CD / DVD Releases – Week of Sept. 18: Rolando Villazón, Thomas Hampson, Strauss, Jake Heggie & A Baroque Specialist Take Centerstage

After a week of releases dominated by Maria Callas, European opera lovers are getting a ton of options for quality recordings from the world’s greatest artists. In the US, one major CD release will steal headlines. Duets Rolando Villazón and Ildar Abdrazakov’s new duets, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin will arrive on shelves in the US this week and features duets {…}

Sep 11, 2017

CD / DVD Releases – Week of September 11: Maria Callas Dominates Week With Incredible 42+ CD Set

We are not even going to beat around the bush here. This week’s releases come down to one artist – Maria Callas. Arguably THE singular most important opera singer of all time will get yet another re-release from Warner Classics, but with a major twist. The company is releasing a whopping 42-CD release of 20 complete operas, a Blu-Ray disc {…}

Sep 4, 2017

CD/DVD Releases – Week of Sept. 4: Regula Muhlemann & John Osborn Headline Releases

Three diverse albums are set for release from a rising star, an established tenor, and a legendary mezzo soprano. Find out what’s in store for this week. Cleopatra Rising star Regula Muhlemann will release a new album for Sony Classical dedicated to Cleopatra in opera. The album features arias from “Giulio Cesare” and ” Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra. ” Robin Peter Muller {…}

Sep 1, 2017

Kristine Opolais’ ‘Tosca’ Lands On DVD

Kristine Opolais’ “Tosca” will be released on DVD. The production, which premiered last April at the Baden Baden Easter Festival, is scheduled for release on Oct. 20. The opera also stars Marcelo Alvarez and Marco Vratogna. Simon Rattle conducted the performance which was met with mixed reviews. When the production opened the Financial Times noted that it was “a bitterly disappointing {…}

Aug 28, 2017

CD/DVD Releases -Week of August 28: Anna Netrebko & Joyce El-Khoury Headline New Albums

This week one of the greatest opera stars in the world will release her first crossover album, while two rising stars team up for distinct Bel canto albums. Meanwhile, Decca releases a new compilation of Pavarotti’s favorite arias. Romanza Anna Netrebko releases a new CD this week entitled “Romanza.” The CD marks Netrebko’s first crossover album featuring love songs written {…}

Aug 25, 2017

Famed Diana Damrau Interpretation Headed To DVD

Diana Damrau’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” will be released on DVD. The 2016 Royal Opera House production by Katie Mitchell, which was met with mixed reception, is scheduled for release in October according to Amazon. The opera also stars Charles Castronovo as Edgardo, Ludovic Tezier as Enrico and Kwangchul Youn as Raimondo. Daniel Oren conducts this production. When the production first opened critics noted, {…}

Aug 21, 2017

CD/DVD Releases – Week of August 21: Gerald Finley & Richard Leech Headline New Releases

Two new releases highlight the week. The first is a controversial production from the Royal Opera House while the other one comes from a historical production from the Deutsche Oper Berlin. And both should be enticing to any opera lover. William Tell Back in 2015, Damiano Micheletto’s production of “Guillaume Tell” opened to outrage and lots of boos at the {…}

Aug 18, 2017

Olga Peretyatko-Mariotti Announces New Project For Sony Classical

Olga Peretyatko-Mariotti has announced a new recording of Fauré works. The soprano took to Instagram and shared a photo of her recording session stating “We just finished our beautiful project for @sony.classical with different, also unknown, music of #gabrielfauré, I was part of it with 5 songs, that were specially orchestrated for this occasion! And to be able to do it in #goetheanum !!! Magic!!!! {…}

Aug 14, 2017

CD/DVD Releases – Week of August 14: Angela Gheorghiu Lights Up The Screen As Tosca

If you’re looking for multiple releases this week, only one major opera will come out. That, of course, will be a re-release that is considered a modern classic. Tosca Back in 2001 award-winning filmmaker, Benoit Jacquot, directed a cinematic version of “Tosca” with Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, and Ruggero Raimondi. The film was a success and became one of the {…}

Jul 31, 2017

Nadine Sierra & Sonya Yoncheva Reveal Album News

During the past week news on two CDs has surfaced on the internet. The first comes from Nadine Sierra, who has officially revealed that she will record her debut solo album for Deutsche Grammophon. On Instagram, she posted a picture that said, “I am happy to announce that the project I am prepping in NYC is….my first album!! Many of {…}