This new recital of florid Offenbach rarities sung by Jodie Devos, a young Belgian soprano, is lightning in a bottle. I can’t recall the last time I felt such an ecstatic sense discovery while a CD unspooled around me: nearly a dozen obscure gems from one of the most prolific and ingenious composers of all time are made to sparkle {…}
Cecilia Bartoli’s latest album, “Antonio Vivaldi” (2018) comes almost twenty years after her historic recording, “The Vivaldi Album,” which was released in 1999 to wide critical acclaim and incredible popular success. The 1999 album sparked a renewed interest in Vivaldi’s operatic works and positioned Bartoli as a champion of neglected or forgotten music. It also showcased Bartoli’s talents as a {…}
Many young singers, especially in the baroque repertoire, tend to choose dependable crowdpleasers when making their debut CD. “Lascia ch’io pianga” and “Ombra mai fu” appear with such ubiquity it seems almost sinful not to include them. Polish wunderknabe countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński’s first major release for Erato/Warner Classics courageously breaks the mold. There are so many exotic rarities and {…}
It’s hard to find the right voice for the Bel Canto repertoire. A great Bel Canto singer needs flexibility, bright high notes, immense breath control, and impeccable phrasing. And of course, a singer needs to have great command of expression, otherwise, the music can easily fall flat. Many singers attempt to put all this together, but few actually have the complete package, {…}
Toronto-based chamber opera company Against the Grain Theater has launched a new record label. I can’t think of better start to such a venture than this recording of Osvaldo Golijov’s song cycle, “Ayre.” The work captures some of the company’s central ideals: beauty, relevance, and innovation. This ravishing live recording by soprano Miriam Khalil and a top-notch group of soloists {…}
“Puccini in Love” surveys mostly well-known love duets from Puccini’s canon. Because the music will be familiar to opera aficionados, the album’s success or failure depends on whether the interpreters can make the familiar fresh. Mission accomplished. Marketing at Sony is betting on the love-story behind the album to sell the project, but its success has little to do {…}
“Giulio Cesare: A Baroque Hero” is the latest CD from the highly talented Italian countertenor Raffaele Pè, who over recent years has been building up a considerable international reputation as an interpreter of the baroque repertoire. This recording is a compilation of arias from 18th-century operas, written by a number of different composers, for the character of Giulio Cesare. Certainly, {…}
Throughout the years Edita Gruberova has been recognized as one of the leading Bel canto interpreters of her generation and in the opera world. Her interpretations are considered definitive versions and in the case of “Lucia di Lammermoor,” it is one of the quintessential interpretations of her generation. Throughout the years three commercial recordings have been released documenting her evolution in the {…}
During the 2015-16 season, the Teatro alla Scala revived Verdi’s rarely performed opera “Giovanna d’Arco.” The opera, while never a standard piece of the repertoire, had a slight resurgence thanks to Renata Tebaldi and Monserrat Caballe in the mid 1900s. Other performers like Anna Moffo, Katia Ricciarelli, and Mariella Devia recorded the opening aria “Sempre all’alba.” But it was still {…}