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

This week audiences will get to hear a new recording of Wagner’s final work with a famed cast and a full recording of Donzietti’s rarely performed work.

L’esule di Roma

Opera Rara releases its 27^th complete Donizetti revival with the Britten Sinfonia conducted by Opera Rara’s Artistic Director Carlo Rizzi. The new recording stars Nicola Alaimo, Albina Shagimuratova, and Sergey Romanovsky. They are joined by emerging artists Lluís Calvet i Pey, Kezia Bienek, and André Henriques.

 This premiere studio recording of “L’esule di Roma” is based on a new critical edition created for Opera Rara by Parker and co-editor Ian Schofield. Following a week of recording in May 2023, Opera Rara presented “L’esule di Roma” at London’s Cadogan Hall.

Celestial Voices

Navona Records releases sacred choral works from several contemporary composers including Richard E Brown, Denice Rippentrop, John Partridge, Christopher J. Hoh, William Copper, and Ferdinando DeSena. The Kühn Choir of Prague performs on the album.

FOUR TEN-MINUTE OPERAS

Navona Records is pleased to present FOUR TEN-MINUTE OPERAS from composer Jonathan Sheffer, a collection of works spanning a variety of themes from American history and culture. The album is performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and emerging UK artists.

Parsifal

Sony Classical releases a new “Parsifal” starring Jonas Kaufmann, Ludovic Tézier, and Elīna Garanča. It was recorded at the Wiener Staatsoper in 2021 without an audience.

Kufmann noted “I am happy to announce the release of our live recording of Wagner’s ‘Parsifal!’ Recorded at the Wiener Staatsoper, I am joined by my outstanding colleagues Elīna Garanča as Kundry, Georg Zeppenfeld as Gurnemanz and Ludovic Tézier as Amfortas, and Philippe Jordan conducts. I hope you will enjoy the special character achieved in a live recording, that captures spontaneous creativity as we all react to each other on stage. Wagner holds a very special place in my heart and personal musical history, and it is an honor to add a new recording to the collection of ‘Parsifals’ already in existence.”

In The Shadows

Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques join forces with Michael Spyres for an album featuring music by Wagner, Mehul, Beethoven, Rossini, Meyerbeer, Weber, Auber, Spontini, Bellini and Marschner.

Erato releases the album and Spyres notes, “I discover that my route to Wagner traverses an intertwined network of influences that shaped him: with few exceptions, the repertoire that has moved and challenged me most has been music that inspired young Wagner himself. In an era of socio-political and cultural revolution, these pre-Wagner composers – Auber, Bellini, Berlioz, Halévy, Méhul, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Spontini, Weber – revolutionized music’s dramatic expression in surprisingly inventive ways. Wagner’s profound ingenuity is rendered all the more remarkable when considered in the context of this powerful legacy of compositional innovation.”

Sanctuary

The new album features songs by Luxembourgian composer Albena Petrovic Vratchanska. Anna Bineta Diouf and Eugenia Radoslava are the soloists on the CD released by Solo Musica.

Ferruccio Busoni: Doktor Faust

Dynamic is set to release a production of Busoni’s opera from the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Recorded on Feb. 14, 2023, the opera stars Dietrich Henschel and is conducted by Cornelius Meister. Davide Livermore directs the production.