the rest of the cast is first-rate." (Penguin |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Lucia Di Lammermoor (complete opera recorded in 1971) Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge [ Decca 2 CDs plus Blu-ray audio & Libretto / 3 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Jun/2019 ] Remastered in ultra-high quality 96kHz/24-bit audio at Abbey Road Studios in 2014 under the supervision of long-term Decca balance engineer Philip Siney. |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore (complete opera recorded in 1971) [2 CDs plus Blu-ray audio] Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge [ Decca 2 CDs plus Blu-ray audio / 3 CD Box Set - released 27/Sep/2019 ] "The "L'elisir" set was one of the loveliest things Sutherland ever did on record . . . As Donizetti's Adina she is charming -- touching, exuberant, virtuoso (her coloratura is astounding), and always very human." (Gramophone) |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (complete opera filmed in 2006) Royal Opera House / Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo / Antonio Pappano (conductor) [ Decca Classics DVD / DVD - released 25/Jan/2017 ] "Kaufmann and Antonacci are that rare breed: superb singers who can also act with subtlety and passion" The Guardian |
PUCCINI
La Boheme (Complete Opera) Katia Ricciarelli / Jose Carreras / Ingvar Wixell / Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Sir Colin Davis [ Decca Opera! / 2 CD - released 1/Sep/2010 ] "Not Davis's normal repertoire, but he conducts a lively, detailed, idiomatic performance of this masterpiece, and has strong soloists. Carreras was then at his peak, and Ricciarelli is an affecting Mimi." (BBC Music) |
KIRI te KANAWA
I Could Have Danced all Night (Concert & Portrait) BLU-RAY Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano) / New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, John Hopkins / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Stephen Barlow [ Arthaus Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Oct/2015 ] Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's story has all the best elements of an operatic fairytale. Coming from a part-Maori background she went on to become one of the world's most famous opera stars. |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Cherevichki [The Slippers] (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Larissa Diadkova, Maxim Mikhailov, Vladimir Matorin, Olga Guryakova, Vsevolod Grivnov / Alexander Polianichko (cond) [ Opus Arte Royal Opera House Collection Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "…this expensive-looking production that combines the forces of the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet…" The Guardian |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Rigoletto (Complete Opera recorded in 1996) Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Marcelo Alvarez, Peter Auty, Graeme Broadbent, Christine Schafer / Edward Downes (cond) [ Opus Arte Essential Opera Collection DVD / DVD - released 1/Jun/2014 ] "A thrilling performance, with Gavanelli the best acted Rigoletto since Gobbi." - Gramophone Magazine (June 2002) |
PUCCINI / BIZET / VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Maria Callas at Covent Garden: London 1962 & 1964 Maria Callas (soprano) / Orchestra & Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden [ EMI Classics DVD / DVD - released 20/Nov/2015 ] These are the only professional video recordings of Callas in performance on stage. The DVD contains footage of Callas performing arias in concert. Even without staging and costumes, she demonstrates her mesmerising stage presence. |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE - Rossini: Heros and Heroines Marilyn Horne (mezzo soprano) / L'Orchestre de la Suisse romande / Royal Philharmonic Orchetra / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden [ Decca Opera Gala / CD - released 20/Jun/1998 ] 'Marilyn Horne's generously filled recital disc brings us one of the most cherishable among all Rossini aria records ever issued. The voice is in glorious condition, rich and firm throughout its spectacular range, and is consistently used with... |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
The Prince of the Pagodas, Op. 57 (complete ballet) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten [ Decca Ballet Edition / 2 CD - released 16/Apr/2012 ] The first recording of The Prince of the Pagodas at the Royal Opera House, with Britten himself conducting. The Prince of the Pagodas is Britten's only full-length ballet - a glittering score full of the oriental harmonies and instrumental colour... |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia [The Barber of Seville] (complete opera recorded in 2009) Royal Opera House / Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Florez, Pietro Spagnoli / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics DVD / 2 DVD - released 10/May/2010 ] G - "This very likely is the strongest Barber cast I've ever seen. DiDonato, wheelchair or not, is a dream Rosina, vocally flawless and always in good taste." (10/10 ClassicsToday.com) |
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (complete ballet) The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mark Ermler [ Conifer / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/1993 ] |
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty Op 66 (complete ballet) The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mark Ermler [ Conifer / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/1990 ] "The orchestra respond idiomatically to Tchaikovsky dance music and with obvious familiarity and love. Ermler has a natural feeling for springing rhythms and moulding rubato persuasively." (Gramophone) |