This modest production recorded in 2018 at the 30th Rossini Festival in Bad Wildbad, Germany, deserves credit for introducing us to an allegorical cantata composed by Rossini for a royal wedding. Le Nozze di Teti e di Peleo celebrates the marriage between the goddess of water Thetis and the hero Peleus, and their union would soon produce a son, the fiery Achilles. This is a miniature opera that had all of the usual stylistic features of the era – a seductive, alluring vocal line, ornamentation and vocal virtuosity. With three sopranos, two tenors, a choir and an orchestra, The Marriage of Peleus and Thetis was premiered in a lavish production at the Teatro del Fondo in Naples on April 24th, 1816, featuring the best singers of the time and interpolated ballet scenes. The marriage of the nephew of King Louis XVIII of France with Maria Carolina of Bourbon re-established political relations between the Kingdom of Naples and France following the Napoleonic debacle. It was, as is often the case, a pre-arranged political marriage that had already been decided in high places before the spouses had even met. This piece, commissioned on the occasion for this particular event, disappeared immediately afterwards and only resurfaced in 1967 when the manuscript was discovered in the rich library of the Naples Conservatory of Music. Here, it is performed under the careful direction of Pietro Rizzo, who knows exactly how to showcase the composer’s work. The contagious good humour of the cast of young singers also further endorses the re-discovery of this musical gem. © François Hudry/Qobuz

Soprano Pretty Yende made a big splash with her debut album, A Journey, which musically reenacted her path from small-town South Africa to Europe's major operatic stages. On that album she had both star quality and rough spots, and it was a matter of some interest to learn whether she was just a novelty or a major new voice. As it happens, Yende's second album, Dreams, does not answer the question. There is still the fact that Yende is one of those performers who just transmit; even in the chilly language of digital ones and zeroes, she has charisma. And in Italian bel canto repertoire she's clearly progressing. In both the more ornate Donizetti excerpts from Lucia di Lammermoor (sample "Ohimè! Sorge il tremendo fantasma" to hear Yende's control in quiet passages in the stratosphere) and in the more melodic Bellini, Yende delivers very fetching sounds. In the French music the news is not so good; Yende can't live up to the striking opening gesture in "Ah! je veux vivire" from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, and her voice shows strain here. Still, most of the music sounds great, and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano "Giuseppe Verdi" under Giacomo Sagripanti has an ideally subdued way of accompanying her. The indications are at this point that the way to deal with Yende is to play to her considerable strengths. Just before this album's release, Yende pulled out of a Rome production of Fra Diavolo for unspecified artistic reasons. One hopes that vocal problems were not involved.© TiVo

Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria by Monteverdi poses a lot of problems for modern performers. There exists no definitive manuscript – although one may doubt how much people bothered back then with "definitive" versions of works which were re-written from one performance to the other, depending on the singers and instrumentalists that were on hand, the tastes of this or that star, the diktat of the Church – and the only copy dating from the composer's time, discovered in Vienna in 1881, is incomplete. When we try and compare this manuscript with different copies of the libretto which are still around today, the difficulties only increase. For this recording by Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists, recorded live at concerts in September 2017, the decision was taken to fill in everything that could be filled in with a few passages borrowed from earlier works by Monteverdi. The Return of Ulysses dates from 1640, when Monteverdi was 74 years old, so there was a lot to choose from for these fillers. This version is almost certainly the closest approximation we have to the original yet, the singers have worked hard to give the most accurate reproduction possible of the vocal inflections demanded by the various formats employed by Monteverdi. These inflections are often very declamatory and sometimes sung to the fullest. The recitations and the melodies, the ensembles and the choirs: everything is treated with the utmost care and the effort put into contrast and clarity only enhances the quality of this recording. A magnificent rendition. © SM/Qobuz

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

The three brilliant symphonic poems that Respighi composed (inspired by his adopted city of Rome) were recorded in 1991 by the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Yan Pascal Tortelier as part of his brilliant series of recordings for Chandos. It is now John Wilson, the new figurehead of the British label, who dares to take them on, continuing his intense work at the head of the Sinfonia of London (which he has recently helped to reform), an exceptional orchestra well-known to music lovers who are passionate about the somewhat hidden recordings of the 1950s. The orchestra brought together the capital’s best musicians at the time. Recently, Wilson and his orchestra put forward a beautiful album of rare French works including, for example, Duruflé's Three Dances.This recording opens with latest of the poems, Feste Romane (Roman Festivals), which has a concentrated, sharp style even though it uses a larger orchestra than the other two, including a large percussion section as well as an organ, a four-handed piano and a mandolin. First performed by the New York Philharmonic on February 21, 1929, under the direction of Arturo Toscanini, this work represents the “maximum of orchestral sonority and colour” in the composer's own words. Surprisingly, the Feste Romane remains the part least known by the public. Its audacious orchestration is striking, showcasing Respighi's inventive and sometimes rebellious spirit. After his appointment in 1913 as a professor of composition at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Respighi became friends with Edita Walterowna Broglio (1886-1977), a photographer whose creative work would become the source of inspiration for Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), a poem composed over two years which was completed in September, 1916. Fontane di Roma testifies to a major stylistic turning point in the composer’s career, coming after works that clearly show the influence of the Russians and the modern French composers. Fontane di Roma is intensely colourful, personal and of unforgettable sensuality. With this first large-scale and hugely successful Roman symphonic poem, Respighi tightened his grip on the renewal of Italian instrumental music.Completed in 1924, Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome), conducted by Toscanini for its first performance in New York on January 14, 1926, is the most famous part of the trilogy. Like the other two poems, Pini di Roma is divided into four parts, each of which evokes four iconic places in the Italian capital, such as the Janiculum Hill, Villa Borghese and of course the Via Appia, which inspired Respighi to compose a majestic and grandiose march, whose expressive power would go on to influence Hollywood composers. John Wilson brings us an effortlessly fluid version of the three poems which makes time fly! © Pierre-Yves Lascar/Qobuz

For the benefit of any Qobuz readers who might be offended that the Bach cantata Ich habe genug is sung here by a counter-tenor in the soprano register (rather than the normal bass), we want to point out two things: first, in the baroque era, music would be rewritten at the drop of a hat to fit the musicians who were available at a given time; and, secondly, this particular transposition was made by the Cantor himself! And what's more, he actually thoroughly revised two works... The short cantata Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde was for a long time attributed to Bach before credit was finally given to its author Melchior Hoffmann: but it is testament to the work's tremendous quality that the mix-up was possible: its originality certainly gives the listener pause for thought. For one thing, the aria contains a glockenspiel section! Counter-tenor Bejun Mehta continues his exploration of the world of the baroque cantata with the superb Pianti, sospiri e dimandar mercede by Vivaldi, which brims over with invention and harmonic and melodic surprises. Handel's cantatas, on the other hand, were more directly written for amateur audiences, and therefore somewhat easier musically: whereas Bach never had to worry about selling his scores, Handel was very much preoccupied by sales! Berlin's Akademie für alte Musik provides a fervent accompaniment, and without a conductor, as they know this music like the back of their hands. © SM/Qobuz

Listeners may be forgiven for wondering whether the world needed another recording of Ottorino Respighi's three famous tone poems celebrating the Eternal City: Feste romane (Roman Festivals), Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), and perhaps most famous of all, Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome). But they should decidedly give a chance to this Naxos release featuring the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and American conductor JoAnn Falletta, who knows the ensemble well. For one thing, Falletta earned her stripes with a previous recording of three much less often heard Respighi tone poems that was critically acclaimed and gives her justification for having her say in the big three. More than that, however, there's a certain energy and excitement running all the way through this recording. The Buffalo Philharmonic has a noted brass section; yes, you might find better in Chicago or Berlin, but the climaxes here have real bite. You might find broader readings that work, but it's rare that you'll hear one that captures so much instrumental detail, even as Falletta keeps things moving at an above-average clip. You could sample anywhere and find small pleasures, but try the piano at the beginning of the third movement of Pini di Roma, the nocturnal "Pines on the Janiculum Hill." It gives a feel for how Falletta keeps the unusual coloristic palette of these tone poems in impressive balance. And you might find acoustically more impressive venues than Buffalo's International Style Kleinhans Hall, but not another ensemble who knows it so well and knows how to produce a satisfying effect. Highly recommended.© TiVo

When it comes to French string quartets, Autumn 2021 has been notably nocturnal-flavoured. First there was the superb “round midnight” from the genre’s rockstars, Quatuor Ébène – a programme of music for after dark that paired Dutilleux’s Ainsi la nuit of 1976 with a quartet arrangement of Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (1899), bridged by a new jazz-infused work by the quartet’s cellist-composer Raphaël Merlin. Now here’s “Not all cats are grey” from one of France’s most exciting new generation quartets, Quatuor Hanson, whose own night-themed trio of works has the Dutilleux sitting at its climax, preceded by Bartók’s String Quartet in A minor of 1917 – metaphorically representing a dark time for Europe, and studied by Dutilleux before he wrote his own quartet – and Ligeti’s String Quartet No 1 “Métamorphoses nocturnes” of 1954. Beyond having one of the smile-eliciting album titles of the year, “Not all cats are grey” also thoroughly delivers on its actual contents. If you’re wondering what the title actually refers to, it’s the fact that at night time all cats suddenly look grey on account on it being more difficult to distinguish separate colours, and that in the same way it can be all too easy to hear so-called contemporary music as all sounding the same. The Hanson’s mission is therefore to bring out the myriad of contrasts between these three major works via a multi-hued night time musical landscape representing everything from sleep, dreams and hallucination, to liveliness and intense movement; and they’ve very much achieved that aim. First thing to say is that there’s a very satisfying balance to the programme’s overall architecture, thanks to their having placed the Dutilleux and Ligeti – each a series of micro-movements heard as a single movement which organically develops an initial motivic idea – as their two-book-ends; and you’re hearing an equal degree of architecture across the interpretations themselves, on both the macro and micro level. Tone and articulation-wise, there’s just the right, brightly crystal-edged, lucid-textured sound that served them so well in their Diapason Award-winning Haydn recording of 2019. Favourite snapshots? How about the exhilarating bite, folky kick, momentum and technical precision of the Ligeti’s Vivace, capriccio; then the similar qualities they bring to the even more obviously folky strains of the following Bartók’s central Allegro molto capriccioso; the slender-toned delicacy with which they open the Bartók’s Lento, and the dramatic tautness with which its long lines then proceed; the gorgeous gossamer wisps heard in the Dutilleux’s Nocturne 2, and the nimbleness, colouristic range and sense of organic progression they bring to that entire work’s exploration of different sound effects. Essentially, I won’t be surprised if this album ends up picking up an award or two, too. © Charlotte Gardner/Qobuz

There are two current complete works of Carlo Gesualdo’s Madrigals. Begun in 2013, the work by La Compagnia del Madrigale brings together the voices of the finest Italian Baroque singers, as well as those of Rossana Bertini, Giuseppe Maletto and Daniele Carnovich (the trio who founded La Compagnia del Madrigale in 2008). All of them were originally members of the ensemble La Venexiana.The harmonic complexity of Gesualdo's work is a musical mountain and it’s difficult to climb. After the first two highly acclaimed volumes devoted to Book 3 and Book 6, here is the First Book. It was composed in 1594 during his stay in Ferrara with the composer Luzzasco Luzzaschi and the renowned women’s ensemble Concerto delle Donne. Luzzaschi was already cultivating the poignant chromatism that Gesualdo, an extravagante native of Naples, would go on to include in his own compositions.After the dissonance and dizzying harmonic shifts in the first two volumes, this First Book of Madrigals for five a capella voices feels more classical, especially as our madrigalists know exactly how to make the rich polyphony pop: with fluidity, purity and softness. It’s impossible not to admire the vocal quality, the intensity of expression and supple melismas contained within this incredible music. © François Hudry/Qobuz

Following his acclaimed first recording for Alpha Classics, "Saga", the German baritone Konstantin Krimmel continues to tell us stories, with a programme focusing on "Zauberoper" (or "magic opera"). Accompanied by the Hofkapelle München orchestra conducted by Rüdiger Lotter, Krimmel explores operas by Mozart (Der Stein der Weisen), Salieri (La grotta di Trofonio) and Haydn (L'Anima del filosofo, Orlando Paladino), alongside less well-known titles by Paul Wranitzky (Oberon) and Peter von Winter: spectacular musical comedies from the eighteenth-century Viennese repertory, with their enchanted fairytale universe. © Alpha Classics

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While the German soprano follows in the footsteps of Cecilia Bartoli, her virtuoso voice separates her fans from the purists who prefer a less fanciful vocal-line. This long-awaited new album from Simone Kermes shows off her masterful voice in almost every register and there is no sign of the excessiveness for which she has previously been criticised. Typically referred to as a “Ba-rock” star, some people are irritated by her gestures and extreme theatrics during her concerts, but those mannerisms are long forgotten here in the absence of any images. The title of the album, “Mio caro Händel”, says a lot about the affinity Simone Kermes feels with the Saxon composer. She has selected his most popular pieces, such as Ombra mai fù(Largo of Love), Piangeró la sorte mia(I will lament my fate) and Lascia ch’io pianga(Let me weep), along with some much less well-known pieces, which are some of the most wonderful revelations and rare musical gems on the album. The singer recorded this testimony of love to Händel in Berlin’s famous Jesus-Christus-Kirche in 2018 accompanied by Amici Veneziani, an ensemble put together especially for her which mostly comprises of German musicians and is led by Russian violinist Boris Begelman. As a great traveller who went all over Europe, this captures Händel’s European spirit perfectly. © François Hudry/Qobuz

Handel's Rodelinda, regina de' Longobardi, HWV 19, was a hit at its first performance in 1725 and has dropped out of the repertory only during periods when all of Handel's operas did. It is absolutely loaded with great Handelian tunes and also has a more-than-coherent plot involving an imprisoned queen in a conquered Milan, the intrigue that swirls around her among her lustful conquerors, and her disguised husband, Bertarido, who attempts to rescue her. The lead role has drawn star sopranos from Joan Sutherland on down, but many listeners will be drawn to the singing here of Lucy Crowe, who really inhabits the role. She sang it with the Dutch National Opera, and here, she returns with convincing delivery that will keep listeners' heads out of the libretto. She is aided by the clean playing of the English Concert under Harry Bicket, who leads from the harpsichord, and a strong supporting cast, including the ideal Iestyn Davies as Bertarido. This performance was planned for the English Concert's annual live concert at Carnegie Hall in New York; that was canceled due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, but Bicket and the group decided to record the opera instead, inaugurating a new series of Handel operas. The socially distanced playing and singing at St. John's Smith Square is a little rusty in spots, and the venue is somewhat airy for the music, but all in all, this is a Handel opera performance that makes one anxious for more of the same for the performers.© TiVo