VERDI
Aida (complete opera) Maria Callas (soprano) / Fedora Barbieri (mezzo) / Richard Tucker (tenor) / Tito Gobbi (baritone) / La Scala Chorus and Orchestra / Tullio Serafin [ Naxos Historical / 2 CD - released 7/Feb/2007 ] Callas' dramatic power and her ability to shade the beautiful vocal line here find the best imaginable medium". In, for example, the opening phrases of the Act III love duet with Radamès, 'Là, tra foreste vergini', her voice has a limpidity which... |
VERDI
Rigoletto (complete opera recorded in 1955) Maria Callas (soprano) / Giuseppe di Stefano (tenor) / Tito Gobbi (baritone) / La Scala Chorus and Orchestra / Tullio Serafin [ Naxos Historical Opera / 2 CD - released 7/Feb/2007 ] "..the performance, it is that of Tito Gobbi as Rigoletto that defines it as one of recorded operas must haves. The role of Rigoletto is one of the most profoundly human of Verdi's creations. His character is defined in the music of the great duets... |
VERDI
Aida (Complete opera) Maria Callas (soprano) Richard Tucker (tenor) Fedora Barbieri (mezzo) Tito Gobbi (baritone) / La Scala Milan / Tullio Serafin [ Regis Records / 2 CD - released 10/Mar/2009 ] "The Nile scene has never been performed more powerfully and characterfully than on this vintage La Scala set. Though Callas is hardly as sweet-toned as some will think essential for an Aida, her imagination is irresistible and she is matched by Tito... |
VERDI
Rigoletto (Complete opera recorded in 1954) plus bonus 'La Forza del Destino' arias Maria Callas (soprano) Tito Gobbi (baritone) Giuseppe di Stefano (tenor) / La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin [ Regis Records / 2 CD - released 1/Apr/2009 ] "There has never been a more compelling performance of the title role in Rigoletto than that of Tito Gobbi on his classic set... At every point, in almost every single phrase, Gobbi finds extra meaning ....., with the widest range of tone-colour... |
RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO
Leoncavallo: I Pagliacci (Complete opera recorded in 1954) Maria Callas / Tito Gobbi / Giuseppe di Stefano / Milan La Scala Orchestra / Tullio Serafin (Conductor) [ Naxos Historical / CD - released 29/Jul/2006 ] This recording of Pagliacci was made by EMI at La Scala, Milan in June 1954, some eight months after Cavalleria rusticana, and first published in April 1955. |
VERDI
Un Ballo in Maschera [The Masked Ball] (complete opera recorded in 1956) Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi, Silvio Maionica, Giuseppe di Stefano / Milan La Scala Orchestra / Antonio Votto [ Naxos Historical Opera / 2 CD - released 15/Feb/2008 ] "Callas on top form never misses an opportunity to wring the last drop of intensity out of her two arias and the act 2 scene by the gallows is a masterpiece of visual singing. Her colouring of the phrases is so expressive that we instinctively know... |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Death in Venice (complete opera recorded live in 2008) Marlin Miller / R.-François Bitar / Scott Hendricks / Alessandro Riga / Orchestra e Coro del Teatro La Fenice / Bruno Bartoletti [ Dynamic DVD / DVD - released 16/Feb/2011 ] "Marlin Miller sings with a refined lyrical sensibility...the beauty and grandeur of the production on DVD make it an exceptional treat. It is unlikely we will see a Death in Venice to rival this one visually for a long time." (Gramophone Award... |
MANUEL de FALLA
De Falla Collection Marta Senn, Cecilia Angell, Fernando de La Mora, Timora Rosler, Benita Meshulam, Jutta Czapski, Klára Würtz, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venez [ Briliant Classics / 5 CD - released 17/Oct/2021 ] Regarded as the greatest Spanish composer of the twentieth century, Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) developed an interest in native Spanish music - in particular Andalusian flamenco - while studying with Felipe Pedrell in Madrid in the late 1890s. |
GIOVANNI SGAMBATI
Sgambati: Sinfonia festiva / Piano Concerto in G minor Massimiliano Damerini (piano) / Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RAI, Francesco La Vecchia [ Naxos / CD - released 8/Dec/2023 ] Giovanni Sgambati led the revival of Italian orchestral music during the late 19th century. He was a favourite student of Liszt, admired by Wagner, and a pivotal figure in the emancipation of his country's music from the dominance of bel canto opera.... |
Medinea Session; Fabrizio Cassol; Orchestre des Jeunes de la Méditerranée; Claron McFadden
Live at Festival d'Aix-en-Provence [ Fuga Libera / CD - released 20/Sep/2024 ] Medinea Session is a unique ensemble of 23 talented musicians, the majority of whom are from the Mediterranean. |
JEAN GILLES
Requiem & Diligam te, Domine Mellon, Gens, Crook, Hervé Lamy, Kooy / La Chapelle Royale, Philippe Herreweghe [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 30/Jun/2014 ] Herreweghe's 1990 performance was the first modern reading of Gilles' celebrated Requiem from manuscript |
VERDI
Verdi: Il Trovatore Francesco Merli, Enrico Molinari, Bianca Scacciati, Giuseppina Zinetti Milan La Scala Orchestra and Chorus, Lorenzo Molajoli [ Naxos Historical / 2 CD - released 5/Nov/2001 ] |
ALBINONI / VIVALDI / LEGRENZI / VALENTINI / etc
The Rise of the North Italian Violin Concerto 1690-1740: Volume One: The Dawn of the Virtuoso Mhairi Lawson (soprano) / La Serenissima / Adrian Chandler (violin and director) [ Avie / CD - released 23/Nov/2006 ] "If only all history lessons were as delightful as this. It may have one of the most boring titles ever committed to a CD-case, but don’t be fooled. With consummate skill, La Serenissima provide a guide through the emergence of the violin as a... |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3 / Violin Concerto / Suite No. 3 in G major / etc Mischa Elman (violin) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris, Sir Adrian Boult [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 6/Mar/2020 ] This new collection invaluably gathers up all the Tchaikovsky recordings Adrian Boult made for Decca between 1952 and 1956. |
W. A. MOZART
Mostly Mozart Mojca Erdmann (soprano) / La Cetra, Andrea Marcon [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 10/Apr/2011 ] "Agile, clean, bright: Mojca Erdmann's soprano voice was made for Mozart...it's easy to enjoy her natural ease and golden glow, backed by high-class playing from Andrea Marcon and the Basel period orchestra, La Cetra. The booklet has plenty of... |
PORPRA
Notturni per I Defunti Monica Piccinini (soprano) Romina Basso (alto) / La Stagione Armonica Dolce & Tempesta / Stafano Demicheli [ Fuga Libera / CD - released 20/Aug/2009 ] An outstanding Italian musican, Stefano Demicheli has been René Jacobs' closest assistant for many years and with him has performed on Europe's main opera stages. A distinguished harpsichordist, who studied with Ottavio Dantone, he is now the leader... |
Monte La Rue
Interludia [ Cinq Etoiles / CD - released 13/Aug/2002 ] Surreal soundtrack to your lounge, seriously laidback grooves |
JERUSALEM
Jerusalem: La Ville des deux Paix (2 SACDs with large book) Montserrat Figueras, Andrew Lawrence-King / Hesperion XXI / La Capella Reial de Catalunya / Jordi Savall [ Alia Vox SACD / 2 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/2009 ] "A bewildering voyage in time and space is buoyed up by beautiful sound." Editor's Choice - Gramophone April 2009 |
W.A. MOZART
Requiem K626 / Maurerische Trauermusik K477 Montserrat Figueras, Claudia Schubert, Gerd Turk, Stephen Schreckenberger / La Capella Reial de Catalunya & Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall [ Alia Vox SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 10/Feb/2011 ] "This is one of the best period instrument readings available, sacrificing nothing to authenticity for authenticity's sake, and turning in a very lovely, devotional, and technically fine performance by any accounts." (AudAud.com) |
FRANCISCO JAVIER
La Ruta de Oriente (The Route to the Orient) (2 SACDs with large book) Montserrat Figueras / Hesperion XXI / La Capella Reial de Catalunya / Jordi Savall [ Alia Vox SACD / 2 CD/Book - released 1/Jan/2008 ] "Savall's forces perform beautifully in a missionary life-to-death journey" (Gramophone January 2008) |