SACD
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Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen, Sinfonietta
RecommendedLucy Crowe (Vixen), Gerald Finley (Forester), Sophia Burgos (Fox), Jan Martiník (Badger/Parson), Peter Hoare (Mosquito/Rooster/Schoolmaster), Hanno Müller-Brachmann (Harašta)
London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle
If this Vixen is good, the Sinfonietta is outstanding – arguably the best on disc, though you need to experience the work in a concert hall with the nine trumpets blazing. They’re supremely sophisticated... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 4th September 2020
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2020, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2020
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The Times Records of the Year, 2020
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Grammy Awards, 64th Awards (2022), Nominee - Best Opera Recording
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Rodgers & Hammerstein: Oklahoma! RecommendedNathaniel Hackmann (Curly), Sierra Boggess (Laurey), Rodney Earl Clarke (Jud Fry), Jamie Parker (Will Parker), Louise Dearman (Ado Annie), Sandra Marvin (Aunt Eller), Nadim Naaman (Ali Hakim), Leo Roberts (Andrew Carnes), Oklahoma! Ensemble, Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Wilson, who conducted Oklahoma! at the BBC Proms in 2017, proves an exceptional advocate, bringing to the piece the same expertise and mastery he would accord to the symphonic repertoire of which... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 15th September 2023
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2023, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2023
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2023
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2024, Winner - Opera
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Britten: Peter Grimes RecommendedStuart Skelton (Grimes), Erin Wall (Ellen), Roderick Williams (Balstrode), Susan Bickley (Auntie), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Mrs Sedley), Robert Murray (Bob Boles), James Gilchrist (Horace Adams), Marcus Farnsworth (Ned Keene)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
The best feature of this new Grimes is the orchestral playing, similar in tempo and character to Britten’s own recording. Where Edward Gardner really scores is the Bergen Philharmonic’s precision,... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2020, Recording of the Month
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Presto Editor's Choice, September 2020
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
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Opera, November 2020, Disc of the Month
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The Times Records of the Year, 2020
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Winner - Opera
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Recording of the Year
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New,
Janáček: Katya Kabanova RecommendedAmanda Majeski (Katya), Katarina Dalayman (Kabanicha), Simon O'Neill (Boris), Andrew Staples (Tichon), Magdalena Kozená (Varvara), Ladislav Elgr (Kudrjas), Pavlo Hunka (Dikój)
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle
Rattle and his recording engineers have produced a Katya that sound s magnificent both in its attention to musical detail and in those sudden orchestral climaxes that seem to sweep nature itself... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 23rd February 2024
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2024, Recording of the Month
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Handel: Acis and Galatea Lucy Crowe (Galatea), Allan Clayton (Acis), Benjamin Hulett (Damon), Jeremy Budd (Coridon) & Neal Davies (Polyphemus)
Early Opera Company, Christian Curnyn
Curnyn has hit on a secret that eluded previous interpreters of this work: it was conceived specifically to showcase the beauty of the English language…Channelling Handel’s enthusiasm, Curnyn... — More…
Awards:
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Record Review, 16th June 2018, Recording of the Week
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The Times Records of the Year, 2018
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2019, Finalist - Opera
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2019, Winner - Opera
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Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11
RecommendedElena Zhidkova (Judith) & Sir Willard White (Bluebeard)
London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev
…Gergiev and his superlative orchestral forces and vocal soloists, supported by magnificent sound quality, present the enigmatic piece with great power, leaving us, as adequate performances always... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 10th August 2009
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BBC Music Magazine, September 2009, Opera Choice
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Opera, December 2009, Recording of the Month
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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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Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle
RecommendedMika Kares (Bluebeard), Szilvia Vörös (Judith), Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Susanna Mälkki
Both Kares and Vörös offer a subtle, understated approach…As well as conveying the piece’s taut structure and the orchestral writing’s sheer sweep, conductor Susanna Mälkki seeks out the detail... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, June 2021, Editor's Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Opera
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Grammy Awards, 64th Awards (2022), Nominee - Best Opera Recording
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Verdi: Falstaff
RecommendedMichele Pertusi (Falstaff), Carlos Alvarez (Ford), Bülent Bezdüz (Fenton), Ana Ibarra (Alice Ford), Maria Josè Moreno (Nannetta), Jane Henschel (Mistress Quickly), Marina Domashenko (Meg Page)
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Colin Davis
By all accounts the performances at the Barbican were among the most enjoyable of their kind in London for a long time, and certainly the enjoyment comes across on disc. The 'how' of it isn't... — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, April 2016, Also Recommended
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2004, Editor's Choice
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Grammy Awards, 48th Awards (2005), Best Opera Recording
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Handel: Amadigi di Gaula Tim Mead (Amadigi), Mary Bevan (Melissa), Anna Dennis (Oriana), Hilary Summers (Dardano), Patrick Terry (Orgando), Early Opera Company, Christian Curnyn
Handel took a less-is-more approach to his Amadigi di Gaula. Christian Curnyn’s answering restraint reveals the stark solos, shimmering textures, ringing silences and stunning one-to-a-part counterpoint... — More…
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, November 2022, Opera Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2022, Editor's Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Nominated - Baroque Vocal
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2022
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