Your basket is empty

Categories:
Narrow my search:

Results 1 to 20 out of a total of 7202
From
CD$15.09

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; The Nutcracker Suite

Martha Argerich

Classical - Released October 15, 1996 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

From
CD$19.77

Le Siège de Corinthe (Intégrale)

Lorenzo Regazzo

Opera - Released June 3, 2013 | Naxos

Booklet Distinctions Choc de Classica
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
HI-RES$15.56
CD$12.45

Les Caractères de la Danse

Reinhard Goebel

Classical - Released February 25, 2022 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

Hi-Res Booklet
From
CD$6.91

Saint-Saëns : Symphonie No. 3 - Œuvres de Chabrier, Bizet & Lalo (Diapason n°586)

Orchestre Symphonique de Détroit

Symphonic Music - Released October 25, 2009 | Les Indispensables de Diapason

Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or
From
HI-RES$16.59
CD$14.39

Rossini: Overtures

Antonio Pappano

Classical - Released October 6, 2014 | Warner Classics

Hi-Res Distinctions 5 de Diapason - 5 Sterne Fono Forum Klassik

Argerich plays Tchaikovsky

Martha Argerich

Classical - Released May 27, 2023 | UME - Global Clearing House

Download not available
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$15.69

Together Again

Julian Bream

Classical - Released January 1, 1974 | RCA Gold Seal

From
HI-RES$12.36$24.71(50%)
CD$9.89$19.77(50%)

Rossini: Moïse et Pharaon (Live)

Virtuosi Brunensis

Opera - Released August 14, 2020 | Naxos

Hi-Res Booklet
Following the French theatre tradition for spectacular biblical dramas during Lent, Rossini’s Moïse was an incredible success at its Parisian premiere in 1827, and the opera is presented here in its complete form. Alongside power struggles and miracles, there develops a love story between Pharaoh’s son Aménophis and the Israelite Anaï, though the main narrative is that of the Exodus from Egypt: Rossini’s riveting score with its spellbinding finales culminates in the parting of the waves of the Red Sea. In this single work, Rossini laid the foundations of grand opera, and it is widely considered to be among his greatest achievements. © Naxos
From
HI-RES$17.49
CD$13.99

à madame: divertissement pour adelaïde

Olivier Baumont

Classical - Released February 3, 2017 | Aparté

Hi-Res Booklet
At the court of Versailles, the daughters of Louis XV (referred to as 'Mesdames'), and in particular Adélaïde, devoted themselves to a regular practice of music and, apparently, demonstrated talent. Numerous composers (Simon, Rameau, Balbastre, Cardonne, Guignon) played for them, worked with them, and dedicated several works to them. 'À Madame', Divertissement pour Adélaïde, is an anthology, subjectively put together, of compositions that resounded in their drawing room. All the works on this programme are world premieres. These lovely, rare nuggets are mixed with a few unusual sonorities of marvellous carillons of the Marc-Antoine Le Nepveu clock (currently in the Cabinet de la Méridienne, located at the heart of the palace, on the first floor). The recording, made in the Grand Cabinet de Madame Victoire at Versailles and featuring two precious historical instruments from the palace's collections, faithfully reproduces the forgotten beauties of the Age of Enlightenment. An original invitation to travel back in time, as testimony to a musical afternoon at Versailles in the company of Mesdames.
From
HI-RES$29.79
CD$25.59

Glass: Cocteau Trilogy

Katia Labèque

Classical - Released February 23, 2024 | Universal Music Division Decca Records France

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Qobuz Album of the Week
Philip Glass' three operas based on films by Jean Cocteau, inspired by the composer's youthful experiences in Paris, are among his most variegated works and perhaps among the ones most likely to win over those unpersuaded by the composer. This release took shape as Katia and Marielle Labèque performed concerts devoted to two-piano arrangements of numbers from these operas in 2020 and 2023; the arrangements are by Glass colleague Michael Riesman. Many recordings of Glass have come from his own orbit, but this one, released by the Deutsche Grammophon label and a presence on classical best-seller charts in early 2024, shows the value in opening up the field. The Labèques bring a fluent but lively quality to the music that illuminates the material out of which the operas are woven. Sample the ragtime-like opening, "Le café," from Act I at the beginning. Elsewhere, one hears echoes of Gluck, Bach, and more, all superimposed on Glass' characteristic repeating patterns. The durable popularity of Katia and Marielle Labèque, still at the top of the duo piano heap, is remarkable, and it has occurred in part because the sisters are unafraid to take on new repertory. Here, they have done a spectacular job.© James Manheim /TiVo
From
HI-RES$31.79
CD$24.59

Aux étoiles - French Symphonic Poems

Orchestre National De Lyon

Classical - Released October 20, 2023 | Bru Zane

Hi-Res Booklet
This double-album release from the specialist Palazzetto Bru Zane label, better known for opera but doing fine here with orchestral music, landed on classical best-seller charts in the autumn of 2023, and this is really no wonder. The album puts together many attractive features, beginning with fine work from the beefy (34 violins) Orchestre National de Lyon under conductor Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider. The album comprises a little history of the French tone poem from the third quarter of the 19th century to the second decade of the 20th, and it includes many works that will be unfamiliar to all but specialists, along with a few hits (Saint-Saëns' Danse macabre, Op. 40, Paul Dukas' L'apprenti sorcier ["The Sorcerer's Apprentice"] in a brisk, colorful performance, Emmanuel Chabrier's España, and perhaps Franck's Le chasseur maudit). As for the rest, there are no fewer than four works by women composers: Lili Boulanger, Augusta Holmès, Mel Bonis, and Charlotte Sohy; the Danse mystique of the latter is perhaps both the most obscure and the most compelling. Several works by better-known male composers also seem well worth removal from the historical scrap heap; sample Ernest Chausson's hushed Viviane, Op. 5, or Vincent d'Indy's Istar, Op. 42, the tone poem Wagner never wrote. Or the title work by Henri Duparc, much more familiar as a song composer. More generally, one is impressed by the cohesion of the program as a whole, even as French styles underwent fundamental change. Most of the composers try to show a mastery of the large orchestra and of the big tune as second subject. This is a highly listenable group of pieces that hearers will be glad to know better.© James Manheim /TiVo
From
HI-RES$24.70
CD$19.76

Festin Royal du Mariage du Comte d'Artois

Alexis Kossenko

Classical - Released August 25, 2023 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or
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$33.87
CD$26.97

Lully: Thésée

Les Talens Lyriques

Opera - Released October 13, 2023 | Aparté

Hi-Res Booklet
Christophe Rousset and his Les Talens Lyriques continue their exploration of the operas of Jean-Baptiste Lully for the Aparte label with 1675's Thésée ("Theseus"), the composer's third "tragédie en musique" with librettist by Philippe Quinault. Commissioned by King Louis XIV, the libretto recounts some early-life exploits of the titular character from Ovid's Metamorphoses. It was immensely popular for more than a century before finding itself in less demand than later, more compact versions of Quinault's text, which were set by composers such as Handel (Teseo, 1712). What is there for a king and his court not to like when the Prologue declares the king a god and sings the praises of king and kingdom? Rousset has his Les Talens Lyriques in fine form, and the ensemble plays crisply and concisely throughout. Rousset, conducting from the harpsichord, keeps the action moving in this colossal and dramatic work. The soloists, especially mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes as Médée ("Medea") and tenor Mathias Vidal as the titular Thésée, display clear expertise in the realm of early French opera. This work is a major vehicle for mezzos in the role of the jealous sorceress Médée, and Deshayes is splendid. The Prologue has some awkward, almost hesitant singing from the chorus, but as the work progresses, the Chœur de chambre de Namur becomes stronger and, in the end, proves to be an asset to the whole (consider their turn as the inhabitants of the underworld with Deshayes on "Sortez, ombres, sortez de la nuit éternelle" from Act Two). This is a worthy addition of a lesser-known opera to the growing Lully collection from Les Talens Lyriques.© Keith Finke /TiVo
From
HI-RES$31.79
CD$24.59

Spontini: La vestale

Les Talens Lyriques

Classical - Released May 12, 2023 | Bru Zane

Hi-Res Booklet
Gaspare's Spontini's French-language La Vestale is probably the most often heard of his operas, but that is not saying much; the work was sung by Maria Callas in the 1950s, but performances are sparse. Here, it is revived in period style by Les Talens Lyriques and conductor Christophe Rousset, and a very good case is made for further attention. The story is action-packed; Julia, in the absence of her lover, General Licinius, becomes una Vestale, a Vestal Virgin and guards a sacred flame. When Licinius returns to town, the flame goes out, and Julia is sentenced to be buried alive. Licinius rallies his troops, vowing to kidnap Julia, and the flame is reignited later by a lightning strike. Spontini's orchestration of this tale is Beethovenian in its dimensions, and despite the difficulties of natural horns, it is exciting to hear this opera as Napoleon (thought to be the model for Licinius) and Josephine (who backed the opera) heard it. The singers are not Callas-level, but throughout, and especially in the choruses, there is a commitment to the text and its meaning that is rare in any kind of recording. Marina Rebeka, in the role of Julia, is fully involved in the character's plight, and the smoky-voiced Aude Extrémo as La Grande Vestale is worth the price of admission on her own. The singers are aided by clear, spacious studio sound engineering from the early opera specialist label Palazzetto Bru Zane, whose high standards are perhaps even exceeded here. © James Manheim /TiVo

Starmania

Starmania

French Music - Released January 1, 1978 | Warner (France)

Download not available
From
HI-RES$24.70
CD$19.76

David & Jonathas

Gaétan Jarry

Classical - Released June 9, 2023 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

Hi-Res Booklet
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