Ralph P. Locke
The shamefully belated release of the first recording (1992!) of “L’olimpiade,” a major work by Hasse (a renowned contemporary of Handel and Vivaldi), featuring some of the best singers of the day, including male soprano Randall K. Wong.
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Much-loved short works by Pergolesi and Mozart storm the stage, thanks to spiffy French dialogue between the musical numbers.
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Rejected in Gluck’s time because it lacked dramatic thrust, today “Écho and Narcissus” proves to be a candy-box of delights.
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With Egyptian-born Amina Edris in the title role, Massenet’s opera engages the musical and theatrical imagination with its rich characterizations of Greek mythic adventures.
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Even without international-caliber singers and players, Giovanni Piaisello’s “Amor vendicato” works much magic.
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Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s 1686 “David and Jonathan” brings ancient characters to life in this 2022 Chateau de Versailles production, brilliantly staged, danced, sung, and played.
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Carl Nielsen’s vivid biblical opera “Saul & David,” here paired with Helge Bonnén’s remarkable concert adaptation of poems from “Spoon River Anthology.”
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Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka, under conductor Christophe Rousset, shows why Berlioz and others loved “La Vestale”.
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Mary Bevan, silvery soprano beloved in Boston, enchants anew in one of Handel’s most frequently performed and recorded operas.
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The subjects of our critic’s favorite albums of the past year include a dragon, a sex-obsessed priest, Mỹ Lai, and a grand pageant about Jewish history.
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