The incoming chief says he wants to give Perth's state orchestra its own distinct sound.

Salvatore Licitra’s tragic death in a motorcycle accident last year hit the opera world hard. The tenor was one of his generation’s brightest stars, and at just 43 should have had a long and distinguished career ahead of him. Now Sony – with whom Licitra recorded a number of operas and solo albums – has released this 2-CD compilation in his honour. It’s a thrilling, poignant celebration of an artist in his prime, his voice bright, muscular and brimming with emotion. Most of the great Italian tenor repertoire is represented here – Verdi and Puccini dominate, along with various verismo favourites. From the bracing bravado of Di quella pira to a lovely Addio, fiorito asil, Licitra is in magnificent form. It’s repertoire he was born to sing: Cavaradossi, Canio, Manrico and all their brethren fit him ideally. The second disc shows Licitra’s lighter side, with selections from the album Duetto (with tenor Marcelo Álvarez) and previously unreleased recordings of Italian songs. Clearly aimed at the crossover market, the duets are on the syrupy side, but the quality of the singing is exceptional. Better yet are Licitra’s charming renditions of songs like Funiculi funiculà and O… Continue reading Get unlimited digital…

On the 100th anniversary of Kathleen Ferrier’s birth, we examine the legacy of the British “girl next door”.

Is composer Eric Whitacre the Messiah of new music? Plus, the truth behind Mozart's Requiem.

Hot on the heels of his Pushkin Romances and Tchaikovsky Romances, both released on the Delos label, Dmitri Hvorostovsky makes his Ondine début by continuing the series, this time with a recital of Rachmaninov. His muscular baritone is broodingly at ease in these songs, which deal predominantly with themes of bitterness, regret and ill-fated love, all of it couched in rich and picturesque verse. Here and there, one might wish for a lighter touch or a silkier tone – Hvorostovsky’s singing is more forceful than beautiful, but his musicality is rock solid, and his dramatic sense as compelling on disc as it is on stage. Indeed, his delivery is so robust, and his voice so sonorous, that many of the songs seem to morph into miniature arias. Such an approach might be the undoing of German or French art songs, but Rachmaninov’s romances, whose poetry and illustrative piano parts (deftly dispatched here by Hvorostovsky’s frequent recital partner Ivari Ilja) are already quite operatic in scope, seem almost to demand it. The desperate agony of It is time!, the desolation of Yesterday We Met, and the pleas of Oh no, I beg you, do not leave! are all brought to compelling……

In the Penal Colony is a minimalist chamber opera taking on big, brave themes.

Not even wet weather fears can dampen the excitement surrounding Opera on Sydney Harbour.

In Victorian Opera’s production, John Bell finds out who’s after your soul these days. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Live Review: The Pearl Fishers Opera in the Park Supreme Court Gardens WA Saturday, February 18 Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Less is more on Mozart’s path to enlightenment. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Savage and unremittently dark, Richard Strauss’ Elektra is a gritty psychological thriller, a tale of revenge, torment, matricide and – yes – love.

Gustavo Dudamel and Joyce DiDonato head up this year's list of distinguished winners.