Michael Morris

The Cincinnati Pops announced the release of its newest recording, JOY!, led by Cincinnati Pops Conductor John Morris Russell. JOY! will feature recordings of live performances from the Orchestra’s popular Holiday Pops programs, including a diverse and eclectic collection of favorite holiday classics in new arrangements. The latest release will include a new recording of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Christmas Overture,” which is complemented with creative new takes on traditional melodies like “Silent Night” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” folk tunes like “Mis zeh Hidlik” and “The Ukrainian Bell Carol,” as well as contemporary songs like “Blue Christmas” featuring singer and trombonist Aubrey Logan.

It would have been better, of course, if this 1984 production of Donizetti's Anna Bolena, or at least its title role, had been filmed 20 years earlier, when Joan Sutherland's voice was in its spectacular prime. But like her Canadian Opera Norma, dating from 1981, this is a better-late-than-never documentation of one of the most remarkable voices of the 20th century.

The first studio recording made at Cincinnati Music Hall following a major renovation draws inspiration from the stars and includes the world premiere recording of the title track by Academy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino. His composition, Voyage, was co-commissioned by the Cincinnati Pops and the National Symphony Orchestra and commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing and the historic “giant leap for mankind.”