Haller

This luxurious set containing 39 CDs, 3 DVDs, 1 CD-Rom and four detailed booklets will tell you the full story of Baroque opera in Italy, France, England, and Germany. No fewer than 17 complete operas (including two on DVD) and two supplementary CDs (the dawn of opera, Overtures for the Hamburg Opera) provide the most comprehensive overview of the genre ever attempted! The finest performers are assembled here under the direction of René Jacobs and William Christie to offer you 47 hours of music. An opportunity to discover or to hear again the masterpieces of Baroque opera, some of which have been unavailable on CD for many years.

Is another baroque opera–in this case by composer Reinhard Keiser (1674-1739)–really worth hearing in its entirety? After a completely conventional overture, the opening scene pits the legendarily rich king of Lydia, the titular Croesus (who incidentally lived in the fifth century B.C.), against the Athenian philosopher and lawgiver Solon. On account of his immeasurable wealth, the complacent Croesus believes himself to be completely secure and unassailable; Solon mocks his riches and points out how ephemeral all earthly goods are. This exchange of words via recitative is perfectly built up–both as a composition and as performed here. From his very first notes, Roman Trekel's Croesus carries conviction, while Kwangchul Youn (a role originally intended for tenor but justifiably and effectively transcribed by conductor René Jacobs for bass) is no less impressive.

Ophelie Gaillard has made recently a deep impression with the Suites for cello solo by Jean-Sebastian Bach. On this new recording, dedicated to the Cantor of Leipzig, she gathered her close team from the Pulcinella Ensemble and invited some of the most talented soloists: Sandrine Piau, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, Christophe Dumaux.

Is another baroque opera–in this case by composer Reinhard Keiser (1674-1739)–really worth hearing in its entirety? After a completely conventional overture, the opening scene pits the legendarily rich king of Lydia, the titular Croesus (who incidentally lived in the fifth century B.C.), against the Athenian philosopher and lawgiver Solon. On account of his immeasurable wealth, the complacent Croesus believes himself to be completely secure and unassailable; Solon mocks his riches and points out how ephemeral all earthly goods are…
–Michael Wersin

The international success of Faust after its premiere in 1859 completely overshadowed all of Gounod’s subsequent operas. He had known Goethe’s masterpiece for two decades and brought to the text his gifts for memorable melody and rich orchestration. Added to this, the plot of Faust’s ageing and the heroine Marguerite’s redemption, offered the opportunity for the most spectacular stage effects. Heard here in its 1864 London version with an additional air and without spoken dialogue or ballet, Faust represents 19th-century French opera at its peak.

With 6 Anissimov is back in peak form and certainly beats out the other Russian contenders for the title…Anissimov and his Moscow players give an excellent account of themselves, and the engineers have obliged with truly room-filling volume, taking care to bring out the deep bass and rich, dark coloring so important for a full appreciation of the score. There's nothing subtle about the playing — especially the trenchant low brass — but then save for the central sections there's not much that's subtle about the music either, and Anissimov's exuberant embrace of the outer movements is immensely satisfying.