What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Festat]

[Jephtha]

A bit over-hyped, but deservedly so.

No hyperbole is too much for this performance! It is certainly the greatest Tristan I have ever heard.

[Aramis]

[superhorn]

I've been listening to an exciting live Medea by Cherubini on Melodram , with Rysanek, Popp, Bruno Prevedi and Nicola Ghiuselev , conducted by the late Horst Stein , which I got on library interloan .
Also on interloan, Gluck's little-known French opera comique "Les Pelerins De La Mecque" , (The Pilgrims from Mecca ) on Erato with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Lyon opera forces , with Lynne Dawson, Gilles Cachemaille, and Jean-Philippe lafont .
This is one of those "Turkish rescue operas" that were popular in the 18th century, and no doubt influenced Mozart
in his Entfurhrung aud dem Serail, which it resembles quite a bit . It also shows that Gluck was no slouch when it comes to writing comic operas . The music is great fun , with plenty of exotic percussion writing .
There's even a character named "Vertigo"! How can you resist an opera with a character like that ? But you won't get dizzy listening to this opera at all .

[Jephtha]

I've been listening to an exciting live Medea by Cherubini on Melodram , with Rysanek, Popp, Bruno Prevedi and Nicola Ghiuselev , conducted by the late Horst Stein , which I got on library interloan .
Also on interloan, Gluck's little-known French opera comique "Les Pelerins De La Mecque" , (The Pilgrims from Mecca ) on Erato with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Lyon opera forces , with Lynne Dawson, Gilles Cachemaille, and Jean-Philippe lafont .
This is one of those "Turkish rescue operas" that were popular in the 18th century, and no doubt influenced Mozart
in his Entfurhrung aud dem Serail, which it resembles quite a bit . It also shows that Gluck was no slouch when it comes to writing comic operas . The music is great fun , with plenty of exotic percussion writing .
There's even a character named "Vertigo"! How can you resist an opera with a character like that ? But you won't get dizzy listening to this opera at all .

Your comment about the influence of Die Pilger von Mekka on Mozart is astute, as he wrote an excellent set of variations for piano on one of the arias, titled in German 'Unser dummer Poebel meint', which translates to 'Our stupid rabble thinks...' (as far as I can recall my college German).

[Jephtha]

I've been listening to an exciting live Medea by Cherubini on Melodram , with Rysanek, Popp, Bruno Prevedi and Nicola Ghiuselev , conducted by the late Horst Stein , which I got on library interloan .

It is too bad there is no video record of this performance. I believe it is the same one which is represented by a stage photograph on page 155 of the volume The Vienna Opera, published by Rizzoli in 1987. The designer was Arik Brauer, who is described in the note as a 'fantastic realist', and the stage picture is striking. It shows Lucia Popp as Glauce with the chorus in a geometrically arranged pattern across the stage behind her. The colors of the costumes are fascinating: many primary colors and various shades of blue (Popp's overdress is in ice).

[Aramis]

Very awesome recording.

[cedric]

I've been listening to a good deal of Richard Strauss lately... which has only served to reinforce my belief that Glen Gould was right when he referred to Strauss as "the greatest musical figure who has lived in this century."

I really really love this disc. It introduced me to the fantastic world of R.Strauss, and definitely one of my desert island discs.

[Dark_Angel]

Very awesome recording.

Very worthy version indeed, young golden voiced Alagna and Devia doing some amazing work, this one is a sleeper under most collectors radar well worth getting, my CD set looks like this:

[Aramis]

Very worthy version indeed, young golden voiced Alagna and Devia doing some amazing work, this one is a sleeper under most collectors radar well worth getting, my CD set looks like this:

I think Alagna looks better on the cover I posted.

[Schigolch]

[Aramis]

COOL STUFF MAN

Worthy alternative for more famous studio Beatrice with Sutherland and Pavarotti. Aliberti is main attraction here, great singer by all means and an expert on Bellini (I have this, Pirata and Straniera with her but there is more). Dig the final number from that CD:

[Schigolch]

[Aramis]

Certainly not Donizetti at his best. The first aria of Lucrezia is very fine, most of other numbers seem to be forced without inspiration. Too bad, one of very few recordings of Carreras singing Donizetti, this one is live but in very good quality in comparison to other live recordings from early 70's. Title role I find miscasted: lovely lyrical voice, but doesn't make it in most dramatic parts.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Inspired by HC I dug this out of the ULP. I think it is Lully's most charming opera.



This is very good Vivaldi. Apparently he paid a lot of attention to the orchestration as he was writing for a well-resourced patron, and it shows. Recommended



I don't usually like Suor Angelica but Ermonela Jaho convinced me otherwise in this. She was brilliant. And I've decided that I like the music of Il Tabarro almost as much as my favourite La Fanciulla del West.



I like this production (except that Tcherniakov seems to have a thing about characters indulging in prolonged manic laughter, same as his Eugene Onegin, and it gets in the way of the music). Dimitris Tiliakos is a fantastic anguished Macbeth, weak and greedy, and Violetta Urmana does a good job of propping him up. I like it better than the ROH one with Keenlyside because it feels as there is a real marriage between them.