Arthaus Musik
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Humperdinck: Hänsel & Gretel
Sabine Noack (Hänsel), Cornelia Marschall (Gretel), Alexandra Petersamer (Gertrud), Ludmil Kuntschew (Peter/Die Knusperhexe), Viktorija Kaminskaite (Sandmännchen/Taumännchen); Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau, Markus L. Frank, Johannes Felsenstein (director)
Johannes Felsenstein's production of this favourite fairy-tale opera presents it with every sinister element removed. In Stefan Rieckhoff's sets and costumes, the children remain in a home setting…... —
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Mariss Jansons conducts Beethoven & Strauss
Live from The Philharmonie Im Gasteig, Munich, 2011
Mitsuko Uchida (piano)
Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mariss Jansons
[Uchida's] firmness and clarity of articulation [are] ideal, every phrase beautifully shaped as well as placed carefully within the larger context of each movement as a whole...Jansons is inclined,... —
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Strauss, R: Ariadne auf Naxos
Emily Magee (Primadonna/Ariadne), Michelle Breedt (Der Komponist), Roberto Saccà (Der Tenor/Bacchus), Elena Mosuc (Zerbinetta), Michael Volle (Ein Musiklehrer); Zurich Opera House, Christoph von Dohnányi (conductor) & Claus Guth (stage director)
Casting is first rate, with the Zerbinetta of Elena Mosuc stealing the limelight with an account of her big aria which prompts an ovation. Emily Magee's Ariadne is hardly less fine, ranging... —
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Pierre Boulez Saal: Opening Concert
Anna Prohaska (soprano), Jörg Widmann (clarinet), Daniel Barenboim (piano/conductor), Karim Said (piano), Yulia Deyneka (viola), Kian Soltani (cello), Boulez Ensemble
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Zubin Mehta: Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds
Thomas Quasthoff (baritone), Sachsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Zubin Mehta
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Weinberg: The Passenger, Op. 97
Michelle Breedt (Lisa), Roberto Sacca (Walter), Elena Kelessidi (Martha), Artur Rucinski (Tadeusz), Svetlana Doneva (Katja), Liuba Sokolova (Bronka), Angelica Voje (Krzystina)
Wiener Symphoniker, Prague Philharmonic Choir, Teodor Currentzis
[This] production had the knife-edge atmosphere of a major rediscovery, and it features strong performances from most of the principals and from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Teodor Currentzis... —
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Handel: Ariodante
Ann Murray (Ariodante), Joan Rodgers (Ginevra), Lesley Garrett (Dalinda), Gwynne Howell (The King of Scotland), Christopher Robson (Polinesso), Paul Nilon (Lurcanio), Mark Le Brocq (Odoardo)
English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Ivor Bolton (conductor) & David Alden (stage director)
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Graun, C H: Montezuma
Alexandra Papadjiakou (Montezuma), Sophie Boulin (Eupaforice), Gudrun Sieber (Erissena), Catherine Gayer (Tezeuco), Barbara Vogel (Pilpatoè), Walton Grönroos (Ferdinand Cortes) & Karl-Ernst Mercker (Narvès)
Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hans Hilsdor
The Aztecs are sung by women; the Spaniards by men: it sounds daft, but it works, thanks to fine singing and handsome staging. —
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Ligeti: Le Grand Macabre
Chris Merritt (Piet the Pot), Inés Moraleda (Amando), Ana Puche (Amanda), Werner Van Mechelen (Nekrotzar), Frode Olsen (Astradamors) & Barbara Hannigan (Venus / Gepopo)
Gran Teatre Del Liceu, Michael Boder (conductor) & Àlex Ollé, Valentina Carrasco (stage directors)
