Category: Reviews

Two of the most famous Wagner interpreters of the twentieth century, Hans Hotter and Birgit Nilsson, are always worth hearing in their studio recordings, and the live recordings capture the spontaneity of an actual performance with such accomplished singers.

The demise of Tower Records adds another hurdle to the collector’s challenge in acquiring rare performances on obscure labels.

“Cecilia, cast a glance upon the land of Britain, and you will see that in sonorous strains it renews on this day the pleasing memory of your name so dear. . . .”

As the careers of the “three tenors” drew to a close, it became more and more obvious that replacements would have to be found, if not for all of them, then certainly for one or two.

A yellow banner in the lower right hand corner of the slip case cover (identical to that of the jewel box and booklet) proclaims this CD as the “first world recording” of Gaetano Donizetti’s Alahor in Granata.

Virtuosic, expressive, subtle evocative ñ these words can be used to describe various aspects of the Lieder of Richard Strauss.

From the 2004 Aix en Provence Festival comes this Luc Bondy staging of Handel’s oratorio Hercules, an achingly serious and sober portrayal of Olympian rage and jealousy.

In the 1890s, the term ìdivaî was first used in print to refer to an opera singer or stage star.

Among the exciting new releases in Naxosís series of 21st Century Classics is a compilation of four works by Wojciech Kilar (b. 1932), which include two symphonic compositions and two vocal pieces.