Have your say and tell us who you think delivered the most memorable performances of 2011. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Florent Schmitt (1870-1958) was a contemporary of Ravel, Roussel and Dukas, and like them he wrote music for the ballet, including Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. In the early decades of the 20th century his name was well known but his reputation suffered after the 1930s. The reasons were partly personal – Schmitt was a cantankerous personality and Nazi sympathiser – but also his richly orchestrated, fulsomely chromatic style fell out of fashion. The three works on this stunningly recorded disc are among Schmitt’s better-known. His ballet The Tragedy of Salome was written at exactly the same time as Richard Strauss’s opera, although the opera was performed first and its notoriety overshadowed the Frenchman’s score. The ballet is packed with “orientalisms”, cymbal-topped climaxes and disembodied melismatic sopranos. Big on atmosphere and beautifully played, the performance is subdued compared to the ancient Paray version (Mercury) and the white-hot performance from the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic (Onyx).  Psalm 47 is a setting of biblical verses for soprano, large choir and orchestra. It employs the same exotic palette, but here the prolonged choral fortes and relentless climaxes invoke the law of diminishing returns. A few calm moments, usually involving the excellent Susan… Continue reading Get unlimited…

Opera's 12 most gripping last gasps: stabbings, suicides, strangulation and more!

This Queen of the Night wants her high notes to bring South Africa’s black communities and young people to the opera. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The opera legend embarks on his first exclusive collaboration with a label in 40 years. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

It’s seven years since Joseph Calleja made his solo recording debut, and he’s still only 33 years old. The hype which attended the arrival of this wunderkind in opera’s top tier has settled somewhat now, but he has maintained his place at the top of his profession and avoided the burnout which too often strikes such early and feverishly promoted bloomers. The Maltese Tenor, Calleja’s third collection of mostly popular, mostly Italian arias, finds him in bright and healthy voice. Once greeted by some as the second coming of Pavarotti, it’s clear now that Calleja is not quite – or at least not yet – as exceptional as that, but his honeyed, Italianate tone is swoonworthy just the same, and his delivery is underpinned by a solid technique which bodes well for a long future. Gorgeous legato, rather than textual detail, is Calleja’s specialty. He spins ardent favourites like E lucevan le stelle and Donna non vidi mai out with impeccable lyricism and audible sincerity, but there’s still a degree of characterisation missing. Still, there’s burnished colour aplenty in Calleja’s ardent Quando le sere al placido, and infectious energy in Offenbach’s jaunty Légende de Kleinzach, and Massenet’s Des Grieux also… Continue reading…

From Mozart to Tchaikovsky to Britten, with a smattering of Wagner and Rossini along the way, Mattei dashes from one Greatest Hit to another with a versatility that’s almost galling. Comparisons are inevitable but for once, not odious; Mattei is a worthy heir to his illustrious predecessors, and the vocal and theatrical charisma which have made him such an audience favourite transfer remarkably well to disc. His honeyed baritone is as beguiling in Don Giovanni’s Serenade as it is devastating in Billy Budd’s Look! Through the port…, and he manages both Wagnerian legato and Rossinian coloratura with ease. Mattei’s madcap Largo al factotum must be one of the laugh-out-loud funniest on disc, and when it comes on the heels of a soaring, dignified account of Yeletsky’s Ya vas lyublyu (The Queen of Spades), it’s hard to believe that the same singer produced both performances. Or rather, it would be, were they – and indeed, every selection on this disc is – not unified by his sterling musicianship, vivid characterisation and seriously beautiful voice, all of which make Mattei such a distinctive artist. The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, under Lawrence Renes, is an excellent partner in crime, particularly in the… Continue reading…

Conductor: Imre Palló/Director: John Milson Sydney Conservatorium of Music Until September 24 Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

This live recording of Beethoven’s sole opera Fidelio is from the 2010 Lucerne Festival, under the baton of Claudio Abbado. Together with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra/Lucerne Festival Orchestra the succeeds in contrasting dramatic impetus with lyrical subtlety throughout the performance. Few tenors are able to convey the conflicting suffering, near-dementia and inextinguishable hope in Florestan’s character, but Jonas Kaufmann produces a sound that is both heroic and nuanced. Meanwhile, Nina Stemme’s Leonore is rich and expressive, delivering a heartfelt aria but falling short of joyous brilliance in her duet with Florestan. Falk Struckmann sings a powerful Pizarro, perhaps lacking a bit of snarl at times but successfully portraying an insecure despot who is about to snap. The supporting roles are sung well, but not outstandingly so; they all lack a degree of dramatic involvement. Beethoven’s sublime chorus writing provides the Arnold Schoenberg Choir with plenty of opportunity to shine, especially in the affecting Prisoners’ Chorus. The only major weakness here is the spoken dialogue, which in some cases has been abbreviated into monologue, the content of which is dramatically incoherent and delivered unconvincingly by the principals. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber?…

Pianomania: The Greatest Pianists of All Time, James Rhodes, Angela Hewitt, the Vienna Phil and more. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Share the Sydney Opera House stage with Australia’s most popular leading men. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

La Stupenda is the face of the issue nominated for the 2011 Magazine Cover Awards.