Category: Recordings

The only thing truly operatic in this work is the use of the word “opera” in the title.

Besotted admirers of certain lesser-known operas of debatable merit sometimes include conductors, singers and opera house managers with the power to get their cherished rarity on stage.

While the cover of this Decca two-DVD set mirrors that of Cecilia Bartoli’s 2007 CD, Maria, the contents are not identical.

Reading the articles in the booklet for this set, it becomes clear that librettist Colin Graham was the driving force behind this opera’s creation.

The legacy of the late conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli includes a number of fine recordings of Mahler’s music, and among them is his Deutsche Grammophon recording of the composer’s Fourth Symphony with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the soprano Edita Gruberova.

If, dear reader, a desire has ever swept over you (a desire such as a pregnant woman’s craving for vanilla ice cream with pickles) to hear music reminiscent of both Messiah and the Fingal’s Cave overture, CPO is just the musical ice cream parlor/deli for you.

The true opera fan devotes almost as much time, if not more, to the “what might have been” careers as to those of the superstars.

Archival radio recordings of complete operas seldom have ideal sound, but the audio is usually sharper than that of a live performance while still carrying a comparable dramatic immediacy.

Among the important recent cycles of Mahler’s symphonies is the one underway by Valery Gergiev with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Beethoven’s Fidelio is actually several works combined — a rescue opera in the grand style of the French revolution, a sentimental comedy focusing on mistaken identity, and a tragÈdie bourgeoise involving a husband, a wife, and their efforts to re-unite despite the actions of a relentless and implacable foe.