BD Opera

Franz Schreker - Irrelohe, Opera In 3 Acts
Beethoven Orchester Bonn / Stefan Blunier / Chor und Extrachor des Theater Bonn
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 500 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Live" # 937 1687-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Opera, Late Romantic

…The vivid MDG recording is slightly distanced, so the volume needs to be increased considerably for its fine qualities to become evident. Balances between voices and orchestra are excellent, and for those listening in multi-channel the surround speakers have been used to great effect for the off-stage brass, distant bells and chorus in the Act 3 cataclysmic immolation of Irrelohe castle. There is no applause or audience noise but the movement of singers on the stage is clearly defined with very few extraneous sounds being captured by the microphones. This is the latest addition to the Schrecker discography and will be welcomed by all admirers of the composer and can be confidently recommended.

Classical Opera continue their series of Mozart Operas on Signum with Mozarts Mitridate, re di Ponto, K. 87 (74a). Mozarts first great operatic success premiered at the Teatro Regio Ducale in Milan on 26 Dec 1770, marking the culmination of Mozarts first trip to Italy. The work received an initial twenty-two performance run sure proof of success and news of this astonishing youthful work spread quickly. As well as the complete opera, this 4CD set includes a bonus disc featuring original versions of a number of arias from the opera that Mozart subsequently changed in the final version.

Franz Schreker - Irrelohe, Opera In 3 Acts
Beethoven Orchester Bonn / Stefan Blunier / Chor und Extrachor des Theater Bonn
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 500 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Live" # 937 1687-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Opera, Late Romantic

…The vivid MDG recording is slightly distanced, so the volume needs to be increased considerably for its fine qualities to become evident. Balances between voices and orchestra are excellent, and for those listening in multi-channel the surround speakers have been used to great effect for the off-stage brass, distant bells and chorus in the Act 3 cataclysmic immolation of Irrelohe castle. There is no applause or audience noise but the movement of singers on the stage is clearly defined with very few extraneous sounds being captured by the microphones. This is the latest addition to the Schrecker discography and will be welcomed by all admirers of the composer and can be confidently recommended.

Eugen D'Albert - Der Golem: Opera in 3 Acts
Mark Morouse / Beethoven Orchester Bonn / Chor des Theater Bonn / Stefan Blunier
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 467 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Live" # 937 1637-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2010
Genre: Classical | Opera, Early 20th Century

…The opera is very much worth hearing—and owning (though I wish MD&G had supplied an English translation of the libretto). The performances are for the most part on target. (…) So I guess this must be a qualified recommendation, but a recommendation nonetheless, given the quality of D’Albert’s music.

Eugen D'Albert - Der Golem: Opera in 3 Acts
Mark Morouse / Beethoven Orchester Bonn / Chor des Theater Bonn / Stefan Blunier
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 467 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Live" # 937 1637-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2010
Genre: Classical | Opera, Early 20th Century

…The opera is very much worth hearing—and owning (though I wish MD&G had supplied an English translation of the libretto). The performances are for the most part on target. (…) So I guess this must be a qualified recommendation, but a recommendation nonetheless, given the quality of D’Albert’s music.

Starring Angela Gheorghiu as the celebrated French actress Adriana Lecouvreur and Jonas Kaufmann as her lover Maurizio, Count of Saxony, Cilea’s verismo drama explores celebrity, romance, jealousy, and death. The trio of sublime voices is completed by Russian mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina as Adriana’s jealous rival, the Princess de Bouillon. David McVicar’s hit production – the first performance of the opera at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for more than a century – presents the life of the French actress as a blurring of the distinction between fantasy and reality.

'Artaxerxes is a rare beast, perhaps a unique one: an 'opera seria' composed to English words. Almost all of the numbers are solo arias; there are two duets, and an ensemble Finale newly composed by Duncan Druce to replace the missing ending. Arne owes much to Handel, but he tends to write more concisely. This studio recording is based on a staged production, and it shows in the natural way in which the characters interact. The recitatives—also new, composed by Ian Page—are delivered with conviction, flowing seamlessly into the arias. Christopher Ainslie as Artaxerxes woos with honeyed tone, while Caitlin Hulcup as his friend Arbaces impresses with her coloratura. 'The soldier, tir'd of war's alarms', recorded years ago by Joan Sutherland, goes to the excellent Elizabeth Watts as Arbaces' lover. There's much delectable writing for the woodwind and horns, all beautifully played. This lively account of a charming work will give much pleasure' (Classic FM)

Giacomo Puccini - Turandot
Rome Opera Orchestra & Chorus / Leinsdorf
2xSACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 4,62 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 2,31 GB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: RCA Red Seal "Living Stereo" # Living Stereo 82876-82624-2 | Country/Year: US 2006
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Opera

"This Grammy winner, one of the most successful versions of Puccini's final opera, offers Nilsson's first recording of the title character, and Bjoerling's last operatic portrayal on disc, including a heroic, for-the-ages "Nessun dorma". The extraordinary orchestration, befitting a story set in ancient China, benefits from the new DSD remastering."

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - The Royal Opera / Sir Colin Davis - Die Zauberflote / The Magic Flute
Stereo FLAC @ 24Bit48kHz: 1,6 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info | Genre: Classical, Opera
Label/Cat#: Opus Arte, BBC # OA BD7002 D | Country/Year: Uk & Europe 2008

It’s hard to find a version of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte that’s as well sung as this 2003 Covent Garden production. Led by the eminent Mozartian, Sir Colin Davis, orchestra and singers present a warm, often intense vision of the opera, not as the fairy tale it’s often taken for, but as a human drama of the passage from misguided beliefs to mature knowledge of self…