He was born in Cologne, but it was in Paris that Jacques Offenbach achieved fame. A special feature of this 30-CD collection are star-studded recordings in both French and German of his most celebrated operettas – works that overflow with joie de vivre and satirical wit – and of Les Contes d’Hoffmann, an opera that daringly fuses fantasy, comedy and tragedy. It also includes irresistibly stylish performances of such tempting rarities as Les Brigands, Pomme d’Api, Monsieur Choufleuri and Mesdames de la Halle.
This massive new reissue from Eugene Ormandy’s stereo discography collects all the Columbia Masterworks recordings he made in Philadelphia between the early 1960s and early 1980s. Sony Classical’s new 94-CD box set once again demonstrates what noted critic Jed Distler, reviewing the previous instalment of this ambitious project “The Columbia Stereo Collection 1958–1963” in Gramophone’s December 2023 issue, characterized as “the Philadelphia Orchestra’s brilliance and versatility as well as Ormandy’s unflappable consistency and habitually underestimated interpretative gifts”. Some of these performances – including the complete recording of Bach’s St. John Passion, Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis, Schubert’s Sixth Symphony and a disc of opera choruses with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, as well as Ginastera’s Concerto for Strings and the ballet music from Massenet’s opera Le Cid – have never appeared before in the digital medium, and they shine a light into new corners of Ormandy’s astonishingly large repertoire.
Discover or rediscover the masterpieces and rare gems of the baroque and classical repertoire with the greatest performers : Hervé Niquet (Richard Cœur de Lion by Grétry, The Magic Flute by Mozart, Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse by Boismortier), John Eliot Gardiner (La Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz), Vincent Dumestre (Phaéton, Cadmus et Hermione et Le Bourgeois gentilhomme by Lully, Egisto by Cavalli), Raphaël Pichon (Vespro della Beata Vergine by Monteverdi), Gaétan Jarry (Les Arts Florissans and David et Jonathas by Charpentier), Valentin Tournet (Les Indes Galantes by Rameau, Magnificat by Bach), Stéphane Fuget (Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria by Monteverdi, Grands Motets by Lully in 3 volumes), Leonardo García Alarcón (La Finta Pazza by Sacrati and The Coronation of Poppaea by Monteverdi), Olivier Latry (Mass for the Convents and Mass for the Parishes by Couperin), Jordi Savall (L’Orfeo by Monteverdi), Christophe Rousset (Psyché and Atys by Lully), Placido Domingo (The Versailles Gala), Mathias Vidal (Rameau triomphant) and Marc Minkowski (Nouvelle Symphonie by Rameau). The label has also recorded the first two French operas composed by women: Cephalus and Procris by Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre and Les Génies by Mademoiselle Duval.
Harry Christophers and The Sixteen have long been celebrated for their recordings and performances of Handel. Over the past three decades Harry Christophers and his award-winning ensemble have expanded their Handel repertoire to take in his greatest works. They have also made numerous recordings of Handel’s masterpieces and this twelve CD boxed set features a selection of some of their finest discs along with three remarkable solo albums featuring The Sixteen’s celebrated orchestra and acclaimed sopranos Sarah Connolly, Ann Murray and Elin Manahan Thomas.