Opera - Classical Explorer

Beethoven

A tale of "two" operas: when is a Fidelio not a Fidelio?

So, when is a Fidelio not a Fidelio?: an updated post

Opera

A Devilish Pact: Gounod's Faust from the Royal Opera

A performance and staging that never fails to stimulate

Opera

Mascagni's Iris: a verismo gem

It is impossible not to be pulled into Mascagni's world ...

Opera

Es gibt ein Reich: Ariadne auf Naxos in Vienna

An act of pure joy as well as compositional virtuosity, Richard Strauss' opera Ariadne auf Naxos almost guarantees enjoyment

Opera

A handful of Salieri operas

Salieri opera, I hear you say? He of Amadeus fame? I'm not really one for populist links, but that film did bring to the public's awareness the name of Antonio Salieri. Christophe Rousset has long believed in the importance of Salieri's music, and his most recent release of Salieri's opera

Donizetti

Opera Rara and Donizetti: Il Paria

An international release through Warner Classics, this Donizetti Il Paria on the Opera Rara label was recorded in the studio - BBC Maida Vale, June 1-6, 2019 - prior to a performance at London's Barbican Centre. Il paria (The Pariah) was Donizetti's 20th full-length opera; it is, astonoishingly, Opera Rara's

Opera

Hymns of Love: tenor Dmytro Popov's recital disc

Making a splash at London's Covent Garden as Rodofo Bohème in 2013, Dnytro Popov enjoys an international career. Notably, he was solo tenor in Teodor Currentzis' Verdi Requiem performances around Europe in 2019, but he has been active in many, many operatic roles, the most famous of which appear on

Opera

Tchaikovsky Queen of Spades

A salutary reminder of the greatness of Tchaikovsky's operatic works

French Baroque

Rameau: Les Boréades from Versailles

More Baroque wonderment from Château de Versailles Spectacles

Opera

Richard, Coeur de Lion: a Grétry rediscovery

Grétry's 'Richard Coeur de Lion' is a treasure-trove of delight

Opera

Anna Netrebko in Verdi's 'Trovatore'

Only a few days ago, Classical Explorer featured a post on a production of Lohengrin that, while fascinating, played fast and free with what Wagner actually intended. So it makes the perfect contrast to introduce director Franco Zeffirelli's Il trovatore (The Troubadour) in a very traditional production from the huge

Opera

A 'Lohengrin' from Stuttgart

For some, Wagner seems like an unassailable mountain. Where to start? The pre-Ring works seem best; and while both Tannhäuser and Der fliegende Holländer seem fit for purpose, perhaps Lohengrin is the best, for of the three it best introduces the spirituality - and the inspired music that emerges later

Piano

A trip to the opera, on the piano: Vanessa Benelli Mosell

It is not so often posts are tagged as both "Piano" and "Opera," but that's the case here. Even rarer in music criticism, I would have thought, for two versions of an operatic transcription by Sigismond Thalberg to come out in close proximity, but such is the case here, with

Opera

Gluck: an Opera Gala, with Jessye Norman

A celebration of Gluck; and Jessye Norman!

Opera

Massenet's Don Quichotte from Bregenz

Another Massenet opera to delight in

Opera

A Tale of Two Angels: Donizetti's "L'Ange de Nisida"

Angels cried over musicological triumphs in Dussek on Friday; two angels shine courtesy of Donizetti today. Who would have ever thought we would ever be lucky enough to be able to compare versions of Donizetti's 1839 semi-seria opera L'Ange de Nisida? Yet here we are. After the pioneering version on

Baroque

Buried Treasures: Graun's opera, "Polydorus"

This is one of those operas that is hard to excerpt simply because you end up wanting to excerpt everything

Wagner

Wagner's Meistersinger from Bayreuth

Experience Michael Volle's remarkable, outstanding Hans Sachs ...

Opera

A Tale of Two Emilias: Janacek's "The Makropulos Case"

Leoš Janáček's opera Věc Makropulos (The Makropulos Case), after a comedy by Karel Čapek, has a rather fantastical idea at its core: the protagonist, Emilia Marty, has lived for some 337 years; her various names have always had the intials "E.M.". She has this preternatural longevity due to a

Massenet

An adult fairy tale: Glyndebourne's Massenet 'Cendrillon'

I adored Fiona Shaw's production at Glyndebourne of Massenet's opéra Cendrillon (Cinderella): my review at the time appeared here. That performance was on June 8, 2019; the one on the DVD/Bluray is the one from June 30. That this appears now on DVD and Bluray neatly complements, of course,

Opera

Anima Rara: Ermonela Jaho's tribute to Rosina Storchio

Part of "Opera Rara at 50," (2020 marks the label's fiftieth anniversary) this is an exemplary example of how an intelligent idea behind a vocal recital results ini a listening experience that is both cogent and stimulating. Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho is well-known in the UK, particularly for her singing

Wagner

An Angel versus a Whore?: Tobias Kratzer's manic, off-piste Tannhäuser

From the off, it is clear this is no ordinary Tannhäuser ...

Opera

Wood Nymphs and Mermaids in Sussex: Dvořák's Rusalka at Glyndebourne

When I wrote in one of Classical Explorer's early posts about Dvořák's Piano Concerto, I couldn't resist linking to some of Rusalka: the opera's most excerpted moment, the "Song to the Moon," sung there by the amazing Gabriela Beňačková (see here). Nice to have this Bluray/DVD Rusalka come my

Early Music

The other Orpheus: Stefano Landi's "La Morte d'Orfeo"

The further adventures of Orpheus ...

Opera

Opera Rara releases Puccini's Le Willis

No lover of Italian opera should be without this