The Danish National Symphony Orchestra’s recording of _Maskarade_ succeeds admirably in striking a careful balance between these ideals. The present DaCapo SACD is an enhanced reissue of a 1977 ...

The label’s name and legendary yellow logo synonymous for many music lovers ...

Had the Kent Nagano pit not been appallingly lackluster perhaps some chance illuminations of the Strauss score might have been struck, as was Mr. Wilson’s intention. Just now, 22 years later Mr.

“The operas of Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) mark a significant contribution to twentieth-century music and theatre. Opera was Prokofiev’s preferred genre; not counting juvenile and unfinished works, ...

entertainment for any quiet evening at home. So, how about this: an opera ...

Composed originally for a Vienna premiere in 1864 the present version of Les FÈes du Rhin, or Die Rheinnixen, was published in the last few years as part of the critical edition of the complete works ...

opera’s arias, most notably the celebrated ‘Cara la dolce fiamma’, have survived in the repertory).

In the next generation, the Scottish composer James MacMillan has emerged as a strong heir to this tradition, and in the present recording his ìSeven last Words from the Cross,î ìOn the Annunciation ...

of Exodus 15 and The Book of Psalms.

Better melodies could secure new operas a lasting place on stage, the argument goes. Howard Hanson’s 1934 opera Merry Mount, a Metropolitan Opera commission, serves as evidence that a score’s ...

Bellini’s last opera has had its share of classic performances on stage and in studio, but it has not truly challenged the prominence of the reigning work of this bel canto master, Norma. The Druid ...

But, to modern directors and company it presents a host of challenges: the extreme vocal virtuosity of the principal roles, its juxtaposition of genres and stylistic eclecticism, and, not least, its ...