Awards,
The International Opera Awards
It's been quite the week for awards shortlists (as Chris mentioned, BBC Music Magazine revealed their contenders yesterday, and apparently nominations for a little low-key film-industry batch were also announced on Thursday...), and today we bring you selected highlights of the front-runners for this year's Opera Awards. The final verdicts will be given at The Savoy on 26th April; you can read the full list of categories and nominees (and place your vote for the Readers' Award Category, where artists include Nina Stemme, Susan Graham, Jonas Kaufmann and Ferruccio Furlanetto) here, but for ease of reference we've also put together this list of shortlisted recordings - and in many cases, Presto reviews and interviews with the artists themselves.
CD (Operatic Recital)
Semiramide - La Signora Regale: Arias & Scenes from Porpora to Rossini
Anna Bonitatibus; Accademia degli Astrusi, Federico Ferri
'There is much coloratura and here, as elsewhere, Anna Bonitatibus is spot-on...This set, sumptuously illustrated, is an absolute must-have' (Gramophone).
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Cecilia does it again! This is a really fascinating and delightful disc...played with brilliance and fire by Diego Fasolis and I Barocchisti and sung with undiminished style and (mostly) beauty' (Opera Now).
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Stella di Napoli: Bel Canto Arias
Joyce DiDonato; Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Lyon, Riccardo Minasi
'DiDonato seems to have brought the performance and interpretation of the Italian bel canto repertoire to new heights...This must surely rank as one of the greatest vocal recitals in recorded history' (The Telegraph).
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Fagioli [is]…the possessor of one of today’s most complete vocal techniques… The support from De Marchi and his orchestra is first rate…anyone who loves great singing should hear the CD. It is a disc in a thousand, which deserves to garner awards galore' (Opera Magazine).
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
'Sampson is quite remarkable. She has the capacity to soften the vocal line with carefully controlled vibrato, but also deploys tone of crystalline clarity...bright, vibrant, responsive and entirely in tune with the expressive language and virtuosic demands of the period' (BBC Music Magazine).
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle
Sir John Tomlinson, Michelle DeYoung, Juliet Stevenson; Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen
'Salonen conducts a taut, luxuriant reading that captures the score’s majesty and mystery. John Tomlinson’s Bluebeard makes up in histrionic heft what he has lost in vocal poise, but is overshadowed by Michelle DeYoung’s wonderfully alive Judith' (Financial Times).
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Handel: Tamerlano
Xavier Sabata, Max Emanuel Cencic, John Mark Ainsley, Karina Gauvin, Ruxandra Donose; Il Pomo d'Oro, Riccardo Minasi
'Sabata’s bad-boy manner captures the unstable mood swings of the Mongol ruler...If John Mark Ainsley’s commanding Bajazet is the great performance here, the entire set makes the strongest case yet for this masterpiece on disc, ideally paced by Riccardo Minasi' (Sunday Times).
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro
Fanie Antonelou, Christian van Horn, Simone Kermes, Andrei Bondarenko, Mary-Ellen Nesi; MusicAeterna, Teodor Currentzis
'Currentzis’s cast has a character and blend of its own. A premium has been put on crackling recitative, deft vocalisation (limited vibrato) and dramatic truthfulness: the sense of ensemble is palpable. The field of Figaro recordings is crowded, but Currentzis’s deserves a special space' (Financial Times).
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Strauss: Intermezzo
Simone Schneider, Markus Eiche, Brigitte Fassbaender et al; Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Ulf Schirmer
'It’s a darker interpretation than any we’ve previously heard...what is often presented as a sad comedy of misunderstandings becomes something altogether more troubling and abrasive. Ulf Schirmer’s conducting is formidable' (The Guardian).
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC
DVD
Andriessen: La Commedia
Claron McFadden, Cristina Zavalloni, Jeroen Willems, Marcel Beekman; Dutch National Opera, Jan Maarten Koeman, Hal Hartley
'The intersecting between stage and film is beautifully handled in the DVD. It represents a huge advance over an early example of the technique. The score, five movements of about twenty minutes each, is enormously attractive' (Opera News).
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Berg: Lulu
Barbara Hannigan, Natascha Petrinsky, Tom Randle, Dietrich Henschel, Charles Workman; Orchestre Symphonique de la Monnaie, Paul Daniel, Krzysztof Warlikowski
'Rewarding viewing for all who appreciate this devastating work...this Lulu offers stupendous accuracy of pitch and rhythm...The performance is impeccably prepared musically, with the sensual qualities given full value' (International Record Review).
Available Format: 2 DVD Videos
Hahn: Ciboulette
Julie Fuchs, Jean-François Lapointe, Julien Behr, Michel Fau, Agnès Terrier, Jérôme Deschamp; Orchestre Opéra de Toulon & Accentus, Laurence Equilbey
'Julie Fuchs and Julien Behr sing with an artless simplicity perfectly suited to the music. Fuchs is a find: a notable successor to the likes of Géori Boué and Mady Mesple, with a good sense of comic timing. The scenery and costumes are delightful' (Gramophone).
Available Format: 2 DVD Videos
Strauss: Elektra
Evelyn Herlitzius, Waltraud Meier, Adrianne Pieczonka, Mikhail Petrenko, Tom Randle; Orchestre de Paris, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Patrice Chéreau
'Herlitzius as the vengeful daughter is vocally tireless...Other crucial elements in a total theatrical experience are Richard Peduzzi's colossal set and Esa-Pekka Salonen's conducting, which is visceral throughout. This is one of the truly indispensable opera DVDs' (BBC Music Magazine).
Available Format: DVD Video
Wagner: Parsifal
Jonas Kaufmann, Katarina Dalayman, Peter Mattei, René Pape, Evgeny Nikitin; Metropolitan Opera Daniele Gatti, Francois Girard
'The orchestra sound is consistently rich and resonant...The impassioned intensity Jonas Kaufmann brings to Parsifal's music is matched by the rhetorical conviction of Peter Mattei's Amfortas and Evgeny Nikitin's Klingsor...This is very much Wagner for the 21st century' (Gramophone).
Available Format: 2 DVD Videos
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
