Category: Recordings

Mirella Freni’s 1993 triumph in the lead of Umberto Giordani’s Fedora at La Scala has made it to DVD. In his booklet essay, Werner Pfister (translated by Stewart Spencer) admits the opera “does not enjoy the best of reputations.”

Okay, okay, I freely admit this up front: I am not inordinately fond of operetta. Just thought you should know. All the more remarkable then that I found myself listening to this new recording several times over.

Whatever you do, don’t give this DVD as a gift to people you don’t want to alienate.

Recorded in August 2001 at the Salzburg Festival, less than a month before the tragic events of 11 September, the presentation of songs and readings of music by American composers and texts by American authors seems aimed at a different world. Without venturing into political or social dimensions of the event, the concept of America in August 2001 suggested at times a sense of being impermeable, if not invincible.

Thomas Stoltzer represents German composition in the wake of the Reformation yet still immersed in the contrapuntal richness of the Josquin tradition.

With its fine engineering, the rich score of Mahlerís Sixth Symphony and the superb playing of the Philadelpha Orchestra conducted by Christoph Eschenbach emerge well in this recently released recording.

This must be one of the most interesting collectorsí collections to have appeared in many a year. Personally Iíve always liked any singer from Fernando De Lucia to Rolando Villazon but I never was tempted to collect shellac and therefore didnít have to contact Yves Becko.

RenÈ Jacobsís beautiful 1996 production of Francesco Cavalliís Calisto has garnered many enthusiastic fans over the years.

This is a recording that glories in iconicity.

There are a number of signs of the popularity of the Kingís Singersótheir longevity as an ensemble, the huge success of their public concerts, and their sizable discography all come immediately to mind.