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Your guide to classical music online
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Your guide to classical music online
Here is Carmen, at the Opéra-Comique, its original home, played on instruments of its time, led by John Eliot Gardiner. Appealing? Well, curious-making at least.
Britten’s masterpiece–the greatest English opera since Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and arguably not equaled even by Britten–has done very well on disc. You might say
This first “authorized” edition of Clemens Krauss’ 1953 Bayreuth Ring cycle purportedly stems from the original Bavarian Radio master broadcast tapes. As such, we might
This overweight bon-bon from 1889 is one of Massenet’s most exotic and lush works, one filled with musical motifs that bring Wagner to mind. It
Acis & Galatea was Handel’s most popular work during the 18th century, and it is easy to understand why. The tunes are lovely, frequent, and
Of course if you are a Bocelli fan you will buy this whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent; if you just love Carmen you probably
This performance, recorded live in Bergamo in October, 2006, is an old-fashioned Lucia, the sort that is clearly pre-Callas, although most cuts are opened: the
This recording of Gershwin’s somewhat flawed, overlong (three-plus hours) masterpiece has been the recording of choice since its release in 1989, and it remains so.
My first thought upon hearing this Ariadne in English was, “Why isn’t the Prologue always done in the vernacular?” Perhaps it was the presence of
Insightful, energetic leadership, just-about-perfect playing from the orchestra and singing from the chorus, lively delivery of the dialogue, well-characterized performances of every musical number, entertaining
