Lisette Oropesa, Nahuel di Pierro, Saimir Pirgu & Marina Viotti Lead New CD/DVD Releases
By Francisco SalazarWelcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world.
It’s a star-studded lineup of releases with Zarzuela, bel canto, modern works, and experimental albums by leading opera singers.
Mis Amores son las Flores
Lisette Oropesa releases her latest album dedicated to Zarzuela.
In a statement, the soprano said, “I’m so happy to share my beautiful album ‘Mis amores son las Flores’ with you all, a collection of Spanish and Cuban zarzuela arias!”
This album features music by Ernesto Lecuona, Barbieri, Amadeo Vives & Gerónimo Giménez, Penella, Luna, Sorozábal, Chapí, Torroba, and Roig.
Wolfgang Rihm: Jakob Lenz
Oehms Classics releases Rihm’s 1979 opera with a cast that includes Joachim Goltz, Patrick Zielke, Raphael Wittmer, Josefin Feiler, Rebecca Blanz, Marie-Belle Sandis, Maria Polanska, Serhii Moskalchuk, and Marcel Brunner. This recording is of the opening night performance at the Nationaltheater Mannheim in December 2021, conducted by Franck Ollu.
La Sorcière
Guillaume Tourniaire returns to resurrect a new score, “La Sorcière” by Camille Erlanger. Written at Paris’s Opéra-Comique in 1912 on a libretto by André Sardou based on the eponymous play by Victorien Sardou, “La Sorcière” mixes the lyricism of the French post-Romantics with impressionistic transparencies and the aesthetic influences of naturalism.
Paisiello: La finta amante
Naxos releases Paisiello’s work with Elena Tsvetkova, Daniele De Prosperi, and Antoine Bernheim. The Estrin Orchestra is conducted by Stefano Parisse.
Donizetti: Chiara e Serafina
Naxos released the rarely performed Donizetti Opera from the Festival in November 2023. The recording stars Greta Doveri, Fan Zhou, and Pietro Spagnoli. The Coro dell’Accademia Teatro alla Scala and Orchestra Gli Originali is conducted by Sesto Quatrini.
A T L A S
Charlotte Jacobs releases her debut album “a t l a s” via New Amsterdam Records. “a t l a s” plays out like a half-remembered Greek epic of avant-pop proportions, piecing together earthy woodwinds, old-school synths, and shifting rhythmic patterns that enhance her myth-inspired spoken word and bilingual vocals, delivered in Dutch and English.
Saimir
Albanian-born tenor Saimir Pirgu releases his second album on the Opus Arte label. On his new album “Saimir,” he presents a collection of arias inspired by his mentor and friend Luciano Pavarotti. This selection is also a reflection of Pirgu’s past, present, and future career and represents a cross-section of the romantic opera repertoire of 19th and early 20th-century Europe. The album includes music by Puccini and Berlioz as well as Wagner and Tchaikovsky. The recordings were made in the auditorium of the Palau de Les Arts in València with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana conducted by Antonino Fogliani.
Horizon
Croatian conductor Antoaneta Radočaj-Jerković and two all-female choirs under her lead “HORIZON,” a haunting performance of the eponymous work by contemporary composer Dalibor Bukvić.
Meciendo
Multi-GRAMMY® award winning ensemble The Crossing, led by Donald Nally delivers a program of contemporary choral compositions with MECIENDO from Navona Records. Available in stereo and Dolby Atmos immersive audio formats, MECIENDO blends the intimate and the profound in an awe-inducing performance.
Evening Songs
Bass-baritone Adam Plachetka celebrates the Year of Czech Music with an anthology of Czech evening songs by Antonín Dvořák, Bedrich Smetana, Zdeněk Fibich and Josef Suk. Plachetka performs them together with pianist David Švec.
PENTATONE releases the album.
In Darkness Through the Light
Mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti’s “In Darkness Through the Light,” features “MELANKHÔLIA,” a project created by Viotti, lutenist Vincent Flückiger, and multi-instrumentalist, and engineer and producer Fred Chappuis that rearranges the melancholic songs of John Dowland with the well-known pop songs in the same spirit.
