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Special offer. Janáček: Katya Kabanova
RecommendedAmanda Majeski (Katya), Katarina Dalayman (Kabanicha), Simon O'Neill (Boris), Andrew Staples (Tichon), Magdalena Kozená (Varvara), Ladislav Elgr (Kudrjas), Pavlo Hunka (Dikój)
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle
Rattle and his recording engineers have produced a Katya that sound s magnificent both in its attention to musical detail and in those sudden orchestral climaxes that seem to sweep nature itself... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 23rd February 2024
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2024, Recording of the Month
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Gramophone Awards, 2024 Shortlist, Shortlisted - Opera
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalists 2024
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International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Opera
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2024
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Special offer. Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle
RecommendedMika Kares (Bluebeard), Szilvia Vörös (Judith), Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Susanna Mälkki
Both Kares and Vörös offer a subtle, understated approach…As well as conveying the piece’s taut structure and the orchestral writing’s sheer sweep, conductor Susanna Mälkki seeks out the detail... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, June 2021, Editor's Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Opera
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Grammy Awards, 64th Awards (2022), Nominee - Best Opera Recording
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Special offer. Britten: Peter Grimes
RecommendedStuart Skelton (Grimes), Erin Wall (Ellen), Roderick Williams (Balstrode), Susan Bickley (Auntie), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Mrs Sedley), Robert Murray (Bob Boles), James Gilchrist (Horace Adams), Marcus Farnsworth (Ned Keene)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
The best feature of this new Grimes is the orchestral playing, similar in tempo and character to Britten’s own recording. Where Edward Gardner really scores is the Bergen Philharmonic’s precision,... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2020, Recording of the Month
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Presto Editor's Choice, September 2020
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
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Opera, November 2020, Disc of the Month
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The Times Records of the Year, 2020
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Winner - Opera
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Recording of the Year
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Special offer. Verdi: La Traviata
Lisette Oropesa (Violetta), René Barbera (Alfredo Germont), Lester Lynch (Giorgio Germont), Dresdner Philharmonie, Daniel Oren
A lighter-voiced Violetta than many, leaning more towards the lyric than the dramatic, she sings with a consistent, shimmering beauty, effortless legato and an endearing sense of character...There... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Editor's Choice, May 2022
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International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Nominated - Opera
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Special offer. Handel: Acis and Galatea
Lucy Crowe (Galatea), Allan Clayton (Acis), Benjamin Hulett (Damon), Jeremy Budd (Coridon) & Neal Davies (Polyphemus)
Early Opera Company, Christian Curnyn
Curnyn has hit on a secret that eluded previous interpreters of this work: it was conceived specifically to showcase the beauty of the English language…Channelling Handel’s enthusiasm, Curnyn... — More…
Awards:
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Record Review, 16th June 2018, Recording of the Week
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The Times Records of the Year, 2018
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2019, Finalist - Opera
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2019, Winner - Opera
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Special offer. Verdi: Falstaff
RecommendedMichele Pertusi (Falstaff), Carlos Alvarez (Ford), Bülent Bezdüz (Fenton), Ana Ibarra (Alice Ford), Maria Josè Moreno (Nannetta), Jane Henschel (Mistress Quickly), Marina Domashenko (Meg Page)
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Colin Davis
By all accounts the performances at the Barbican were among the most enjoyable of their kind in London for a long time, and certainly the enjoyment comes across on disc. The 'how' of it isn't... — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, April 2016, Also Recommended
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2004, Editor's Choice
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Grammy Awards, 48th Awards (2005), Best Opera Recording
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Special offer. Beethoven: Fidelio
Lise Davidsen (Leonore), Christian Elsner (Florestan), Georg Zeppenfeld (Rocco), Johannes Martin Kränzle (Don Pizarro), Christina Landshamer (Marzelline), Cornel Frey (Jaquino), Günther Groissböck (Don Fernando), Dresdner Philharmoniker, Marek Janowski
it’s the orchestra which catches attention, with Janowski coaxing heartfelt playing from the strings and above all the horns, who somehow come to signify all that is most hopeful in this great... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Editor's Choice, July 2021
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Opera
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Special offer. Weber: Der Freischütz
RecommendedChristine Brewer (Agathe), Sally Matthews (Ännchen), Lars Woldt (Kaspar), Simon O’Neill (Max), Stephan Loges (Ottokar/Zamiel), Martin Snell (Kuno), Gidon Saks (A Hermit), Marcus Farnsworth (Kilian), Lucy Hall (Bridesmaids)
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Colin Davis
This is a sincere reading of the work, but sincerity should not be confused with a lack of sophistication. The orchestral textures are pristine, the tempos and colours bracing and plaintive,... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 6th May 2013
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Special offer. Verdi: Otello
RecommendedSimon O’Neill (Otello), Gerald Finley (Iago), Anne Schwanewilms (Desdemona), Allan Clayton (Cassio), Ben Johnson (Roderigo), Alexander Tsymbalyuk (Lodovico), Matthew Rose (Montano), Lukas Jakobski (Herald) & Eufemia Tufano (Emilia)
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Colin Davis
everything contributes to accentuating extremes: Colin Davis gets the LSO, in shattering form, to play chords like cannon shots...The two male leads are superb: Simon O'Neill is the most complete... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 1st November 2010
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Gramophone Awards, 2011, Finalist - Opera
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2010, Editor's Choice
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Special offer. Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen, Sinfonietta
RecommendedLucy Crowe (Vixen), Gerald Finley (Forester), Sophia Burgos (Fox), Jan Martiník (Badger/Parson), Peter Hoare (Mosquito/Rooster/Schoolmaster), Hanno Müller-Brachmann (Harašta)
London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle
If this Vixen is good, the Sinfonietta is outstanding – arguably the best on disc, though you need to experience the work in a concert hall with the nine trumpets blazing. They’re supremely... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 4th September 2020
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2020, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2020
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The Times Records of the Year, 2020
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Grammy Awards, 64th Awards (2022), Nominee - Best Opera Recording
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