C Major
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Special offer. Mozart: Così fan tutte, K588
Anett Fritsch (Fiordiligi), Paola Gardina (Dorabella), Kerstin Avemo (Despina), Juan Francisco Gatell (Ferrando), Andreas Wolf (Guglielmo), William Shimell (Don Alfonso)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real de Madrid, Sylvain Cambreling
No lover of radical productions myself, I found it fascinating. You will, too, provided you forget that Cosi is an opera buffa: this is serious stuff...Within the limits of Haneke's very particular... —
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A fascinating expose on Gould's visit in May 1957 that triumphed over behind-the-scenes political tensions and provocative repertoire choices to create a whirlwind sensation. —
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Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
BBC Proms 2010, Royal Albert Hall, London
Camilla Tilling (soprano)
World Orchestra for Peace, Valery Gergiev
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Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de Perles
Patrizia Ciofi (Leila), Dmitry Korchak (Nadir), Dario Solari (Zurga), Roberto Tagliavini (Nourabad)
Orchestra, Coro e Corpo di Ballo del Teatro di San Carlo, Gabriele Ferro
[Ciofi's] clear, incisive soprano catches Bizet's floating line and liquid coloratura with fluent ease, and she seems a touch mature only in close-up - alongside the youthful Dmitry Korchak,... —
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It is an extraordinary work, weird and lovable…The Dresden Staatskapelle is, as always, a wonder to hear and to behold…though the assembled audience goes wild at the end, [Thielemann] seems... —
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Special offer. Dvořák: Rusalka, Op. 114
Kristine Opolais (Rusalka), Klaus Florian Vogt (Prince), Nadia Krasteva (Foreign Princess), Gunther Groissböck (Goblin), Janina Baechle (Ježibaba), Ulrich Reß (Forester), Tara Erraught (Kitchen Boy), John Chest (Hunter)
Bayerischen Staatsoper, Tomas Hanus, Martin Kušej
Musically things are almost equally outstanding, certainly in the performance of the title role by Opolais, and in the exceptional conducting of Tomas Hanus. —
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Brahms: The Piano Concertos
Wiener Musikverein, 2015
Rudolf Buchbinder (piano)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Zubin Mehta
There's always something heroic about Rudolf Buchbinder's exploits...He never takes the easy route when an option exists to duck a score's extreme technical demands, and his readings are unfailingly... —
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