CD, Rossini (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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Special offer. Joyce DiDonato: Stella di Napoli
RecommendedBel Canto Arias
Joyce DiDonato (mezzo), Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Lyon, Riccardo Minasi
everyone who cares about singing should promote it immediately to the top of their letters to Santa. Creamy, sumptuous, almost flawless - every adjective may be a cliché, but how else to describe... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 25th August 2014
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2015, Vocal Award Winner
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BBC Music Magazine, December 2014, Opera Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, November 2014, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2014
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Gramophone Awards, 2015, Finalist - Recital
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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2014, Récital lyrique
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International Classical Music Awards, 2015, Winner - Vocal Recital
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Special offer. In The Shadows
RecommendedMichael Spyres (baritenor), Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset
this is another fine, fascinating album from an unusually interesting and intelligent artist, handsomely recorded. —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 1st March 2024
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2024, Nominated - Male Singer of the Year
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2024, Winner - Solo Vocal Recording of the Year
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Gramophone Awards, 2024 Shortlist, Finalist - Voice & Ensemble
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International Opera Awards, 2024, Winner - Recording (Solo Recital)
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winners 2024
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International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Vocal Music
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Special offer. Rossini: Amici e Rivali
RecommendedMichael Spyres (tenor), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), I Virtuosi Italiani, Corrado Rovaris
Lawrence Brownlee takes the higher parts. Airy and buoyant in his top register, he can negotiate all the notes with ease. Michael Spyres is equally stylish, though there are a couple of moments... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 13th November 2020
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Opera, January 2021, Disc of the Month
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2020
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Record Review, 12th December 2020, Record of the Week
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Gramophone Magazine, January 2021, Editor's 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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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2021, Récital lyrique
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Rossini: Messa di Gloria
RecommendedEleonora Buratto (soprano), Teresa Iervolino (contralto), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Michael Spyres (tenor), Carlo Lepore (bass), Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
Pappano and the combined choral and orchestral forces of the Accademia Nazionale de Santa Cecilia who exuberantly inhabit a work that seems determined to throw a wild, operatic flourish up to... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 14th October 2022
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2022
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International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Winner - Choral Music
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2023, Nominated - Male Singer of the Year (Spyres)
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2023, Nominated - Conductor of the Year
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Special offer. French Bel Canto Arias
RecommendedLisette Oropesa (soprano), Sachsischer Staatsopernchor, Dresdner Philharmonie, Corrado Rovaris
Her voice is both pure and full-bodied, with an extensive range in terms of both tessitura and characterisation, allowing her to do justice to the many different moods showcased on this recording,... —
Awards:
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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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Gramophone Magazine, November 2022, Editor's Choice
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2023, Nominated - Female Singer of the Year & Solo Vocal
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Gramophone Awards, 2023 Finalists, Finalist - Voice & Ensemble
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International Opera Awards, 2023, Winner - Solo Recording
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Special offer. Rossini: Sigismondo
Hera Hyesang Park, Marianna Pizzolato, Rachel Kelly, Kenneth Tarver, Gavan Ring, Guido Loconsolo, Il Hong, Olga Watts
Keri-Lynn Wilson
The drive and authority of [Wilson's] conducting work wonders for the piece. I like the way she rescues the Overture (reused by Rossini in revised form for Otello in Naples in 1816) from buffo... —
Awards:
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International Classical Music Awards, 2019, Nominee - Opera
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2020, Nominee - Female Singer of the Year (Park/Pizzolato)
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Special offer. Golden Age
RecommendedErin Morley (soprano), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Munich Radio Orchestra, Ivan Repušić
Both singers are completely unfazed by the technical challenges made by the composers involved and are equally fully signed up to the stylistic demands involved; words are perfectly articulated... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, December 2025, Opera Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2026, Nominated - Vocal Music
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2025
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The New York Times, Best Classical Music Albums of 2025
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Rossini: Semiramide
RecommendedAlbina Shagimuratova (Semiramide), Daniela Barcellona (Arsace), Mirco Palazzi (Assur), Barry Banks (Idreno), Gianluca Buratto (Oroe), Susana Gaspar (Azema), David Butt Philip (Mitrane), James Platt (L’ombra di Nino)
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment & Opera Rara Chorus, Sir Mark Elder
Semiramide has more than its share of grandness, and in the trumpet-crowned procession as the Queen of Babylon prepares to announce her choice of king you can't help but hear a pre-echo of Verdi's... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 7th September 2018
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2018, Recording of the Month
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Record Review, 6th October 2018, Recording of the Week
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BBC Music Magazine, December 2018, Recording of the Month
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Winner 2018
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The Times Records of the Year, 2018
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Opera, January 2019, Disc of the Month
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The Guardian Classical Albums of the Year, 2018
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2019, Finalist - Opera
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International Opera Awards, 2019, Winner - Complete Opera Recording
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2019, Winner - Opera (19th century)
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Gramophone Awards, 2019, Finalist - Opera
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International Classical Music Awards, 2019, Winner - Opera
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Casta Diva - Operatic arias transcribed for trumpet
RecommendedMatilda Lloyd (trumpet), Britten Sinfonia, Rumon Gamba
The flawless tone, purity of line and dynamic subtlety she coaxes from her instrument are shown off to particularly impressive effect in Arban's set of variations from Norma...Overall, this... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, June 2023, Recording of the Month
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2023
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