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

Happy New Year! For the first week of the year, there are many rarely performed operas on offer and a some world premiere recordings that will be intriguing for opera fans.

Grace: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas

In celebration of his 80th birthday, Pentatone honors Michael Tilson Thomas’ lifetime of contributions as a composer by releasing a deluxe collection of CDs and digital recordings of his compositions.

The four-disc set spans more than five decades of his compositional career and features 18 works, from premiere recordings to remastered archival recordings available for the first time.

All net proceeds from “Grace: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas” will be donated to brain cancer research at the UCSF Brain Tumor Center.

George Frideric Handel: Theodora

Handek’s oratorio is released from a recording made on Oct. 23 and 25, 2023 at MuseumsQuartier/Hall E in Vienna. The recording features Jacquelyn Wagner, Christopher Lowrey,  David Portillo, Evan Hughes, Julie Boulianne, and Zacharías Galaviz Guerra. The Arnold Schoenberg Chor and La Folia Barockorchester is conducted by Bejun Mehta. Stefan Herheim conducts the production. Götz Filenius is the video director.

Respighi: Maria Egiziaca

Dynamic releases Respighi’s work from the Teatro Malibran in Venice. The recording was made in March of 2024 and features Francesca Dotto, Simone Alberghini, Vincenzo Costanzo, Michele Galbiati, Luigi Morassi, Ilaria Vanacore, and William Corrò. The Orchestra e Coro del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia is conducted by Manlio Benzi. Pier Luigi Pizzi directs the production.

Of the performance, OperaWire said, “Soprano Francesca Dotto showcased an impressive versatility and physical ability in the title role of the opera. The lyric voice, with tight vibrato, brought a sense of visceral and musical urgency to a production marked by symbolism.”

Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible

Vox releases Prokofiev’s oratorio arranged by Abram Stasevich. The recording features narrator Arnold Voketaitis and soloists Claudine Carlson and Samuel Timberlake. The St. Louis Symphony Chorus and Orchestra is conducted by Leonard Slatkin.

Handel: Nine German Arias

Zenith Ensemble releases new interpretations of Handel’s rarely-performed Nine German Arias, 300 years after the composer put pen to paper. The album features soprano Nacole Palmer and baroque violinist Marika Holmqvist.

Nacole Palmer, Artistic Director of Zenith Ensemble said, “This album is a celebration of the depth of Handel’s artistry; the emotional impact and sheer variety of each aria illuminate why his music has such relevance today, 300 years later. We aim to bring these remarkable and rarely performed pieces to a wider audience, showcasing their timeless beauty.”

Hope Eats you Alive

The new album is titled for composer Scott Gendel’s setting of forensic scientist Lori Baker’s spoken grief for those lost at the Mexican-American border. Recorded by the Madison Choral Project, the story of Baker’s mission to identify the bodies buried in shallow graves at the border reveals several issues at the center of the immigration debate.

David Lang’s ‘poor hymnal’ 

Grammy award-winning chamber choir The Crossing, led by conductor Donald Nally releases its 36th album with a new recording of David Lang’s “poor hymnal.”

Released by Cantaloupe Music, the work was recorded with the composer present at the time of its premiere in December 2023 at Articulate Studios in Bloomsbury, New Jersey. “poor hymnal” was co-commissioned for The Crossing and Donald Nally by Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting, Jill and Loren Bough, and Peggy and Mark Curchack.

Would That Loving Were Enough

The first album devoted to music by Lee Kesselman is released on Blue Griffin Records. The album features world premiere recordings performed by HAVEN, an ensemble comprised of soprano Lindsay Kesselman, clarinetist Kimberly Cole Luevano and pianist Midori Koga.

The collection includes original works “Make me a Willow Cabin” set to words from Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” “Would That Loving Were Enough” with music and poetry by Kesselman himself, a musical re-thinking of a Handel aria and “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise,” by George Gershwin.