Joyce DiDonato, Emily D’Angelo, Michael Spyres, Kelley O’Connor & Joel Puckett Lead CD/DVD Releases
By Francisco SalazarWelcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world.
This week, the Metropolitan Opera releases a modern opera while Joyce Didonato continues her exploration of the baroque repertoire.
Grounded
Deustche Grammophon releases Jeanine Tesori and George Brant’s new work in a recording from the Metropolitan Opera. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the opera with a cast that includes Emily D’Angelo, Ben Bliss, Ellie Dehn, Kyle Miller, and Greer Grimsley.
Je ne t’aime pas
Tineke Van Ingelgem and Aaron Wajnberg explore a captivating selection of songs that showcase the complex relationship between love, loss, and female resilience. The album includes music by Kurt Weill, Francis Poulenc, and Benjamin Britten.
Zaytoun
Athene releases of “Zaytoun” (meaning ‘Olive’ in Arabic), the debut solo album from tenor Haitham Haidar. The album is a collection of Baroque and Arabic songs, interlaced with poetry and musical improvisations, an exploration of the intersection between Baroque and Arabic music.
Haidar is joined on the album by oud player Abdul-Wahab Kayyali and Sylvain Bergeron (archlute), Amanda Keesmaat (baroque cello), Tanya LaPerrière (baroque violin), with Abraham Ross on harpsichord.
Short Stories in London
American Joel Puckett collaborates with top artists in three distinct works, each reflecting the synergy between Puckett’s dynamic creative vision and the musicians for whom he composes.
Puckett’s new Trumpet Concerto (2024), his second for the instrument, was written for the distinguished jazz trumpeter Sean Jones while the orchestral song cycle “There Was a Child Went Forth” was created for tenor Nicholas Phan.
The album’s title track “Short Stories” is a string quartet concerto, which has been widely performed since its 2013 premiere. Principal players of the London Symphony Orchestra – Benjamin Marquise Gilmore on violin I, Julián Gil Rodríguez on violin II, Gillianne Haddow on viola, and David Cohen on cello – shine as the soloists.
In a statement, Puckett said, “I’m genuinely inspired by great musicians. When someone is really exciting to me, I just want to make music for them.”
Dido and Aeneas
Warner Classics releases Purcell’s masterwork with Joyce DiDonato. The recording captured from Germany’s Essen Philharmonie during a celebrated 2024 European tour, the mezzo is joined by Il Pomo d’Oro and conductor Maxim Emelyanychev as well as Michael Spyres as Aeneas, Fatma Said as Dido’s companion Belinda, and Hugh Cutting as the Spirit. The cast is rounded out by Beth Taylor, Carlotta Colombo, Laurence Kilsby, Alena Dantcheva, and Anna Piroli.
The Spirit of Love
The Villiers Quartet releases a new album with soprano Lucy Cox and ondes Martenot player Charlie Draper. The album includes quartets and vocal repertoire by British composer Ailsa Dixon.
Yuliya
Azica Records releases YULIYA, an extraordinary album unveiling the powerful yet tragically forgotten music of Julia Weissberg Rimsky-Korsakov, daughter-in-law of famed composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Weissberg Rimsky-Korsakov’s vibrant artistry was silenced by war, antisemitism, and the devastating Nazi siege of Leningrad.
YULIYA is brought to life by acclaimed soprano Sarah Moulton Faux.
In a statement, Faux said, “This album is a profound journey of rediscovery. Julia Weissberg Rimsky-Korsakov’s extraordinary musical voice deserves recognition alongside contemporaries such as Alexander Scriabin and Alexander Glazunov. Her songs are strikingly rich, evocative, and deeply moving.”
El Caminante
“El Caminante” by Cuban composer Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes will be released with Boston University Opera Institute & Symphony Orchestra and conductor William Lumpkin. David Guzmán, Michelle Johnson, and Juliette Lee Kaoudji are featured on the recording.
Songs of Orpheus
“Songs of Orpheus” reunites mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor and pianist, composer, and conductor Robert Spano for O’Connor’s first recital recording. The album features Spano’s own “Sonnets to Orpheus,” Edvard Grieg, Claude Debussy, and George Crumb. The new album is released on Sono Luminus.
