Anna 1987

Claude D'Anna's film of Verdi's Macbeth is a gloomy affair, stressing the descent into madness of the principal villains. It's acted by the singers of the Decca recording of the opera (with two substitutions of actors standing in for singers) and the lip-synching is generally unobtrusive. The musical performance is superb, conducted by Riccardo Chailly with admirable fire, and sung by some of the leading lights of the opera stages of the 1980s. Shirley Verrett virtually owned the role of Lady Macbeth at the time, and she delivers a terrific performance, the voice equal to the role's wide register leaps and it's suffused with emotion, whether urging her husband on to murder or maddened by guilt in the Sleepwalking Scene.

Out of all Aerosmith's live albums released over the years (Live Bootleg, Classics Live! Vol. 2, etc.), 1986's Classics Live! is the least effective. The main reason it doesn't meet the high standards of their other in-concert releases is simple – the band had little input in deciding the song selections and performances – plus, it was released by their then-former label, Columbia, to cash in on the newly re-formed band's reunion tour…

Con questo Vol. I d'una Opera Omnia ancora in corso, arriviamo subito alla piena maturità dell'importante musicista finlandese, ma anche forse del Meta4, importante quartetto connazionale: direi che si son fatti un regalo reciproco con questa produzione, ovviamente Ondine. Seppure resta per me sospeso il giudizio se queste possano essere delle interpretazioni di riferimento.

Imagine that ten of the world's most well-known highly regarded filmmakers were given a free hand to make real any vision. Aria is that history-making film. Sexy, violent, thought-provoking and funny, here is the movie critics raved about, audiences flocked to see, and no one could stop talking about. Includes Bridget Fonda's electrifying film debut, a revealing and breathtaking performance from Elizabeth Hurley, and Theresa Russell as the trigger-happy King Zog of Albania.

British rock/pop group, formed in Liverpool, England during the late 1950s. Signed to recording contract with EMI in 1962…

Since 1987, Dan Laurin has released some thirty titles on BIS. On his latest disc, Sonates et Suites he has chosen to visit France at an exciting point in time. In the early 18th century, when all of the sonatas and suites included here were composed, the system of censorship that ensured that nothing was printed without royal permission was beginning to crumble, at least in the field of music.

More mature, After Here Through Midland lacks the sparkle of Cock Robin's debut. The one time they engaged an American producer in Don Gehman (John Cougar Mellencamp, Hootie and the Blowfish), After Here has a more U.S. rock-country blend to it. In the end, it achieved little in the States, again doing the business in Europe – "Just Around the Corner," "The Biggest Fool of All," and "El Norte" notched up the U.K. singles chart. "I'll Send Them Your Way" could have landed them the U.S. hit they so deserved. "Another Story" is picturesque – almost like an Edward Hopper painting of small-town America: small wooden house with porch, a deserted street, heavy grey sky, and one illuminated streetlight. "Nobody's home, so I'll go looking out for trouble," sings Anna LaCazio. Not their best but still better than most.

Few singers have fused words and music as eloquently as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and few sopranos have proved more radiant in Strauss. All this makes her the ideal protagonist in the composer’s final opera, his ingenious and engaging ‘conversation piece’ on artistic themes. Schwarzkopf is joined by a cast of superlative stature and style and by a conductor intimately identified with the works of Strauss, Wolfgang Sawallisch.

On her first American album, Anna Domino showed flashes of considerable promise, setting her delicate guitar and voice amidst keyboard-heavy backdrops created with co-writer Michel Delory. The pair did their best work on the first few cuts off This Time; "Own Kind" is a bouncy synth pop number that carries a stinging message about "a generation rotten to the core," while the full-bodied disco groove of "Time for Us" forces Domino to abandon her usual wispy singing, with fine results…

Japanese Symphonic scene is pretty fertile but not in the classic style we are used to, instead they have a more eclectic approach that blends our beloved sub-genre with Fusion and Neo Prog influences, it's very common to find female vocalist as in two of their most representative bands like TERU'S SYMPHONIA and MAGDALENA, both leaded by the fabulous Megumi Tokuhisa, the perfect balance between the operatic sound of Annie Haslam and the beautiful but less elaborate vocals of Kate Bush…