Author: James Sohre

The opera world, always ravenous for talented, charismatic tenors, felt desperate hunger pains last summer, when Rolando VillazÛn canceled dates with an explanation that a health crisis necessitated a sabbatical from singing.

With a composer as widely beloved as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for an opera to be all but forgotten suggests the work has problems beyond redemption.

For the opera of average length, a decent highlights disc can feature as much as half the score.

At the Rossini Festival held in Pesaro, Italy, Dynamic recorded two Rossini rarities in August 2006.

The best thing about this set, a Norma recorded live at the Teatro delle Muse di Ancona in late 2004, is the booklet essay by Marco Beghelli, offered in both English and Italian (no credit to any translator).

This Dynamic recording of Meyerbeer’s Semiramide, an opera title more familiar with Rossini’s name appended, mixes the pleasure of a modestly appealing surprise with regret at key aspects of the performance.

A nostalgic charm permeates these filmed productions from the early 1970s of Lortzing’s Zar und Zimmerman and Mozart’s Die Zauberflˆte, collaborations between the Hamburg State Opera and German TV director Joachim Hess.

The opera highlights series from Classics for Pleasure continues its recycling of the EMI catalogue with selections from two of Herbert von Karajan’s recordings.