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Verdi: Macbeth

Luciano Pavarotti

Classical - Released January 1, 1993 | Decca Music Group Ltd.

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Verdi: Macbeth

Europe Galante

Opera - Released November 16, 2018 | Glossa

Booklet
A vivid demonstration of how widely Fabio Biondi’s musical imagination runs comes with his new recording of Giuseppe Verdi’s work of genius, Macbeth. It is the original Florentine 1847 version of the work, shorn of the Paris revisions more typically found on record, which Fabio Biondi has opted to conduct, the director believing in its greater dramatic and stylistic coherence. Verdi was of the opinion that the Shakespearean tragedy was “one of the greatest creations of the human spirit” and set himself the task of rendering the fire of its drama into music during and following a period when his physical health had broken down. With its scenes of murder, battle and sleep-walking, brindisi and witches’ choruses all creating a sombre atmosphere drenched with paranoia and a lust for power, the dramatic flow of the opera places vast demands on the soloists, notably upon the unhappy title-role couple. Fabio Biondi’s version comes with baritone Giovanni Meoni, a leading Verdi specialist as Macbeth whilst the larger-than-life role of Lady Macbeth is taken by a noted present-day Salome, Médée (and Medea), the soprano Nadja Michael. Bass Fabrizio Beggi assumes the part of Banquo, both when alive and as a ghost. Important also in the work (and as described by Stefano Russomanno in his accompanying essay) is the chorus, a leading protagonist for the composer, and here the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir. Critical also is Verdi’s orchestral writing for Macbeth, introducing rare and radical tonal colourings and Fabio Biondi, directing his Europa Galante from the violin, is just the radical, challenging musical spirit to breathe new life into Verdi’s masterpiece and its search for dramatic truth. © Glossa
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Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! (Complete original score)

John Wilson

Theatre Music - Released September 15, 2023 | Chandos

Hi-Res Booklet
While the recordings of highlights and hits from Rodgers & Hammerstein's still-popular Oklahoma! have been issued over the years, the complete, as originally orchestrated score (by Richard Rodney Bennett) had yet to be recorded. However, following a live-staged performance at the 2017 BBC Proms, conductor John Wilson took it upon himself to deliver this premiere. He sticks with the original orchestra dimensions as well, which is a good thing since the handpicked members of his Sinfonia of London are powerful enough in this smaller group. Wilson also took advantage of the quality theaters around London, bringing in soloists and a cast ensemble of veterans from stages across England. He does well in selecting a cast here; while all are more than capable singers, they are also able to deliver the vocal acting that is necessary to pull this off. Leading the cast are Nathaniel Hackmann, reprising his role as Curly from the Proms performance, and Sierra Boggess as Laurey. The vocalists and orchestra take full advantage of the space and recording setup, which allows the orchestra to play full out while not overstraining the singers. The beauty of Rodgers' music paired with Hammerstein's book is evident, even if you are unfamiliar with anything but the titular state (if even that!); the imagery of ranches and open cattle land easily comes to mind. This recording should be welcomed with open arms by those who are familiar with the musical, be it either from a stage (generally edited and with cuts) or in its film version with its edits. Oh, what a beautiful mornin', indeed.© Keith Finke /TiVo
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Rameau : Zaïs

Christophe Rousset

Full Operas - Released September 3, 2015 | Aparté

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 5 de Diapason - Choc de Classica - Choc Classica de l'année
In 1745, the King of France granted Jean-Philippe Rameau the title of ‘Composer to the Court’, coupled with a healthy pension. This new period produced pieces of a much lighter character, with Rameau working alongside the librettist Louis de Cahusac, and the resulting collaborations are now counted amongst the Burgundian musician’s greatest masterpieces. Zaïs was presented on the stage of the Royal Academy of Music in 1748. This heroic ballet offers French music some of its most beautiful movements, both vocally and instrumentally. The entire work is a meditation on its famous opening chaos, and succeeds, surprisingly, through its theatrical stamp and in the audacity of the writing. The plot is, perhaps, tenuous – a lover (Zaïs) is in the throes of affection for his beloved (Zélidie), determining to cherish her – which serves as the pretext for endless entertainment, dancing, and the work’s magical character. Today, it remains surprising that a work as sumptuous as Rameau’s Zaïs is neglected in favour of the Indes Galantes or Hippolyte et Aricie. It is paradoxical, then, that in 1970 Gustav would combine the small amount of French music he truly appreciated with a reassessment of the beauties of this work. Gustav created a fascinating recording with La Petite Bande Sigiswald Kuijken (STIL), which has now become a true rarity, despite its questionable vocalists. Happily for us, Christophe Rousset, who cherishes Rameaus’s older work, has dedicated himself to it, and offers us this gorgeously captured rendition, with French singers working under the direction of his sharp and witty leadership. The opening of the Les Talens Lyriques recital is far more vivid than anything that has been achieved in over twenty years for L’Oiseau-Lyre, in which the Ouverture immediately sets the tone. Rousset completely captures the brilliance of the score, and his imagination – which here seems insatiable – liberates his singers, who are boundlessly invested in this work; complicit in a musical resurrection. An enchantment of sorts? No. A whirlwind, rather. © Qobuz
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The Off-Season

J. Cole

Hip-Hop/Rap - Released May 14, 2021 | Dreamville, Inc., Under exclusive license to Roc Nation Records

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J. Cole can come across as a man with something to prove. The Off-Season opens up with the hysteria-inducing blowout piece 95.south, followed by amari, which is strongly influenced by the Chicago sound. These choices seem to show us a J. Cole who is trying to contradict his image as a nice rapper, but for all that, hardness isn't necessarily his strong suit. J. Cole's real strength, as this sixth album shows, is that balance between modern sounds, boom bap samples and vocal melodies that he has been putting out throughout his career, in which smart songwriting trumps pure attitude. Tracks like close or the.climb.back demonstrate this perfectly. Although sometimes a bit hampered by the artist's affected seriousness, this album is nevertheless one of his best releases in five years. Listen to one of its singles, my.life featuring 21 Savage and Morray, and you'll be convinced. © Brice Miclet/Qobuz
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Verdi Choruses

Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala Di Milano

Classical - Released February 17, 2023 | Decca Music Group Ltd.

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Riccardo Chailly, the esteemed music director of La Scala Theater in Milan since 2015, leads the Theater's Chorus and Orchestra in a recording of choruses from Verdi's operas, which, of course, are practically interwoven into the fabric of the famous theater. This 2023 release is celebratory in several regards: it was issued to mark Chailly's 70th birthday and the 45th anniversary of his debut at La Scala. Verdi's operas provide numerous choruses that are among the most popular and beloved in the genre, including the present "Va, pensiero" ("Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves") from Nabucco, the "Anvil Chorus" from Il Trovatore, and the Triumphal March and Chorus from Aida. Chailly's program covers operas spanning the composer's career and includes several selections that will be less known to general audiences. Among these, and a good example of the full might of the Orchestra and Chorus, is the "Gerusalem!" from I Lombardi alla prima Crociata. Recorded at the La Scala Theater in Dolby Atmos surround sound, the listener is fully immersed and is treated to the theater's legendary acoustics: consider the "Spuntato ecco il di d'esultanza" from Don Carlo, where the hall's resonance is highlighted between the chorus, orchestra, and offstage brass ensemble. This release will be attractive to those with varying degrees of familiarity with Verdi's music and is sure to leave many whistling a tune. © Keith Finke /TiVo
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Grétry: Raoul Barbe-Bleue

Orkester Nord

Opera - Released November 8, 2019 | Aparté

Hi-Res Booklet
This performance of Raoul Barbe-Bleue (‘Raoul Bluebeard’) from the 16th-17th November 2018 at Selbu Church (Norway) follows a number of performances at the Trøndelag Theatre as part of the Barokkfest Early Music Festival in Trondheim, in coproduction with the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles. The comic opera was written on 2nd March 1789, on the eve of the French Revolution and is a parody of two tales. André Grétry and his librettist Michel-Jean Sedaine were inspired both by Perrault’s story of Bluebeard and by the legend of The Lady of Fayel, which may not be as well-known nowadays but was very much in fashion in the 18th century and is itself a fusion of two tales. Sedaine deftly ensured that the opera included the first names of the various main characters to indicate that it is indeed a comedy and not a tragedy. Wagner even recalled in his memoirs how he had seen the opera performed in Dresden at the age of five and had been fascinated ever since. Now, re-enacted for the first time since 1789 in a Franco-Norweigan stage version conducted by Martin Wåhlberg, this version of Raoul Barbe-Bleue is guaranteed to make you laugh with its hybridised style that somewhat confused the 18th century audience. It’s a challenge but a wonderful opportunity to experience this work, produced primarily for the stage, without actually seeing the performers here – just by creating an inner theatre in your mind. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Verdi: I Lombardi alla prima crociata

Nino Machaidze

Opera - Released November 3, 2023 | BR-Klassik

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Verdi's I Lombardi, here given its full title, I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata ("The Lombards in the First Crusade"), was a follow-up to Nabucco, with promoters wanting more of the ethnoreligious patriotism of the earlier opera. Verdi complied externally, with a colorful tale spanning locales from Lombardy to Antioch to Jerusalem. The romantic libretto, with the soprano lead, Giselda, taking off on a pilgrimage of her own, did not hang together so well, and more popular Verdi operas at the end of the 1840s swept the work out of the repertory. In many ways, though, I Lombardi is a more sophisticated work than Nabucco, with big choruses, recitatives, and arias flowing naturally into each other, and it is no accident that this work was chosen to be adapted for Verdi's first French grand opera, Jérusalem. The work stands or falls on its Giselda, on whom the spotlight falls squarely after the opening conflict between brothers is set up; this live Bavarian Radio concert production has a good one in Nino Machaidze, who has a high-flying international career but doesn't get quite the publicity she deserves. She is ideal in the role, inhabiting its tempestuous and helpless turns, and as her career has developed, her voice has developed some steel. At times, she lays the vibrato on pretty thick, but this is a matter of taste, and she is dramatically convincing. There are other strong singers in the highly international cast, notably the smoky-voice Réka Kristóf as Giselda's mother, Viclinda, and conductor Ivan Repušić, leading his Münchner Rundfunkorchester, understands the strides Verdi was making toward more variegated textures. There is very little noise from the well-drilled Munich audience, and the sung texts are clear. Verdi lovers are in for a treat here.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Bernstein : Wonderful Town

Sir Simon Rattle

Musical Theatre - Released September 7, 2018 | LSO Live

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 5 de Diapason - 5 Sterne Fono Forum Klassik
Leonard Bernstein's 1953 musical Wonderful Town, with song texts by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, hasn't had frequent performances and recordings. It has lots of things going for it: one of Bernstein's memorable tunes in "Ohio" ("Oh, why-o, why-o, why ..."), a conga scene that is inadequately motivated but certainly anticipates West Side Story, and an ensemble cast conception that was certainly known to the writers of A Chorus Line 20 years later. It also has some things going against it: the number "One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man" is retrograde even by the dismal standards of musical theater gender relations, and the storyline is a bit random. Bernstein seems to have acknowledged this with his concert version of the score, which showcases his tunes and his up-to-the-minute familiarity with jazz and Latin rhythms while not weighing itself down with the tale. Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra are fine, relaxed performers in this repertory, and they deliver a performance that goes beyond usual symphony-orchestra correctness. One wonders how the topical references to American football, Kiwanis clubs, and the like, go down with overseas performers, but Duncan Rock as Wreck seems comfortable with the latter (sample "Pass the Football") and the lead female vocal duo of Australia's Danielle de Niese and the American Alysha Umphress are fine in the more universal theme of small town girls in the big city. The cast's American accents are impressively consistent, probably more so than they would be in a U.S. production, and the sound from this 2017 live recording at the Barbican keeps everything clear. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Live in Extraordinary Times

James

Rock - Released December 18, 2020 | NOTHING BUT LOVE MUSIC

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Live in Extraordinary Times is a compilation of tracks recorded on James' 2018/2019 world tour, which took in 14 different countries over 86 nights. The album features several fan favorites as well as tracks from their 2018 album, Living in Extraordinary Times.© Rich Wilson /TiVo
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Verdi

Ludovic Tezier

Classical - Released February 5, 2021 | Sony Classical

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or / Arte
It was time for Ludovic Tézier to finally provide his admirers with a recital. His performances as a Verdian baritone are impressive: Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra, Falstaff, Giorgio Germont (La Traviata), Posa (Don Carlo), Le Conte De Luna (Il Trovatore), Renato (Un ballo in maschera), Iago (Otello). And almost all of these are reprised in this solo album. To this impressive list of stage roles, Tézier brings the welcome addition of arias from Ernani, Macbeth and Nabucco all accompanied by Frédéric Chaslin at the head of the orchestra of the Teatro Comunale in Bologna. It was in 1998 in Tel Aviv that the French baritone played his first Verdian role. He was thirty years old when he was Ford in a production of Falstaff. "There is an absolutely fascinating energy in Verdi, both for the audience and for the singers", he admits. "His roles are usually very challenging, but his music acts at the same time as a fountain of youth. Verdi is brimming with vitality, which is what allowed me to return to the stage just two days after my father's death". Now with a fully-matured voice, Ludovic Tézier is in demand all over the world for his Verdi roles. He is one of the best performers of Verdi's work, standing alongside the late Piero Cappuccilli who remains his great role model. This record offers timely confirmation of his stature. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty - A Dramatic Symphony

Kristjan Järvi

Classical - Released November 13, 2020 | Sony Classical - Sony Music

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Spaceships on the Blade

Larry June

Hip-Hop/Rap - Released August 19, 2022 | The Freeminded Records - EMPIRE

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A highly productive independent artist who became far more successful after his contract with Warner Bros. ended, Larry June reached the Billboard 200 for the first time with 2021's Orange Print, then charted in the Top 40 a year later with Spaceships on the Blade. The 20-track album features production from the Alchemist (on surreal highlight "Breakfast in Monaco"), Chuck Inglish, Cardo, Jake One, and others, evoking synth-funk and smooth R&B as well as mobb music (a Bay Area precursor to G-funk) and trap. Lead single "Private Valet" backs June's tales of luxurious spending with lush strings and horns, remaining low-key during the sung chorus. He maintains his cool-headed persona throughout the record, skillfully delivering verses about hustling and dedicating time to romantic relationships. "Another Day, Pt. 2" and the Syd-assisted "For Tonight" channel '80s R&B, while "Brand New Machinery" (featuring DUCKWRTH) leans toward Afrobeats. 2 Chainz and Curren$y are two of the bigger guest stars on the album, respectively appearing on the E-40-esque "Still Boomin" and the slower, hazier "5.0 Chronicles," and Babyface Ray (of Detroit's Team Eastside) appears on the record's tensest, grittiest song, "Extra of Um." © Paul Simpson /TiVo
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0% Anxiety

Nuage

Ambient - Released September 1, 2023 | House of Youth

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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
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Fauré le dramaturge

Takénori Némoto

Classical - Released May 27, 2022 | Klarthe Records

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Verdi : I due Foscari (Live)

Ivan Repušić

Opera - Released July 5, 2019 | BR-Klassik

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 5 de Diapason
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Verdi: Nabucco

Parma Teatro Regio Orchestra

Classical - Released November 19, 2013 | C Major

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