Gramophone Awards, Verdi (composer)
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Special offer. Baritenor
RecommendedMichael Spyres (baritenor), Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Marko Letonja
Spyres has a remarkable range and is a consummate vocal chameleon too...in a truly remarkable finale to his ‘Largo al factotum’, Rossini’s Figaro is indeed all things to all men vocally. What... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 24th September 2021
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BBC Music Magazine, November 2021, Opera Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2021, Recording of the Month
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Diapason d’Or, October 2021, Nouveauté
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Opera, December 2021, Disc of the Month
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2021
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Vocal
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Sunday Times, 10 Best Classical Albums of 2021
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2022, Shortlisted - Vocal
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Gramophone Awards, 2022, Winner - Voice & Ensemble
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Verdi: Aida
RecommendedAnja Harteros (Aida), Jonas Kaufmann (Radamès), Ekaterina Semenchuk (Amneris), Ludovic Tezier (Amonasro), Erwin Schrott (Ramfis), Marco Spotti (Il Re d'Egitto), Paolo Fanale (Un Messaggero), Eleonora Buratto (Sacerdotessa), Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
Anja Harteros can boast both the high-octane tone and the necessary level of dramatic expression to make Aida credibly three dimensional…[Ekaterina Semenchuk makes] many subtle observations... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd October 2015
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Sunday Times, 2015, Albums of the Year
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BBC Music Magazine, November 2015, Recording of the Month
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2016, Winner (Opera) and Recording of the Year
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2015, Recording of the Month
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Record Review, October 2015, Record of the Week
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Building a Library, April 2017, Also Recommended
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Gramophone Awards, 2016, Winner - Opera
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2015
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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2015, Winner - Opéra
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Special offer. Verdi: Otello
RecommendedSimon O’Neill (Otello), Gerald Finley (Iago), Anne Schwanewilms (Desdemona), Allan Clayton (Cassio), Ben Johnson (Roderigo), Alexander Tsymbalyuk (Lodovico), Matthew Rose (Montano), Lukas Jakobski (Herald) & Eufemia Tufano (Emilia)
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Colin Davis
everything contributes to accentuating extremes: Colin Davis gets the LSO, in shattering form, to play chords like cannon shots...The two male leads are superb: Simon O'Neill is the most complete... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 1st November 2010
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Gramophone Awards, 2011, Finalist - Opera
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2010, Editor's Choice
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Lise Davidsen: Beethoven - Wagner - Verdi
RecommendedLise Davidsen (soprano), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder
Her voice reminds me now of Birgit Nilsson’s at the same stage, an Elsa and Sieglinde who is a Brünnhilde in waiting, with the same thrilling edge to her top register, though she isn’t lacking... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, April 2021, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd April 2021
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BBC Music Magazine, June 2021, Opera Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Voice & Ensemble
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Vocal
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Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (Original 1857 version)
RecommendedGermán Enrique Alcántara (Simon Boccanegra), Eri Nakamura (Maria/Amelia), William Thomas (Fiesco), Iván Ayón-Rivas (Gabriele Adorno), Sergio Vitale (Paolo Albiani)
The Hallé, Chorus of Opera North, RNCM Opera Chorus, Sir Mark Elder
Exceptional vocal performances from Argentinean baritone Germán Enrique Alcántara in the title role, rising bass William Thomas as his foe Jacopo Fiesco and Peruvian tenor Iván Ayón-Rivas as... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 21st March 2025
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Gramophone Magazine, May 2025, Editor's Choice
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International Opera Awards, 2025, Shortlisted - Complete Recording
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International Classical Music Awards, 2026, Nominated - Opera
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2025
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2025, Recording Debut of the Year - Germán Enrique Alcántara
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Gramophone Awards, 2025 Finalists, Opera
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The New York Times, Best Classical Music Albums of 2025
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Anima Rara
RecommendedErmonela Jaho (soprano), Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Andrea Battistoni
She has a slender tone, definitely more lyric than spinto, and is often so deeply invested in her role that it’s not always a very ‘pretty’ sound. Yet it’s exactly these qualities that are her... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 25th September 2020
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BBC Music Magazine, November 2020, Opera Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2020, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2020
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The Times Records of the Year, 2020
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Shortlisted - Voice & Ensemble
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Verdi
RecommendedLudovic Tézier (baritone)
Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Frédéric Chaslin
With his richly burnished voice, Tézier gives a compelling account of all these diverse characters but is at his best in the arias that call for psychological nuance and contrasts in vocal shading. —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, July 2026, Critics' Choice 2021
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Presto Recording of the Week, 19th February 2021
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Gramophone Magazine, May 2021, Editor's Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2021, Winner - Voice & Ensemble
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2021
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Insieme - Opera Duets
RecommendedJonas Kaufmann (tenor), Ludovic Tézier (baritone), Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
They begin with Puccini – a passionate Rodolfo and a quicktempered Marcello – and end with a chilling Otello, Tézier’s Iago dripping poison into Kaufmann’s ear in the Act II duet, with Antonio... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2022, Editor's Choice
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Presto Editor's Choice, October 2022
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2022
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International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Nominated - Vocal Music
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2023, Nominated - Male Singer of the Year (both artists), Conductor of the Year & Vocal
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Gramophone Awards, 2023 Finalists, Shortlisted - Voice & Orchestra
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Verdi: Requiem
RecommendedAnja Harteros (soprano), Sonia Ganassi (mezzo), Rolando Villazon (tenor), René Pape (bass)
Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Coro dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
Pappano's conducting maintains a firm control of his forces, showing a sense of drama that includes an awareness of the importance of some crucial moments of silence. Pappano's soloists are... —
Awards:
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Building a Library, October 2015, First Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2009, Disc of the Month
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Gramophone Awards, 2010, Winner - Choral
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2010, Choral Award Winner
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Listening to the music composed for [Duprez] by a generation of French composers, you can understand the excitement he caused…this CD is more than musical archaeology. Spyres is a magnificent... —
Awards:
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2017
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The Times Records of the Year, 2017
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International Opera Awards, 2018, Nominated - Solo Recital
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Opera, October 2017, Recording of the Month
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Gramophone Awards, 2018, Shortlisted - Recital
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