Following up his last collaboration with René Jacobs, a fine Handel recital, Bejun Mehta here presents an intelligent survey of early classical arias. While the great reformer Gluck inevitably opens the programme with the delicious Che purio ciel! from Orfeo ed Euridice, his neglected rival Traetta at last gets his moment in the sun; a scene from his Ifigenia in Tauride in which a slumbering Oreste is tormented by a chorus of Furies is the high point of the recital. Another delight is Se il fulmine sospendi from Gluck’s Ezio and the album fittingly concludes with an aria from that early glimpse of Mozart’s operatic genius Mitridate. Mehta’s voice might not have the beauty of Scholl (in his prime), nor the brilliance of Jaroussky, nor the flash of Hansen but he trumps them in his intensity of dramatic projection, incisive attack and vivid colouring of text. Mention is made in the booklet of the realistic acting innovations of David Garrick as taken up by the castrato Guadagni; the spirit of whom Bejun Mehta seems to be channelling here. Maybe it’s a consequence of the artificiality of the falsetto technique but with so many counter-tenors currently on the scene there is…

Prize in honour of the late Wagnerian soprano goes to the orchestra at her old stomping ground. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

English bass-baritone whose distinctive voice and acting skills defined the Britten era passes away at 82. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Heldentenor and iconic director fly the flag at this year’s International Opera Awards. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Melbourne’s boutique opera company challenges the fine line between reality and theatre with new production. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Latvian soprano becomes first singer to debut in two roles in consecutive performances. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

  After just two instalments in his projected seven-opera Mozart cycle, Rolando Villazón has taken a premature diversion a collection of obscure Mozart concert arias that he found in a Munich music shop. As he’s demonstrated already in Cosi fan tutte and Don Giovanni, Villazón is a persuasive Mozart advocate, but he needs all that skill and enthusiasm to make this grab-bag of juvenilia, rejects and odd-jobs hold together. The opening of the aria Aura che intorno spiri must be one of the greatest opening phrases in all Mozart, but the sublimity is intermittent. Many arias hint at genius and then faff about in a stop-start demonstration of genius almost at work. The most intriguing are Con ossequio, con rispetto and La spoco deluso, where one could speculate that Rossini built his career out of Mozart’s reject bin. The earliest aria, Va, dal furor portata, is gob-smacking when judged by the standards of 9-year-old composers, but compared with the Mozart of 20 years later, it’s scarcely must-have. Just how far Mozart progressed during the intervening period is demonstrated in the only German language inclusion, Musst ich auch durch taussend Drachen, sounding so much more mature and dramatic in intent, and…

Or how online arts reviews have the potential to become the hot new place for musical lonely hearts. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Southern Cross Soloists continue their tradition of excellence, contributing to Queensland’s unique music scene. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Vivaldi, Handel and Mozart give Lezhneva a chance to play a dazzling game of Russian roulades. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The crowd go bonkers for the crazy Orlando as dull old reason is pitted against the power of love. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Three of Verdi’s finest for around $40 is good value by most people’s reckoning and this BelAir set would make a welcome inclusion in any opera fan’s library. French soprano Mireille Delunsch is incandescent as the dying Violetta in Peter Mussbach’s noir 2003 Aix Festival La Traviata. Everyone is dressed in black while the blonde heroine palpitates in sequined white like Marilyn Monroe (or is it Catherine Deneuve?). Matthew Polenzani is impressive as Alfredo, sweet toned and secure in the big moments. Dmitri Tcherniakov’s 2009 Macbeth at L’Opera National de Paris is the standout of this collection. The treatment is simply breathtaking, with a clever use of sets. The cast is top-notch: Greek baritone Dmitris Tilakos is totally convincing and Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana sings powerfully and beautifully, descending into bloody madness looking like a deranged Dawn French. The chorus are superb and the great scene in the fourth act where the displaced Scots are shattered by war evokes chilling footage of refugees. Nicolas Joel’s 2007 Zurich Opera production of Aida, on the other hand, evokes the flag-waving of empire. Nina Stemme makes a compelling Aida. Salvatore Licitra, whose death from a brain haemorrhage in 2011 cut short a promising…