Building a Library
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Purcell: The Fairy Queen, 1692
RecommendedCarolyn Sampson (soprano), Anna Dennis (soprano), Mhairi Lawson (soprano), Ashley Riches (bass-baritone), Roderick Williams (baritone), Gabrieli, Paul McCreesh
McCreesh’s production rises to the occasion: original voicing, unorthodox continuo, project-specific trumpet design and rediscovered string techniques bring out qualities missing from earlier... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 10th April 2020
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Gramophone Magazine, June 2020, Editor's Choice
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BBC Music Magazine, July 2020, Opera Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Opera
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Building a Library, February 2023, Recommended Recording
2 CDs
$23.00Downloads
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Puccini: Madama Butterfly
RecommendedAngela Gheorghiu (Butterfly), Jonas Kaufmann (Pinkerton), Enkelejda Shkosa (Suzuki), Fabio Capitanucci (Sharpless), Gregory Bonfatti (Goro) & Raymond Aceto (Bonzo)
Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
In many respects Gheorghiu's singing reminds me of Callas's: in Act I they both adopt a 'little girl' voice, and in Act II they both sound more mature… so that by the tragic climax they present... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd March 2009
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Gramophone Awards, 2009, Winner - Opera
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Opera, April 2009, Recording of the Month
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Building A Library, March 2024, Recommended Recording
2 CDs
$19.75Downloads
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Verdi: Aida
RecommendedAnja Harteros (Aida), Jonas Kaufmann (Radamès), Ekaterina Semenchuk (Amneris), Ludovic Tezier (Amonasro), Erwin Schrott (Ramfis), Marco Spotti (Il Re d'Egitto), Paolo Fanale (Un Messaggero), Eleonora Buratto (Sacerdotessa), Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
Anja Harteros can boast both the high-octane tone and the necessary level of dramatic expression to make Aida credibly three dimensional…[Ekaterina Semenchuk makes] many subtle observations... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd October 2015
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Sunday Times, 2015, Albums of the Year
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BBC Music Magazine, November 2015, Recording of the Month
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2016, Winner (Opera) and Recording of the Year
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2015, Recording of the Month
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Record Review, October 2015, Record of the Week
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Building a Library, April 2017, Also Recommended
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Gramophone Awards, 2016, Winner - Opera
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2015
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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2015, Winner - Opéra
2 CDs
$18.75Downloads
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Britten: Symphony for Cello and Orchestra
RecommendedPaul Watkins (cello), Robert Murray (tenor)
BBC Philharmonic, Edward Gardner
Three elements stand out: firstly, the dramatic intensity of purpose he finds in all pieces; secondly, the sizzling soloistic detail he draws from the BBC Philharmonic and, thirdly, the depth... — More…
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, April 2011, Disc of the month
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Building A Library, June 2022, Recommended Recording
CD
$16.75Downloads
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There is a feeling of one-ness between orchestra and conductor which is the hallmark of a great recording. But it is surely the adagio that will convert the listener with Jack Brymer's clarinet... — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, February 2012, First Choice
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Building a Library, June 2012, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1970s
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Building A Library, June 2022, Also Recommended
CD
$10.25Downloads
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Berlioz: Les Troyens
RecommendedJoyce DiDonato (Didon), Michael Spyres (Énée), Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Cassandre), Orchestre et Choeur philharmonique de Strasbourg, Badischer Staatsopernchor, Choeur de l’Opéra du Rhin, John Nelson
Nelson drives the drama with unforced tempos but ample theatrical vitality and grandeur…Spyres isn’t as heroic an Aeneas as Jon Vickers…but sings with lyrical grace and spirit and decent if... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 24th November 2017
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2017
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The Times Records of the Year, 2017
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Gramophone Magazine, December 2017, Recording of the Month
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The New York Times, Recordings of the Year 2017
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2018, Winner - Opera
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International Opera Awards, 2018, Winner - Complete Opera Recording
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Record Review, 25th November 2017, Recording of the Week
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Gramophone Awards, 2018, Winner - Opera
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Gramophone Awards, 2018, Recording of the Year
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2018, Winner - Opera Recording (19th century)
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Limelight Magazine Recordings of the Year, 2018, Nominated - Opera
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Mozart: Don Giovanni, K527
RecommendedJoan Sutherland (Donna Anna), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Donna Elvira), Eberhard Wächter (Don Giovanni), Giuseppe Taddei (Leporello), Gottlob Frick (Il Commendatore), Luigi Alva (Don Ottavio), Piero Cappuccilli (Masetto), Graziella Sciutti (Zerlina), Heinrich Schmidt (harpsichord)
Philharmonia...
On CD the classic Giulini EMI set, lovingly remastered, sets the standard by which all other recordings have come to be judged. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, as Elvira, emerges as a dominant figure... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Favourites, Recommended Recording
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Building a Library, July 2018, Also recommended
3 CDs
$23.00Downloads
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Mozart: Die Singspiele (The Magic Flute & The Abduction from the Seraglio)
RecommendedAkademie für Alte Musik Berlin, René Jacobs, RIAS Kammerchor
This is a total experience, perfectly tailored for private listening. René Jacobs thinks of it as a Hörspiel: it's a play to be heard - I don't know a recorded Zauberflöte more thrillingly alive... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 13th September 2010
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Building a Library, November 2010, Recommended Recording (Die Zauberflöte)
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Sunday Times, 2010, Albums of the Year (Die Zauberflöte)
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Gramophone Awards, 2011, Finalist - Opera (Die Zauberflöte)
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BBC Music Magazine, November 2010, Opera Choice (Die Zauberflöte)
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Record Review, December 2010, Critics' Disc of the Year (Die Zauberflöte)
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2010, Editor's Choice (Die Zauberflöte)
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2015, (Die Entführung)
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2011, Winner - Opera (Die Zauberflöte)
5 CDs
$39.25 -
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Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex & Apollon Musagète
RecommendedJennifer Johnston (Jocasta), Stuart Skelton (Oedipus), Gidon Saks (Creon) & Fanny Ardant (narrator)
Gentlemen of the Monteverdi Choir & London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Johnston's superb interpretation lifts the whole performance up a couple of notches...But John Eliot Gardiner's conducting somehow misses the work's elusive power. — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 7th April 2014
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Building a Library, May 2018, Recommended Recording
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Offer,
Puccini: Turandot RecommendedJoan Sutherland (Turandot), Luciano Pavarotti (Calaf), Montserrat Caballé (Liù), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Timur), Tom Krause (Ping), Pier Francesco Poli (Pang), Piero De Palma (Pong), Peter Pears (L'imperatore Altoum), Sabin Markov (Un mandarino)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, John Alldis Choir, Zubin...
Sutherland gives an intensely appealing interpretation, while Pavarotti gives a performance equally imaginative. Mehta directs a gloriously rich and dramatic performance. Still the best-sounding... — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1970s
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