With Shakespearian operas all the rage in Paris during the 19th century, Ambroise Thomas and his librettists Michel Carre and Jules Barbier adapted Hamlet to create a romantic spectacle in which the character of Ophelie shines with a haunting radiance. With its virtuosic arias, stunning ensembles and vivid orchestration with the colourful addition of the newly invented saxophone Thomas composed one of the most successful operas in the French repertoire. This is further enhanced by director Cyril Teste s multi-layered production, reinstating its powerful original ending, and including cinematic techniques to create a very palpable hit (bachtrack.com).
Hotel Amour is the musical love affair between Pink Martini bandleader Thomas Lauderdale and the crowd-surfing post-modern diva Meow Meow, backed by members of Pink Martini. These two friends have performed and composed together across the globe for years, from the backstreet bars of Berlin to the glamorous stage of the Sydney Opera House, from London's legendary Royal Albert Hall to Mary's Club, Portland's legendary strip club. Hotel Amour features several sparkling originals alongside exquisite journeys into the French, German and Shanghainese canon of the 20th century, with alluring tastes of the 1920s and 30s, bittersweet tragedy, humor, politics, witty Weimar, and aching French torch song. And the album includes joyful duets with fabulous guests, including Rufus Wainwright, Barry Humphries (of Dame Edna fame), and The von Trapps, as well as a very special live recording with the legendary late French pianist and composer Michel Legrand.
Decca pays tribute to Joan Sutherland - "La Stupenda" to her numerous fans - with a limited-edition 23-CD set of her complete studio recitals. Joan Sutherland shot to international fame in February1959 when she sang the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and a month later she recorded her first solo album in Paris for Decca - the start of an exclusive association that would last until her retirement from the operatic stage on 31 December 1990. This is the first time all of Joan Sutherland's studio recitals have been made available in a single collection and the set is released in time for what would have been the diva's 85th birthday on 7 November; October 10 marks the first anniversary of her death. The CDs are presented in sleeves with original cover art a 48-page booklet contains an appreciation of Joan Sutherland by opera wrter and critic George Hall.