Opera
Handel and Haydn Society assembled both a must-hear program and an extraordinary cast of singers.
Read MoreThe Boston Lyric Opera is mounting a fabulous staging of Benjamin Britten’s visceral opera.
Read MoreA 1962 concert performance from Radio Italiana, now on CD, shows how delightful Wagner can sound without barking and slow wobbles.
Read MoreBeethoven reportedly told Rossini to stick to writing comic operas. But new recordings of two of Rossini’s major serious operas bring great pleasure to the listener—and let us hear some splendid young singers.
Read MoreA list of the most memorable opera and vocal recital recordings of the year.
Read MoreNone of the opera recordings I have reviewed this past year beats this Cradle for dramatic vitality, musical imagination, and ongoing political relevance.
Read MoreWhen it comes to raising high spirits, the BEMF’s delightful Alcina was an inspired choice.
Read MoreYes, the first-ever recording of a opera that is as wonderful as Berlioz and Wagner said it is.
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Classical Music Commentary: Poetic Narratives in the Concert Hall, and a New Recording of Dvořák’s “The Spectre’s Bride”
A reflection on the whole tradition of combining longish narrative poems to music, especially for performance in a concert hall by large forces (e.g., singers and orchestra).
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