What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Clayton]

All I can find of Fidelio with Sunnegardh is Abscheulicher on MP3 or as a track on a mixed album. She sounds wonderful doing Abscheulicher (clip). I want to find the whole opera on CD now.

I love this opera! I have 19 CD sets, 2 highlight sets, and 12 DVDs! And I want MORE! I can't get enough Fidelio!

I would guess that it should be available on the MET streaming service.

[Clayton]

For close to a month I have been stuck on Rameau

and the Rameau charts have been topped this week by



Rameau: Les Fêtes de l'Hymen et de l'Amour, ou Les Dieux d'Égypte

Carolyn Sampson, Chantal Santon-Jeffery, Blandine Staskiewicz (sopranos), Jennifer Borghi (alto), Reinoud Van Mechelen, Mathias Vidal (countertenors), Tassis Christoyannis, Alain Buet (basses)
Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet

“Few ensembles do French baroque as well as Le Concert Spirituel with their conductor Hervé Niquet. There’s a real understanding here of the innate sexiness of this music. The orchestral and choral sound is wonderfully rich without ever turning pompous.” The Guardian, 8th October 2014 ****

[Povero Buoso]

Alas as a student my budget does not allow me to purchase Opera as often as I wish. Thankfully though I can take solace with a personal favourite of mine whose lack of popularity in comparison to it older cousins baffles me. That opera is

It is no secret among frequenters of the Puccini Game (Come join in guys we're down to the last 7!) or many of my other posts that I have a soft spot for this particular opera. Despite some of the flaws it has (the third act mainly is slower and less inspired though still has its merits) it remains one of my favourites after La Boheme and the collection of master works under the umbrella of Il Trittico. With a beautiful start several show stopping arias and lovely melodies throughout it remains an opera that is sorely neglected in my opinion and definitely worth a listen at least once!

[Soave_Fanciulla]

A chance to hear some young Jonas and a bit of German Romantic excess. Still a better story than Twilight.

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

Getting back to some random listening now rather than listening to a piece before seeing it live.

Some of my all time favourite singers on here. I know Nat thinks Caballé sounds chickeny but I don't care about the soprano anyway.

[Festat]

In Russian (!)

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Getting back to some random listening now rather than listening to a piece before seeing it live.

Some of my all time favourite singers on here. I know Nat thinks Caballé sounds chickeny but I don't care about the soprano anyway.

Some serious bass/baritone talent.

[Hoffmann]

I am so accustomed to the Kempe recording that it is difficult to listen to another recording without being critical about what makes it different.

I am a big fan of KFV, and his Lohengrin is sung perfectly. That said, I can see where he might be an acquired taste for some who might prefer a little more "Helden" and a little less "tenor". His "In fernem Land" is good, but doesn't quite ring the way Jess Thomas does on Kempe.

I think Gerd Grochowski's Telramund is ok, but I found him a little frustrating. To my taste, Annette Dash's Elsa kind of disappears, but I liked Susanne Resmark's Ortrud, especially in the second act where she starts plotting against Elsa.

I also think that Janowski's tempos are a little ponderous compared to Kempe.

Nonetheless, I love Lohengrin, which proved again to be good company for a long walk.

[Florestan]

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

This for my walk today

[Hoffmann]

This for my walk today

Walks are good, but you probably should stay away from cliffs along the coast when listening to this one...

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

Walks are good, but you probably should stay away from cliffs along the coast when listening to this one...

Ha! Indeed! But I'm a long way from the coast.

[Festat]

Buy this.

[StarThrower]

[Hoffmann]

This would seem to be a little out of Opera Rara's usual wheelhouse. What do you think of the opera? I only know Der Schatzgräber, which isn't something I've really fallen for.