Piccolo Coro Mariele Ventre Dell'antoniano Che Paura!

In its original form, Maria di Rohan was without doubt the most audacious result – pre-Verdi – of aesthetic transformation beyond the courtly dramas of “long Italian classicism”. The opera’s intrigue develops like an unstoppable machine: the fatal triangle formed by Maria, Chalais and Chevreuse being the work of Richelieu’s absolute power (despite never appearing on stage). Like trapped animals, the characters hopelessly search for a way out, and they devour each other in turn. Recorded at the Bergamo Donizetti Festival, October 2011, this is the first DVD release of Donizetti’s 1843 opera.

David McVicar's production of Manon takes a more than usually harsh view of the story…Here, everything and everybody is for sale… It is thrilling, sometimes even slightly shocking, and throughout the direction of the cast is faultless: every scene bears re-viewing for the amount of detail and dramatic energy that is released. It is unlikely that Natalie Dessay will ever give a greater performance than this. Her singing of each of the great arias is equally fascinating. The scene in which she and Rolando Villazón size each other up before speaking is exquisitely managed… Villazón makes a passionate hero. I cannot imagine that we will see another Manon to equal this for a long time. (Gramophone)

No musician has done more for this music than the Argentine director of Ensemble Elyma, Gabriel Garrido. Garrido has an impressive discography on the French label K617. K617 recordings can sometimes be frustrating because they rarely provide English translations to the obscure texts of much of this music. No matter, you can’t go wrong with any of the recordings Garrido has made with his excellent Ensemble Elyma.

Chailly and La Scala maintain the gold standard for Verdi in this new release coupling two great but rarely recorded choral works. The Hymn of the Nations (Inno delle nazioni) features Decca’s star tenor Freddie De Tommaso, the first tenor to record this work for Decca since Pavarotti. First performed in London in 1862 the Hymn incorporates ‘God Save the Queen’, ‘La Marseillaise’ and ‘Il Canto degli Italiani’: the national anthems of Great Britain, France and Italy. The Four Scared Pieces were published as a set in 1898, shortly before Verdi died. It portrays themes promising peace and the hope of paradise. This album follows the success of ‘Verdi Choruses’ which BBC Music Magazine awarded a 5* review: “Chorus and orchestra are both on their mettle here: the orchestral playing is clean and brilliant, the choral tone full and healthy.” “Chailly is meticulous and pays attention to the fine details, drawing performances from the chorus that are always sonorous and tasteful.” - Gramophone

The idea of a piccolo concerto might have seemed far-fetched at the beginning of the 20th century, but numerous composers have now expanded its role as the highest instrument of the orchestra into a true solo voice. With this recording Francesco Viola has brought together four unknown works by Eastern European composers – the Romanian Andreas Baksa; Slovenian composer Uroš Krek; German-Croatian composer Boris Papandopulo; and Hungarian composer Frigyes Hidas whose Oboe Concerto is recorded here in Francesco Viola’s transcription for piccolo. All of these concertos are filled with atmosphere, passion and high spirits.

These stomping tenor sax instrumentals come from the jazz and R&B repertoire of the '40s and '50s. Many Roomful of Blues alumni, such as Duke Robillard (g) and Al Copley (p), contribute. It doesn't rock any harder than this.