Narrow my search:
Barber of Seville (The) (Highlights)
Franco de Grandis
Classical - Released July 24, 1997 | Naxos
Download not available
From
CD$15.69
Rossini: The Barber of Seville
Erich Leinsdorf
Classical - Released March 31, 1997 | Living Stereo
From
HI-RES$21.99
CD$16.99
Rossini: Figaro? Sì!
Florian Sempey
Classical - Released April 22, 2022 | Alpha Classics
Hi-Res
Booklet
The French baritone Florian Sempey has established himself as a key player on today’s operatic scene. For his first solo recital, Rossini was the obvious choice, first of all because he has already performed the title role in Il barbiere di Siviglia in the leading opera houses, from Paris to London, and of course by way of Orange and Pesaro. But there is another reason: "Rossini was the first composer’s name I heard in my life. At my grandparents’ house, there was a bust above the piano, on a little rococo display stand" - the bust that appears on the cover of this album. "Rossini’s music is a challenge for singers and also a great and very strict technical training for them. It calls for the highest standards and degree of precision". This programme presents arias in French and Italian, mingling the most famous (including Figaro’s "Sono il factotum") with rarities such as Germano’s aria from La scala di seta and Don Parmenione’s from L’occasione fa il ladro. It also includes magnificent duets with two dream partners, Karine Deshayes and Nahuel Di Pierro. And who better to conduct the Orchestre de l’Opéra National Bordeaux Aquitaine than the accomplished Rossinian Marc Minkowski, who gives this music an inimitable sparkle? © Alpha Classics
From
CD$15.09
Trumpet Spectacular
Doc Severinsen
Classical - Released March 1, 1990 | Telarc
Though listed as an Erich Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops album, the focal point of attention is jazzman Doc Severinsen trying his hand at some classical repertoire. Severinsen's virtuosity and musicality frequently were overlooked when he was still riding high as leader of the Tonight Show Orchestra, so this was a potent reminder of his versatility. Here Severinsen proves to be a disciplined classical player, able to scale even such technical minefields as "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" (if just barely!) with assurance, and he keeps his showmanlike instincts under wraps most of the time. But there are passages in pieces like "Napoli," the lengthy "Carmen Fantasy," and, perhaps inappropriately, J.S. Bach's "Chaconne" where he cuts just a bit loose and listeners sense the flamboyant Severinsen of TV fame. As is often the case when a trumpeter meets the symphony, all but two of the works heard here are arrangements or transcriptions of pieces for other instruments -- including well-known operatic excerpts by Rossini, Bizet, and Puccini. One of the two trumpet/orchestra pieces, Jeremiah Clarke's famous "The Prince of Denmark March" (or "Trumpet Voluntary"), is heard in a big orchestra/organ arrangement, leaving Leroy Anderson's lovable, durable "A Trumpeter's Lullaby" as the only completely original work for trumpet and orchestra on the disc. Kunzel himself contributes the functionary charts to Rossini's "Largo Al Factotum" and "La Danza," Schumann's "Traumerei," and Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." The music here might be difficult for the trumpeter, but not for the "pops" audience, who should easily lap up the pretty tunes and occasional bravura.© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
From
CD$14.39
Rossini: The Barber of Seville
Beverly Sills
Opera - Released January 1, 1975 | Warner Classics
From
HI-RES$24.70
CD$19.76
Psyché
Christophe Rousset
Classical - Released January 13, 2023 | Château de Versailles Spectacles
Hi-Res
Booklet
From
HI-RES$21.99
CD$16.99
Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni
Rachel Podger
Classical - Released March 23, 2018 | Channel Classics
Hi-Res
Booklet
Vivaldi penned more than 500 concertos. At least 214 of these are for solo violin and orchestra, but as Michael Talbot remarks, ‘scarcely a year passes without the announcement of some fresh discovery’. So what was the ‘concerto’ to Vivaldi? What about it did he love so much to have composed so many? In the decade before Vivaldi composed Le Quattro Stagioni.Despite what this recorded collection suggests, few of Vivaldi’s instrumental works have programmatic titles. On the whole, titles gesture towards a general mood. Il Riposo and L’amoroso are examples of this indication of Affekt – indeed, both are united in their key of gleaming E major. The case of Il Grosso Mogul is stranger. There seems to be no known link between Vivaldi and the Indian court of the Grand Mughal, Akbar. The extreme virtuosity required by the soloist in the outer movements, as well as the long, fully written-out cadenzas, suggest a theatrical function. Perhaps Vivaldi performed it as a ‘theatre concerto’ as part of an opera plot set in India. French royalty, however, did play a huge role in the reception of Le Quattro Stagioni.Producer Jonathan Freeman-Attwood writes:"Working with Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque has been an object lesson in starting anew and identifying the ingredients which make ‘Le Quattro Stagioni’ great works. Virtuosity is non-negotiable here and Rachel has it in abundance. But it’s the colour, poetry, vibrancy and evocative characterisation of weather, human warmth and fragility, captured by the dynamic flux of Rachel interlocking with her colleagues in Brecon Baroque, that deliver near-unimaginable qualities in this music."
From
HI-RES$34.29
CD$29.69
Bizet: Carmen, WD 31
Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released January 1, 1964 | Sony Classical
Hi-Res
From
HI-RES$24.71
CD$19.77
Bizet: Carmen, WD 31 (Live)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Opera - Released October 12, 2018 | Orfeo
Hi-Res
Booklet
From
CD$19.77
Thalberg: Piano Works
Francesco Nicolosi
Classical - Released May 14, 2021 | Naxos
Booklet
From
CD$12.09
Rossini : The Barber of Seville (Highlights)
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Opera Extracts - Released January 1, 1972 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
From
CD$7.90
Verdi : Le Trouvère (Diapason n°609)
Choeur de L'Opera de Vienne
Classical - Released September 25, 2011 | Les Indispensables de Diapason
Booklet
Distinctions
Diapason d'or
From
HI-RES$21.99
CD$16.99
Marcello: Estro Poetico-Armonico (Salmi 14, 21, 27, 38 - Sonata a tré, viola di gamba, violoncello e basso continuo)
Caroline Pelon
Classical - Released November 3, 2017 | Arcana
Hi-Res
Booklet
From
CD$6.91
Johann & Josef Strauss : Valses célèbres - Rossini: Ouvertures - Mendelssohn : Les Hébrides (Diapason n°574)
Fritz Reiner
Classical - Released February 25, 2009 | Les Indispensables de Diapason
Booklet
Distinctions
Diapason d'or
From
CD$19.77
ROSSINI: Barbiere di Siviglia (Il)
Roberto Servile
Opera - Released September 10, 1993 | Naxos
Booklet
![Paul O'Dette Lully, J.-B.: Psyche [Opera]](https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/20/67/0761203736720_100.jpg)
From
CD$47.46
Lully, J.-B.: Psyche [Opera]
Paul O'Dette
Full Operas - Released January 1, 2008 | CPO
CPO follows its stellar releases of Conradi's Ariadne and Lully's Thésée by the Boston Early Music Festival with an equally extraordinary performance of Lully's Psyché. These are works that have had limited exposure and are known far better by reputation than by performances or recordings. What's revelatory about the recordings of the Lully operas is how exceptionally attractive the music is; it's amazing that works of this quality have been unheard for centuries, and their resurrection, particularly in performances as fine as these, is a cause for rejoicing for any opera lover eager to look beyond the standard repertoire. Lully's vocal writing, even his recitatives, is graceful and expressive, and the numerous ensembles in Psyché are marvels of charm and inventiveness. The variety and cleverness of his orchestration keeps the listener constantly engaged. Much credit goes to Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs, who lead the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra and Chorus, and to all the musicians who contributed to the realization of the score. The performances are elegant, but never stuffy, and they are bursting with energy and liveliness. It's remarkable to encounter a cast of such high quality and consistency; it's a real achievement for the directors to have assembled a cast of over 20 soloists who sing with beautifully pure, fresh, focused tone; the understanding and ability to master the idiom and complex system of middle Baroque French ornamentation and immaculate French pronunciation. They also bring strong, vivid characterizations to their roles, so the performance has real dramatic energy. CPO's sound is absolutely clean and beautifully balanced. Highly recommended.
© TiVo
From
HI-RES$24.70
CD$19.76
Atys
Christophe Rousset
Opera - Released January 5, 2024 | Château de Versailles Spectacles
Hi-Res
Booklet
Backed by the Sun King despite a lukewarm audience reception at first, Lully's Atys (1676) went on to become one of the composer's most successful operas, with revivals at French court theaters as late as 1753. In modern times, however, it is a considerably rarer item due to the massive forces and time required. Christophe Rousset was in the pit as harpsichordist when conductor William Christie gave the first modern revival of the work in the late '80s. That experience marks this 2024 release, which made classical best-seller lists at the beginning of that year. That is not common for a hefty five-act Baroque opera, but even a bit of sampling will confirm why it happened: Rousset, from the keyboard, brings tremendous energy to the opera. He pushes the tempo in the numerous dances and entrance numbers, and the musicians of Les Talens Lyriques and the singers of the Choeur du Chambre de Namur, all of whom have worked closely with Rousset in the past, keep right up. The singers in the solo roles are all fine; haut-contre Reinoud Van Mechelen in the title role and Ambroisine Bré as the goddess Cybèle, who sets the tragic plot in motion, are standouts. The sound from the increasingly engineering-expert Château de Versailles label is exceptionally clear in complex textures, and the sensuous cover art (representing, it is true, not the Roman mythological figure of Atys but Hippomène and Atalante) is a bonus. In the end, this is Rousset's Atys, and that is a very good thing.© James Manheim /TiVo
From
HI-RES$26.29
CD$22.59
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia
Teresa Berganza
Opera - Released January 1, 1972 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
Hi-Res
Booklet
Distinctions
The Qobuz Ideal Discography
This is a Barbiere "di qualità, di qualità": in fact, of very great quality indeed, from Deutsche Grammophon. Recorded in London in the summer of 1971, it is one of the first meetings of Claudio Abbado and the London Symphony Orchestra. It is also the first of Alberto Zedda's philological editions of Rossini's works, whose scores have been covered over by inherited errors for over a century. Getting rid of the additions which have, quite wrongly, become traditional, means restoring certain interruptions and the fine instrumentation of the period; and above all, singing and playing without exaggerations, thanks to an innate sense for the theatre. It's a spot of spring cleaning which has restored the youth of the 24-year-old composer's masterpiece. Bravo, signor barbiere, ma bravo! It is a dream record, with singers who are well-versed in the repertoire. Everyone is right where they need to be, from Teresa Berganza's wiley and cheeky Rosina, to the refined and hard-working Figaro played by Hermann Prey, via Luigi Alva's frivolous Count and the utterly ridiculous Basilio played by the outrageous Paolo Montarsolo. We're amused by their antics, as we admire the well-oiled and unstoppable machine of Rossini's theatre, under the unceasingly inventive and thrilling baton of Claudio Abbado. © François Hudry/Qobuz
From
HI-RES$17.49
CD$13.99
Pancrace Royer: Surprising Royer, Orchestral Suites
Les Talens Lyriques
Symphonic Music - Released May 5, 2023 | Aparté
Hi-Res
Booklet
Beyond the neglect of French Baroque music in general, it is a bit hard to understand why composer Pancrace Royer was almost completely unknown until Christophe Rousset came along to champion him, first in harpsichord music and now, with these suites of music drawn from operas, in orchestral music. In the 18th century, Royer was quite well known and admired among others by Rameau, whose music he helped along considerably. Royer certainly inhabited Rameau's stylistic world, but from the evidence here, his music is distinctive and merits the adjective "surprising" that Rousset has attached to it. It is colorful, given to unexpected turns of harmony, and vivid in its evocation of the exotic scenes of French opera. Sample the "Air pour les turcs" ("Air for the Turks") from Zaïde, reine de Grenade, with its crackling percussion. Royer challenged his orchestra with virtuoso ensemble writing in the likes of the "Premier et second tambourins" from Almasis, and Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques step up with precise, vigorous readings that one imagines would have made the composer overjoyed. The inclusion of two alternate versions for movements from Zaïde is also unusual and gives insight into the compositional thinking of the day. Essential for specialists and enthusiasts interested in the French Baroque, this album is a lot of fun for anyone, with only overdone church sound detracting from the overall effect.
© James Manheim /TiVo
From
HI-RES$31.79
CD$24.59
Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Céphale et Procris
Reinoud Van Mechelen
Classical - Released February 9, 2024 | Château de Versailles Spectacles
Hi-Res
Booklet
Distinctions
Diapason d'or
Suppose you have a more precise idea of what you want. If you are searching for the album "Bad" by Michael Jackson, type michael jackson bad. The album in question will be displayed at the top, as it is the most relevant.
By default, search results are sorted in order of relevance. The drop-down menu to the right of "Sort by" allows you to display the results in the desired order.