Leos Janacek - Cunning Little Vixen

CD - complete recording

Decca 4758670 (2CD set)
CHORUS: Vienna State Opera
ORCHESTRA: Vienna Philharmonic
CONDUCTOR: Charles Mackerras
ARTISTS: Lucia Popp, Dalibor Jedlicka, Richard Novak, Eva Randova
RECORDED: 1981

Penguin 3 stars. Gramophone Award winner and "10 Best Opera" recordings. The classic recording sung in Czech with superb recorded sound.

Chandos CHAN3101 (2CD set)
CHORUS: Royal Opera House
ORCHESTRA: Royal Opera House
CONDUCTOR: Simon Rattle
ARTISTS: Thomas Allen, Robert Tear, Lillian Watson, Diana Montague
RECORDED: 1992

Sung in English. Penguin 3 stars. A marvellous ensemble of singing actors, orchestra and chorus are led by a conductor whose understanding of the score is second only to Mackerras.

Highlights single CDs

None

Gioachino Rossini - La cenerentola

CD - complete recordings

Decca 4369022 (2CD set)
CHORUS: Bologna Teatro Comunale
ORCHESTRA: Bologna Teatro Comunale
CONDUCTOR: Riccardo Chailly
ARTISTS: Cecilia Bartoli, William Matteuzzi, Alessandro Corbelli, Enzo Dara
RECORDED: 1992

Bartoli (along with Jennifer Larmore) is probably the leading Rossini mezzo of our time and this recording gives full justice to her and conductor Chailly's art. Penguin 4 stars

Teldec 4509945532 (2CD set)
CHORUS: Royal Opera House Covent Garden
ORCHESTRA: Royal Opera House Covent Garden
CONDUCTOR: Carlo Rizzi
ARTISTS: Jennifer Larmore, Raul Gimenez, Gino Quilico, Alessandro Corbelli, Adelina Scarabelli
RECORDED: 1994

An equally fine recording - difficult to choose between the two. Penguin 3 stars

Deutsche Grammophon 4594482 (2 CD set)
CHORUS: Scottish Opera
ORCHESTRA: London Symphony
CONDUCTOR: Claudio Abbado
ARTISTS: Teresa Berganza, Luigi Alva, Renato Capecchi, Paolo Montarsolo
RECORDED: 1971

At a lower price point, this remains a very fine performance and recording with conducting second to none. Penguin 2 stars.

Highlights single CDs

Warner Apex 2564615032
CHORUS: Royal Opera House Covent Garden
ORCHESTRA: Royal Opera House Covent Garden
CONDUCTOR: Carlo Rizzi
ARTISTS: Jennifer Larmore, Raul Gimenez, Gino Quilico, Alessandro Corbelli, Adelina Scarabelli
RECORDED: 1994

See above.

Giacomo Puccini - La boheme

CD - complete recordings

Decca 4210492 (2CD set)
CHORUS: German Opera Berlin
ORCHESTRA: Berlin Philharmonic
CONDUCTOR: Herbert von Karajan
ARTISTS: Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Elizabeth Harwood, Rolando Panerai, Nicolai Ghiaurov
RECORDED: 1972

Karajan takes a characteristically spacious view of La Boheme, but there is an electric intensity which holds the whole score together as in a live performance. Penguin 3 stars.

Naxos 8.111249/50 (2CD set)
CHORUS: RCA Victor
ORCHESTRA: RCA Victor
CONDUCTOR: Thomas Beecham
ARTISTS: Victoria de los Angeles, Jussi Bjorling, Robert Merrill, John Reardon
RECORDED: 1956

The orchestra plays ravishingly and the transfer of the EMI recording is unbelievably real and vivid. If that were not enough, Mark Obert-Thorn has found an introductory promotional speech by Beecham himself, which ends with a characteristic touch of wit. 5 star BBC Music Magazine, Penguin Rosette and in Gramophone's list of Top 100 Recordings.

Decca 4660702 (2CD set)
CHORUS: La Scala Milan
ORCHESTRA: La Scala Milan
CONDUCTOR: Riccado Chailly
ARTISTS: Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Simon Keenlyside
RECORDED: 1998

One of Chailly's finest recordings. His tempi are often faster than usual, his sensitive phrasing and alert rhythms are welcome. Gheorghiu and Alagna, at the time a real-life couple, pour their hearts into the lead roles. Penguin 3 stars.

Highlights single CD

Decca 4212452
CHORUS: German Opera Berlin
ORCHESTRA: Berlin Philharmonic
CONDUCTOR: Herbert von Karajan
ARTISTS: Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Elizabeth Harwood, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Rolando Panerai
RECORDED: 1972

See above.

EMI 0948192
CHORUS: London Voices
ORCHESTRA: Philharmonia
CONDUCTOR: Antonio Pappano
ARTISTS: Leontina Vaduva, Roberto Alagna, Thomas Hampson, Ruth Ann Swenson
RECORDED: 1996

A fine performance and recording which achieved Penguin 4 stars for the complete recording which is currently unavailable.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro

CD - complete recordings

Harmonia Mundi HMC901818/20 (3CD set)
CHORUS: Collegium Vocale Gent
ORCHESTRA: Concerto Koln
CONDUCTOR: Rene Jacobs
ARTISTS: Simon Keenlyside, Veronique Gens, Patrizia Ciofi, Angelika Kirchschlager
RECORDED: 2003

Penguin 4 stars. Gramophone Award winner 2004. An excellent cast and orchestral performance, though this refreshing treatment of Figaro won't be to all tastes - ornaments added here and there by the singers may surprise the audience.

Deutsche Grammophon 4497282 (3CD set)
CHORUS: Berlin Opera
ORCHESTRA: Berlin Opera
CONDUCTOR: Karl Bohm
ARTISTS: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gundula Janowitz, Edith Mathis, Hermann Prey, Tatiana Troyanos
RECORDED: 1967

Penguin 3 stars. Boehm's version of Figaro is among the most consistently assured performances available with fine playing and recording. The female roles are probably the most beautifully sung on disc. This recording was used in the soundtrack of The Shawshank Redemption.

DECCA 4101502 (3CD set)
CHORUS: London Opera
ORCHESTRA: London Philharmonic
CONDUCTOR: Georg Solti
ARTISTS: Lucia Popp, Kiri te Kanawa, Frederika von Stade, Sam Ramey, Thomas allen, Kurt Moll
RECORDED: 1981

Penguin 3 stars. Solti's Figaro has one of the finest casts of singers that one could contemplate and at the recording session they were all in fine voice. Not as hard driven as many Solti performances.

EMI 4769422 (2CD set)
CHORUS: Glyndebourne Festival
ORCHESTRA: Glyndebourne Festival
CONDUCTOR: Vittorio Gui
ARTISTS: Sena Jurinac, Graziella Sciutti, Hughes Cuenod, Rise Stevens, Sesto Bruscantini, Ian Wallace
RECORDED: 1955

Based on the 1955 Glyndebourne production, this Figaro has strong elements in Sciutti's Susanna, Jurinac's Countess and Cuénod's Basilio. Mellow conducting from Vittorio Gui. Penguin 3 stars.

Highlights single CD

EMI 0948932
CHORUS: Philharmonia
ORCHESTRA: Philharmonia
CONDUCTOR: Carlo Maria Giulini
ARTISTS: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Anna Moffo, Eberhard Wachter, Giuseppe Taddei, Fiorenza Cossotto
RECORDED: 1961

Penguin 3 stars. A fine classic recording now surprisingly only available as a highlights disc.

DG 4394492 or 4802626
CHORUS: Berlin Opera
ORCHESTRA: Berlin Opera
CONDUCTOR: Karl Bohm
ARTISTS: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gundula Janowitz, Edith Mathis, Hermann Prey, Tatiana Troyanos
RECORDED: 1967

See above.

Henry Purcell - The Fairy Queen

CD - complete recordings

Archiv 4776733 (2CD set)
CHORUS: Monteverdi
ORCHESTRA: English Baroque Soloists
CONDUCTOR: John Eliot Gardiner
ARTISTS: Eiddwen Harrhy, Jennifer Smith, Judith Nelson, Stephen Varcoe
RECORDED: 1990

Penguin 4 stars, BBC Music 4 stars. This disc highlights Gardiner's flair for drama. Airy dances and languishing sighs are just two of many effects that he calls forth. Pristine sound reproduction.

Harmonia Mundi HMC901308/09 (2CD set)
CHORUS: Les Arts Florissants
ORCHESTRA: Les Arts Florissants
CONDUCTOR: William Christie
ARTISTS: Veronique Gens, Nancy Argenta, Lynne Dawson, Charles Daniels
RECORDED: 1989

Penguin 3 stars. A vigorous and refreshing alternative to Gardiner, Christie uses a far bigger team, allowing a wider range of colours.

EMI 0881922 (2CD set)
CHORUS: London Schutz
ORCHESTRA: London Classical Players
CONDUCTOR: Roger Norrington
ARTISTS: Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Catherine Pierard, Susan Bickley, Howard Crook, Mark Padmore
RECORDED: 2001

Penguin 2.5 stars. A brisk and sprightly performance with excellent singers but perhaps less fun and dramatic bite than with Gardiner and Christie.

Highlights single CDs

none available

Maurice Ravel - L’heure espagnole / L’enfant et les sortilèges

CD - complete recordings(double bill)

Deutsche Grammophon 4497692 (2 CD set)
CHORUS: French National Radio
ORCHESTRA: French National Radio
CONDUCTOR: Lorin Maazel
ARTISTS: Jane Berbie, Michel Senechal, Jose van Dam, Gabriel Bacquier
RECORDED: 1965/1960

Penguin 3 stars. A classic recording generally considered to be one of Maazel's best stylish, vivid and atmospheric. Fine Francophone cast.

Decca Eloquence 4800124 (2CD set)
CHORUS: Geneva Motet
ORCHESTRA: Suisse Romande
CONDUCTOR: Ernest Ansermet
ARTISTS: Suzanne Danco, Hughes Cuenod, Heinz Rehfuss, Genevieve Touraine
RECORDED: 1953/1954

These priceless Ansermet recordings have been recently reissued on this Australian label and he and his engineer expose the clever, colorful orchestration with pristine clarity despite being in mono. A very strong cast of native French singers.

CD single disc (L’heure espagnole)

Arts Archive 430402
CHORUS: -
ORCHESTRA: RAI Turin
CONDUCTOR: Peter Maag
ARTISTS: Michel Senechal, Eric Tappy, Pierre Mollet, Andree Aubery Luchini
RECORDED: 1962

I have never heard this disc, recorded at a concert performance, but the cast and conductor are fine and it appears to be the only single disc currently available.

CD single disc (L’enfant et les sortilèges)

EMI 2641972
CHORUS: Berlin Radio
ORCHESTRA: Berlin Philharmonic
CONDUCTOR: Simon Rattle
ARTISTS: Magdalena Kozena, Annick Massis, Nathalie Stutzmann, Francois Le Roux
RECORDED: 2008

BBC Music 4 stars. Glyndebourne regular, Rattle, takes full advantage of the Berlin Phil's exceptional colours and the line-up of soloists in Berlin could hardly be starrier.

Deutsche Grammophon 4575892
CHORUS: London Symphony
ORCHESTRA: London Symphony
CONDUCTOR: Andre Previn
ARTISTS: Pamela Helen Stephen, Anne-Marie Owens, Juanita Lascarro, David Wilson-Johnson
RECORDED: 1997

Penguin 3 stars. BBC Music 4 stars. Excellent recorded sound and Previn infectiously points rythms with the atmospheric magic beautifully captured.

Testament SBT1044 (mono)
CHORUS: French National Radio
ORCHESTRA: French National Radio
CONDUCTOR: Ernest Bour
ARTISTS: Nadine Sautereau, Andre Vessieres, Solange Michel, Martha Angelici
RECORDED: 1947

Penguin Rosette/4 stars. A superb transfer of this historic recording, probably unsurpassed as a performance - an outstanding team of Francophone soloists with vital and imaginative playing and singing from the orchestra and chorus.

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