Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world.

This week several new solo albums will be released. There will also be an album released for the centennial of Victoria de los Ángeles. Here is a look at the new releases.

Forgotten Arias

Philippe Jaroussky releases his latest album which pays tribute to composers of the late Baroque era and to the great librettist of the age, Pietro Metastasio. The album includes music by Gluck, Johann Christian Bach, Jommelli, Hasse, and Piccinni as well as Bernasconi, Ferrandini, Traetta, and Valentini. Jaroussky’s partners on the album with conductor Julien Chauvin and his orchestra Le Concert de La Loge.

Un’alma innamorata

Francesca Aspromonte’s new album was recorded for Pentatone with Boris Begelman and Arsenale Sonoro with an all-Handelian program.

THE DUNBAR/MOORE SESSIONS – VOLUME I

Baritone Will Liverman releases his first “The Dunbar/Moore Sessions – Volume I,” a collection of original art song composed by Liverman himself. Lexicon Classics releases the new album.

Soprano Lauren Snouffer, violinist Lady Jess, and tenor Martin Luther Clark join Liverman. The EP is mixed and produced by Jonathan Estabrooks.

Penitence & Lamentation

Scribe Records releases Penitence & Lamentation, the Byrd Ensemble’s new album marking 400 years since the death of its namesake, William Byrd.

Victoria de los Ángeles – The Warner Classics Edition: Complete Recordings on His Master’s Voice & La Voix de son maître

Warner Classics releases a box set release of Victoria de los Ángeles’ recordings in celebration of her 100th birthday anniversary. The box set includes a 59-CD collection including 21 complete operas and a wealth of songs (recorded in Spanish, Catalan, French, German, Italian, English and Portuguese). The catalog, spanning from 1948 to 1977, primarily utilizes the recordings by the UK label His Master’s Voice and French label La Voix de son maître.

A Choral Christmas

VOCES8 releases “A Choral Christmas,” showcasing a joyful, cinematic soundscape-packed hamper of choral and orchestral treats. The album features several world premiere recordings of brand new works and arrangements, including the centerpiece of the album, a major new work for choir and orchestra, Taylor Scott Davis’ “Magnificat,” originally commissioned for VOCES8’s LIVE From London festival.

Monteverdi: L’Incoronazione di Poppea

The Opéra Royal de Versailles releases a 2023 recording of Monteverdi’s opera with Elsa Benoit, Jake Arditti, Ambroisine Bré, Iestyn Davies, and Alex Rosén. The Cappella Mediterranea is conducted by Leonardo García Alarcón.

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Opus Arte releases Glyndebourne’s production which stars Janet Baker, Elisabeth Speiser, and Elizabeth Gale. The Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and conducted by Peter Hall.

Jean Gilles: Messe des Morts. Les Folies Françoises

Les Pages & Les Chantres du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles is conducted by Fabien Armengaud in a new recording that includes Jean Gilles’s mass for the Dead.

Constantine Caravassilis: From Sappho’s Lyre

Orchid Classics releases Caravassilis’ work with Tenth Muse Ensemble. The recording features soloists Jeffrey M. Duban, Jenni Klauder, Ariana Chris, and  Maria Pikoula. The Tallinna Kammerorkester is conducted by Kaisa Roose.

Jean-Baptiste Lully: Acis et Galatée

Naxos releases Lully’s work from the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. The recording includes soloists Elena Harsányi, Jean-François Lombard, and Luigi De Donato. Federico Maria Sardelli conducts the recording.