National Theatre Live

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.

Petra Haden shines in Love Songs Live–an exciting concert version of the new musical from the songwriting team of John Zorn and Jesse Harris - Presented at National Sawdust in September 2023 as part of the Zorn@70 NYC concert series, the music is beautiful, lyrical, with heartwarming lyrics about a love lost and found. Accompanied by the soulful trio of Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith, this is a dynamic concert performance that pushes musical theatre forward with a creative Downtown edge. Touching upon the languages of the 20th century's most creative musical songsmiths–Sondheim, Weill, Bacharach, and the Tin Pan Alley tradition–Love Songs Live is an absolute delight!

Puccini: Tosca - Callas, Corelli, Gobbi - Live Recording New York - 1965 (Complete)
Classical | 2 CDs | FLAC+LOG+ CUE | NO BOOKS NO COVER | 542 MB
Melodram Milano (MEL 26030) (Callas Edition) | Release Date: 1989

If any soprano is custom-built for the role of Floria Tosca, it is Maria Meneghini Callas. From her first entrance at Manhattan's Metropolitan Opera last week, she made the Puccini heroine a creature of fierce temperament; hers was a believable embodiment of a jealous beauty who was willing to make the supreme sacrifice for her lover, and who carves up a would-be seducer with a fruit knife. In addition to her flawless acting, Callas was in full command of her remarkable voice—never luscious, but potent as TNT.