Welcome back for the CD and DVD releases from around the opera world.

The New Year will continue to surprise audiences especially with new compilations from Beth Morrison Projects and Decca Classics which releases a number of recordings by legendary Joan Sutherland. There is also a world premiere recording of Nadia Boulanger’s opera. Here is a look at some of the new releases this week.

BMP: SONGBOOK

Beth Morrison Projects releases BMP: SONGBOOK double album through Bright Shiny Things.

The album features selections of music from their 65+ commissioned and produced opera and music-theatre works. The album includes works by Ellen Reid and Roxie Perkins, Du Yun and Royce Vavrek. Juhi Bansal, Mohammed Fairouz, Michael Gordon, Ricky Ian Gordon, Ted Hearne, Emma O’Halloran, Molly Joyce, Mary Kouyoumdjian, David Lang, David T. Little, Keeril Makan, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Paola Prestini, Ellen Reid, Kamala Sankaram, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa, and Du Yun.

Joan Sutherland Complete Decca Recordings: The Operas 1971-1988

Decca Classics releases the Opera recordings made from 1971 to 1988, with Sutherland singing all four roles in Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann (1971),” as well as a role she never sang on stage but has gone on to become one of the most celebrated of all operatic recordings in history: “Turandot” with Luciano Pavarotti and Montserrat Caballé. Verdi is showcased with “Rigoletto,” “Traviata,” “Trovatore,” “Ernani,” and “Masnadieri,” Bellini with “Puritani,” “Sonnambula,” and “Norma.” This chapter in Dame Joan Sutherland’s Decca operatic legacy closes with Cilea’s “Adriana Lecouvreur (1988).”

La ville morte

Pentatone releases Nadia Boulanger’s “La ville morte,” a haunting opera of passion, loss, and psychological intensity. Composed in collaboration with Raoul Pugno and based on a libretto by Gabriele D’Annunzio, the work was originally planned for its World Premiere in Paris in 1914, but the outbreak of World War I silenced it before it could be heard. Now, more than a century later, this long-buried score rises from obscurity, a revivified opera where forgotten desires return to life against the backdrop of ancient ruins.

OperaWire noted, “Overall, the neuroticism of “La ville morte” may deter the literal-minded, though its fusion of recast tragedy and fin-de-siècle decadence keeps Boulanger’s musical language in constant motion.”

Igor Stravinsky’s Late Works

Cappella Amsterdam, chief conductor Daniel Reuss, and the Noord Nederlands Orkest present a recording of Igor Stravinsky’s late works, showcasing the composer’s remarkable transformation. The album includes such soloists as Berit Norbakken, Marianne Beate Kielland, Guy Cutting, Thomas Walker, Tobias Berndt, and Stephan MacLeod.

The Dream of Gerontius

This new album of Elgar’s choral-orchestral masterpiece, “The Dream of Gerontius,” is from Huddersfield Choral Society. David Butt Philip, Karen Cargill, and Roland Wood are the soloists.

Sean Shepherd, An einem klaren Tag – On a clear day

This new oratorio by American composer Sean Shepherd is released featuring American conductor Kent Nagano and German cellist Jan Vogler alongside Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg.

In a statement, Nagano said, “It was important to me to anchor the transatlantic idea in the next generation through children’s and youth choirs on both sides of the ocean, who could work together and spend time with each other.”

Rudolf Tobias: JOONAS (Jonah Oratorio)

Ondine releases the world premiere recording of Estonia’s first major work in art music in its original score and sung in Estonian. The oratorio by Rudolf Tobias is performed by Mirjam Mesak, Kai Rüütel-Pajula, Mati Turi, Taavi Tampuu, and Raiko Raalik. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra is conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste.

Henry Purcell: Hail! Bright Cecilia

Henry Purcell’s work is brought to life by Charlotte La Thrope, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, Hugo Hymas, and Tomáš Král. Vincent Dumestre conducts Le Poème Harmonique.

The recording was made on March 15-19th, 2024 at the Chapelle Royale du Château de Versailles.

Handel: Israel in Egypt

Alpha releases Händel’s oratorio with Le Concert Spirituel under Hervé Niquet. The cast includes Myriam Leblanc, Lucie Edel, Lena Sutor-Wernich, Laurence Kislby, Andreas Wolf, and Alexandre Baldo.

The Queen of Sheba

A new recording of “the Queen of Sheba” is released by The American Romantics and conducted by Kevin Sherwin.

Pathways to Healing

The new album sees the Taylor Festival Choir and conductor Rob Taylor present a program of choral music that represents different facets of the healing process. Inspired by Taylor’s wife’s decade-long battle with cancer, the project seeks to harness the transformative power of music to foster healing and well-being, providing a potent medicine to ease the struggles of those facing physical or emotional challenges.

This album is part of the Taylor Music Group’s larger “Pathways to Healing” initiative, a project with a scope ranging from in-person performances at medical facilities to inspirational music videos for patients and a multi-state concert tour.

No Ordinary Woman

The new album by soprano Katherine Jolly, accompanied by pianist Emily Yap Chua, brings to life a trio of song cycles that center around love. Nikki’s Love Songs, composed by Dominick DiOrio to poetry by Nikki Giovanni. It also includes “Love in the Times of War” with text and music by Carla Lucero and “No Ordinary Woman,” composed by Gwyneth Walker to poems by Lucille Clifton.