ROBERT ALDRIDGE
Elmer Gantry (complete opera) Keith Phares / Patricia Riseley / Vale Rideout / Florentine Opera Company / Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra / William Boggs [ Naxos American Opera Classics / 2 CD - released 26/Oct/2011 ] |
SAMUEL BARBER
Barber: Adagio for Strings / Piano Concerto / Violin Concerto / 4 Choral Pieces Ittai Shapira (violin) Tedd Joselson (piano) / Joyful Company of Singers / London Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Schenk [ Alto / CD - released 1/May/2016 ] "Particularly beautifully captured, are the LSO's strings in the Adagio for Strings ... However, it is the Piano Concerto which is the main attraction, with superb playing by the soloist. His piano is nicely placed in a sensible relationship with the... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Acis and Galatea (complete opera) Lucy Crowe / Benjamin Hulett / Alan Clayton / Early Opera Company, Christian Curnyn [ Chandos Chaconne SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 10/Mar/2019 ] "Lucy Crowe as Galatea excels especially in turning words, and word-pictures, into sound…This is, altogether, a benchmark that will be hard to beat." BBC Music Magazine Awards 2019 Winner - Opera |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Alceste (complete opera) Lucy Crowe / Benjamin Hulett / Andrew Foster Williams / Early Opera Company / Christian Curnyn [ Chandos / CD - released 1/May/2012 ] "Alcestis's journey to the Underworld is enchanting, with Curnyn's fleet strings, intimately proportioned chorus, and polished soloists" BBC Music Magazine Awards 2013 Opera WINNER |
RODERICK ELMS
Festive Frolic: A celebration of Christmas Mark Wilde (tenor) Stuart Nicholson (organ) Joyful Company of Singers / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Stephen Bell [ Naxos / CD - released 11/Nov/2007 ] Roderick Elms' Christmas music ranges from charming and witty arrangements of well-loved traditional carols to new settings and festive orchestral pieces written for this very special season. The charm and immediate appeal of his music has been... |
Gilbert and Sullivan
H.M.S. Pinafore (Complete) (1949 Recording) Martyn Green, Darrell Fancourt, D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Isadore Godfrey [ Regis Records / CD - released 12/Jun/2002 ] Classic recording by the greatest cast - carefully re-mastered |
The Music Company
Rubber Soul Jazz [ Ace Records U.K. / CD ] |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral" The New Company / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Sir Charles Mackerras [ Signum / CD - released 20/Nov/2011 ] "No passage from darkness to light here, but a pervasive exaltation even in the first movement...However many Ninths you own, add this to your treasury." (Five Stars BBC Music) |
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Mass (A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers) Randall Scarlata (baritone) / Company of Music / Tolzer Knabenchor / Tonkunstler-Orchester Niederosterreich / Kristjan Jarvi [ Chandos / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Feb/2009 ] "Bravo and thrice-triple bravo! Bernstein's flower child finally comes of age." (MusicWeb May 2009) |
HANDEL
Serse (complete opera) Rosemary Joshua, Anna Stéphany, David Daniels, Joélle Harvey / Early Opera Company / Christian Curnyn [ Chandos / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Sep/2013 ] Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine September 2013 |
HANDEL
Semele, HWV 58 Rosemary Joshua (soprano) Hilary Summers (contralto) Brindley Sherratt (bass) / Early Opera Company / Christian Curnyn [ Chandos / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2007 ] "A most satisfying and enjoyable account of Handel's sex-centred oratorio. Rosemary Joshua catches all of Semele's vanity, her sensuality and her ambition while still managing to make her likeable...the whole thing has a wonderful freshness and... |
SHAKESPEARE
Othello (recorded live in June, 2015) Royal Shakespeare Company / Hugh Quarshie, Lucian Msamati, Joanna Vanderham & Jacob Fortune-Lloyd / Iqbal Khan (director) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/Sep/2016 ] Othello is the greatest general of his age. A fearsome warrior, loving husband and revered defender of Venice against its enemies. Lucian Msamati makes theatrical history in being the first black actor ever to play Iago at the RSC. |
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare: Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 (recorded live in 2014) Royal Shakespeare Company / Antony Sher, Alex Hassell, Jasper Britton / Simon Godwin (director) [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 20/May/2015 ] Containing Shakespeare's Henry IV parts 1 and 2, this double set features outstanding Royal Shakespeare Company productions available in a specially priced set. |
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Shakeseare: Three Tragedies: Hamlet / King Lear / Othello (recorded live in 2015 - 2016) BLU-RAY Royal Shakespeare Company / Paapa Essiedu, Natalie Simpson, Antony Sher, Kelly Williams, Hugh Quarshie, Lucian Msamati, Joanna Vanderham, etc [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / 3 Blu-ray Box Set - released 28/Nov/2016 ] Three of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies are presented here as a 3 disc set. |
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Love's Labour's Lost & Love's Labour's Won [Much Ado About Nothing] (recorded live at Stratford-Upon-Avon in March 2015) Royal Shakespeare Company / Sam Alexander, Peter Basham, William Belchambers, Edward Bennett, David Horovitch, Chris Nayak [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD Box Set - released 1/Feb/2016 ] Containing Shakespeare's Love's Labours Lost and Love's Labours Won, this double set features outstanding Royal Shakespeare Company productions available for the very first time. Running time: 4 hours 48 minutes (plus extras) Subtitles:... |
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare: The Tempest (recorded live in 2017) Royal Shakespeare Company / Simon Russell Beale, Joe Dixon, Mark Quartley, Jenny Rainsford, Simon Trinder [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 15/Aug/2017 ] In a unique partnership with Intel, the Royal Shakespeare Company's production uses today's most advanced technology in a bold reimagining of Shakespeare's magical play, creating an unforgettable theatrical experience. Simon Russell Beale returns to... |
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Christmas Music (Incls 'On Christmas Night' & 'Fantasia on Christmas Carols') Sarah Fox (soprano) Roderick Williams (baritone) / Joyful Company of Singers / City of London Sinfonia / Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD - released 22/Oct/2006 ] "Beautifully sensitive performances atmospherically recorded … irresistible … There's even a sprig of holly on the CD!" (MusicWeb Nov 2006) |
PERCY GRAINGER
An Introduction to Percy Grainger (Including Country Gardens & Handel in the Strand) Stephen Varco (baritone) Penelope Thwaites (piano) / Joyful Company of Singers / BBC Philharmonic / City of London Sinfonia / etc [ Chandos Intro / CD - released 1/Aug/2006 ] "Here's a recipe guaranteed to delight Grainger acolytes and inquisitive newcomers alike: a liberal sprinkling of old friends." (Gramophone) |
VICENT MARTIN I SOLER
La Dora Festeggiante / Il Sogno Sunhae Im / Raffaella Milanesi / Magnus Staveland / Royal Chamber Opera Company / Juan Bautista Otero [ RCOC / CD - released 1/Dec/2010 ] |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Flavio (complete opera) Tim Meade, Rosemary Joshua, Iestyn Davies, Hilary Summers, Renata Pokupic / Early Opera Company / Christian Curnyn [ Chandos / 2 CD - released 1/Oct/2010 ] "Curnyn and his spruce period band finely catch the tone and tinta of his delectable opera. Tempi - mobile but never frenetic - are aptly chosen, rhythms buoyant" (Gramophone Award Finalist 2011 - Baroque Vocal) |