‘Villazon Verdi’ – more than opera
Mexican-born tenor Rolando Villazon’s return to singing after a hiatus due to throat surgery has been welcomed by his followers. After an absence of some three years from the recording scene, Villazon has released a solo CD Villazon Verdi singing the repertoire he does best. Released in November 2012. (DG 477 9460), the studio recording was made in Milan…
A ‘Masked Ball’ – universal truths about power and survival sung with panache
Love it or loathe it, Opera Australia’s world premiere of a new production of Verdi’s opera Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball) has already polarised its pre-production and opening night audiences. The presentation is well resourced and diverse in its aesthetics. Presented in association with the Sydney Festival, it has been created by Catalan…
Elina Granca ‘Romantique’ CD review – simply glorious
Listening to Elīna Garanča’s latest CD is a supremely gratifying experience. Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG 479 0071), Romantique is a collection of 9 opera arias performed by the Latvian lyric mezzo – soprano with the Filharmonica del Tetro Comunale di Bologna conducted by Yves Abel. The arias on this CD (her 5th solo album), are owned by heroines of…
CD review: ‘Sappho’ the opera by Peggy Glanville-Hicks
The eagerly anticipated world premiere recording of Peggy Glanville-Hick’s opera Sappho, with libretto by Lawrence Durrell, is at last on the shelves, timed to perfection with the centenary of the composer’s birth on December 29th 2012 (d 25th June 1990). The 2 CD set released by Toccata Classics is a recording of the complete opera…
Vienna Boys Choir ‘Jubilate Deo’ – classics amidst innovation and the traditional
The Vienna Boys Choir CD Jubilate Deo was released by ABC Classics (476 5094) earlier this year to coincide with the choir’s tour to Australia. This would explain the Antipodean content amongst the 17 tracks on the hour long collection of old and new choral classics, many of which sound best when peformed by the lucent voices of…
Simply beautiful: ‘North + South’ from Jane Sheldon, CD review
Soprano Jane Sheldon is a well respected and popular exponent of two broad styles of music at opposite ends of the timeline – Baroque and early music and, ‘New’ music. Her latest venture a CD with the title North + South (Phosphor Records PR 0001), released earlier this month, demonstrates her mastery of yet another style. North + South is a…
‘Queen’s’ winning hand reviewed
Saturday night was the first ot two performances by the Sydney Symphony of a concert version of Tchaikowsky’s Queen of Spades. Not performed in Sydney since 1979 it is a rare opportunity to hear this masterpiece, and the out-of -this-world soloists who have gathered in Sydney to sing with the orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy….
‘The Lighthouse’ reviewed
Sydney Chamber Opera recently presented a superb production of The Lighthouse by Sir Peter Maxwell-Davies, highy commended by those who saw it. Peter McCallum reviews it for the Sydney Morning Herald: Click here to read.
Sumi Jo recital reviewed
Murray Black reviews Sumi Jo’s recital for The Australian: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/music/deja-vu-of-the-best-kind/story-fn9d2mxu-1226519854341