Opera, Opera Arias, 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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El-Khoury is never less than stylish with precisely the vocal agility that this repertoire requires. So there’s nimble and accurate coloratura and a full complement of brightly burnished top... —
Awards:
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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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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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A Tribute To Pauline Viardot
RecommendedMarina Viotti (mezzo-soprano), Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset
Imperceptibly Viotti makes them her own, tender but tough in Rosina’s ‘Una voce poco fa’ and producing a cascade of diamondbright coloratura in ‘Bel raggio lusinghier’, as well as an astonishing... —
Awards:
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2022
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Opus Klassik Awards, 2023, Nominated - Conductor of the Year & Solo Vocal
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International Opera Awards, 2023, Nominated - Recording (Solo Recital)
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Bel Raggio: Rossini Arias
Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano), Artur Ruciński (bass-baritone)
Sinfonia Varsovia, Warsaw Chamber Choir, Pier Giorgio Morandi
graceful, finished phrasing and an apparently effortless coloratura technique...Without over-egging the pudding, Kurzak acts vividly for a 'blind' audience, alive to verbal nuance and using... —
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, June 2013, Editor's Choice
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Pene Pati
RecommendedPene Pati (tenor), Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Choeur de l'Opéra national de Bordeaux, Emmanuel Villaume
A generosity of spirit not always to be taken for granted with tenors is in constant evidence on Pene Pati’s debut album…His voice certainly has the colour for both the French and Italian repertoire... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 8th April 2022
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Opera, May 2022, Disc of the Month
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BBC Music Magazine, May 2022
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Opus Klassik, 2022, Young Artist of the Year
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Special offer. Invocation
Elsa Dreisig (soprano), Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova Orchestra, Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova Choir, Massimo Zanetti
Some of the lighter 'excerptable' numbers come off very well. Rusalka's Song to the Moon is floated well and Desdemona's Ave Maria is tender. French repertoire shows her voice off to best effect...Her... —
