There are many splendid recordings of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro that appeal to every taste, but there are relatively few that can be categorized as historically authentic, in the truest sense of the term. Of these, the 2014 Sony release by Teodor Currentzis and Musicaeterna may be the most thoroughly researched and carefully restored version available. Taking pains to consult original sources, and to use period instruments or modern replicas (including a fortepiano, a lute, and even a hurdy-gurdy), Currentzis creates a Classical sound that works brilliantly with the score as written and as Mozart intended, and makes the music as vivid and exciting as possible. Currentzis also has called for a historical approach to singing, and embellishments that were typical of Mozart's day are employed, as well as a more intimate delivery and purer vocal style with less vibrato. The cast may not feature international stars, but the artists are well-suited to Currentzis' goals of presenting Figaro in true period practice. Prominent in this production are Andrei Bondarenko as Count Almaviva, Simone Kermes as the Countess, Fanie Antonelou as Susanna, Mary-Ellen Nesi as Cherubino, and Christian van Horn as Figaro, who give their roles distinctive characterizations along with their impeccable vocal production. Sony's recording is rich in details and close enough to the musicians to give a front-row feeling. Le nozze di Figaro is presented on three CDs in a deluxe hardcover book that includes an interview with the conductor and the complete libretto in English, Italian, German, and French.© TiVo

The conductor and harpsichordist Bridget Cunningham brings back to life Handel’s pasticcio opera, Caio Fabbricio first performed in London in 1733 and based on an earlier opera by Johann Adolf Hasse (1732). Caio Fabbricio is London Early Opera’s eighth album in the prestigious Handel Series with Signum Records and is a pasticcio opera, a brilliant and well-considered collection of some of the finest 18th century Neapolitan arias by different composers, including Leonardo Vinci and Leonardo Leo, selected and arranged by Handel who composed his own dramatic recitatives. © Signum Records

This Marriage of Figaro is perhaps the most exciting to happen for quite some time. The maestro in charge is Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who directs the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and a star-studded roster of singers specially selected for the occasion. The idea for this recording came out of the numerous modern reinterpretations of the piece, coupled with the aim to recreate the sounds of the past. As such, when you listen to the piece, it's at once powerfully modern yet "obvious". The recitativos are conceived musically rather than theatrically (surely a plus on an audio recording!) while the recording itself took place at a concert in Baden-Baden in 2015, which helps the performance move along tremendously and flow between each piece. A real gem. 

Available in both 14-track and 32-track versions, Exiliados en la Bahía: Lo Mejor de Maná fills a void, offering up the first major Maná "best-of" set since Esencials landed in 2003. Of course, that series was big and conceptual, dividing the rock en español pioneers' work into three themed discs with rare tracks mixed in. Here, it's two new cuts -- an excellent, heartfelt take of Juan Gabriel's "Hasta Que Te Conocí" plus the uplifting "Un Nuevo Amanecer," a campfire singalong that grows into a full-bodied power ballad -- and then on to the hits and career-defining moments. The sequence of "Labios Compartidos" (epic fan favorite), "Bendita Tu Luz" (sweet bachata with Juan Luis Guerra), and then "Mariposa Traicionera" (sexy and spicy with the delicate butterfly as a metaphor for love and loss) is the versatile beauty of the band in three easy pieces, while elsewhere, there's the punkish reggae-rock ("Clavado en un Bar") they're prone to break out, plus a slight taste of their soft and grand '80s sound ("Rayando el Sol") back when they were saying goodbye to new wave, the Polygram label, and their original name, Sombrero Verde. Some early, arguably lesser hits are missing, and with two decades of Grammy-winning, platinum-selling, and massively influential work to choose from, fans can argue about what's omitted and still have a hard time topping this solid track list. An easy introduction for newcomers or a portable hits set for fans, Exiliados en la Bahía is the superstar "best-of" done right.© David Jeffries /TiVo

Beware the pen of a critic. When in 1720 an arrangement of Domenico Scarlatti’s 1714 opera Amor d’un’Ombra e Gelosia d’un’aura arrived at the King’s Theatre, Haymarket, Charles Burney’s pen was gently damning. “Though there were many new pleasing passages and effects”, proclaimed London’s esteemed writer on all things musical, “those acquainted with the original and happy freaks of this composer in his harpsichord music, would be surprised at the sobriety and almost dullness of the songs”; and over the ensuing centuries, critical opinion has largely persisted with the line that Scarlatti’s best work is to be found not among his vocal or instrumental works, but instead among the 555 harpsichord sonatas he wrote for the Portuguese Queen of Spain, María Bárbara. Now though, here is a multi-genre Scarlatti programme from Bertrand Cuiller and his period instrument ensemble Le Caravansérail, its aim to enable the listener to reach his or her own conclusion as to Scarlatti’s wider worth. Although with repertoire and performances as fine as these, it’s perfectly clear which side Cuiller wants us to come down upon. Not least he opens with a piece of shameless wooing: the famous Sonata in G major, K. 144, but heard not on harpsichord but instead from harpist from Bérengère Sardin in a performance of melting warm fragility and hope-filled nobility. Then with that still ringing in your ears comes one of the few surviving examples of Scarlatti’s sacred music, the Stabat Mater in C minor with its rich, ten-voice texture supported by basso continuo accompaniment alone; and instantly your ears are locking on to that continuo section’s harp-reminiscent archlute, and thus becoming extra-alive to the accompaniment’s poeticism, even as the clear-toned voices unfurl over it and entwine around each other, themselves bringing definition and lucidity to even the score’s most lavishly contrapuntal vocal writing. Onwards and there’s a D minor instrumental feast: violinist Leila Schayegh’s sombre, expressive reading of the Sonata, K. 90, one of a few harpsichord sonatas that appears to present the option of choosing a solo instrument on the melodic line; then, following a nimbly urgent ensemble reading of Charles Avison’s “concerto grosso” transcription of another harpsichord sonata, Cuiller himself bringing gossamer-weight lyricism to Harpsichord Sonata, K. 213. As for the secular vocal works, the numbers from Amor d’un’Ombra e Gelosia d’un’aura more than hold their own here, thanks to soprano Emmanuelle de Negri and countertenor Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian’s committed performances, while an album highlight is the lilting melancholic expression brought by de Negri to ”Pur nel sonno almen tal’ora vien colei” from the Cantata “Pur nel sonno almen” – composed to a Metastasio poem that appears to have been given to Scarlatti by star countertenor Farinelli, and thus inevitably sounding like a composer inspired to give his best. In short, in the case of Cuiller versus Burney, it’s a win for Cuiller. Also, indeed, for Scarlatti. © Charlotte Gardner/Qobuz

Following three critically acclaimed albums of sacred music, Voces Suaves turns to the most important secular genre of the Renaissance: the madrigal. This album for Arcana, "Versi d’Amore", is dedicated entirely to the madrigals of Giaches de Wert (1535-1596): rarely performed nowadays, these expressive works are the true forebearers of the madrigals of Claudio Monteverdi, Wert’s younger colleague in Mantua. "Versi d’Amore" features a selection of works from Wert’s last three madrigal books: sombre settings of profound sonnets by Petrarch performed a cappella, alongside elegantly playful canzonette performed with an instrumental consort, all of which display Wert’s complete command of polyphonic writing, melodic expressivity and word painting. Most of the pieces are recorded for the first time, giving the listeners an opportunity to discover these true gems of the madrigal repertoire. © Arcana

The six young singers of the Academy of Le Jardin des Voix, selected from several hundred candidates, offer us a musical journey through some of the finest pieces in the Italian repertory, from a Banchieri madrigal to Haydn’s Orlando paladino. Thanks to an outstanding training programme and the musical values transmitted by William Christie and Paul Agnew, here is a chance to discover both some splendid vocal gems and a group of new performers who honour them with talent, grace and humour. Sheer delight! © harmonia mundi

Manuel de Falla's El amor brujo is unique in that it has very rarely been performed or recorded in its original version, which remained unpublished after Falla found success with revisions that substantially changed the work. It was reconstructed in the 1980s from Falla's manuscripts, and it's quite a revelation: El amor brujo was originally a mostly vocal work whose Gypsy component was accordingly stronger. The 1915 version has been recorded before, but it gets what may be a definitive performance here by the New York-area group, Perspectives Ensemble, under Angel Gil-Ordóñez, with Cantaora singer Esperanza Fernández. She's a full-throated singer in the flamenco mold, and the story of a Gypsy girl trying to escape her lover's ghost suddenly becomes not a mood setting, but a real dramatic tale. Sample one of Fernández's pieces, such as the Canción del fuego fatuo from Act II, and you may be immediately hooked. Other attractions include the spare sound of Perspectives Ensemble, especially sharp in the small and more Stravinsky-like little opera El retablo de Maese Pedro, from eight years later. A real sleeper from Naxos that alters perceptions of a major work with powerful performances. © TiVo