Krisy Sensuellement Vôtre

With this original jackets’ box set Deutsche Grammophon concludes its series of 4 grand sets that present almost the totality of Herbert von Karajan’s output for the Yellow Label – and hence perhaps the most magnificent legacy in the history of recorded music. On 70 CDs “KARAJAN – THE OPERA RECORDINGS” features the 14 operas Karajan recorded for DGG – from “Carmen” to “Parsifal”, from “The Merry Widow” to “Rosenkavalier”, from Mozart to Puccini. And, of course, the complete “Ring”.

The remarkable Hypermnestre by Charles- Hubert Gervais is the latest unremembered early 18th-century French opera to be recorded afresh for Glossa, and conducted by György Vashegyi.

The remarkable Hypermnestre by Charles-Hubert Gervais is the latest unremembered early 18th-century French opera to be recorded afresh for Glossa, and conducted by György Vashegyi.

The latest release from the outstanding Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is devoted to the monumental opera Circé by Henry Desmarest. Lully's death in 1687 was a defining moment in the history of French opera. Until then, his dominance in tragédie en musique was almost as great as Louis XIV's dominance in French politics. The 1690s then saw a veritable explosion of new voices on the French operatic stage - both among composers and librettists. Some composers, such as Pascal Colasse, sought to maintain the closest possible proximity to Lully's model, while others, such as Charpentier, Marais, Campra, Desmarest, and their librettists, betrayed a voice and vision all their own from the beginning.