René Pape

“he is unquestionably magnificent. This is very lyrical Wagner singing, sensual, even sexual in tone, noble in utterance, and shaped as much through the line as off the words...The Fliedermonolog, sounding unusually erotic...[is] one of the disc's high points...There's wonderful playing, too, from the Berlin Staatskapelle under Daniel Barenboim.” The Guardian, 5th May 2011 ****

“he gives his Farewell, from Die Walküre, quite gloriously, his high lyric bass sounding effortless and beautiful even in the most high-lying passages. Above all, he sings his native German with astonishing clarity and eloquence...yet maintains a perfect Italianate legato...In the Parsifal extracts, Placido Domingo, no less, makes his brief contributions with a still remarkable voice...Golden-age Wagner singing.” Sunday Times, 15th May 2011 *****

“he remains more than capable of the spellbinding legato that Wolfram's Hymn to the Evening Star requires...purely musical values are of rare distinction. The Parsifal scene in particular benefits from Barenboim's characteristic blend of spontaneity and deliberation, while Placido Domingo easily matches Pape in his eloquent ardour...when it comes to sheer vocal refinement and the purest Wagnerian gravitas, René Pape is hard to beat.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2011

“His approach is very much that of a Lieder singer: the text could be taken verbatim from his immaculate diction...His liquidity of tone is balm in higher-lying passages, most notably those of Sachs...Teutonic bass-barking is nowhere to be heard...Barenboim deserves equal praise for some of the most sensitive Wagner conducting heard in a long time...this remains Wagner singing of a rare beauty that will give much pleasure” International Record Review, July 2011

“Mendelssohn's highly potent brand of magic here in rhythmically robust live recordings of eight numbers from A Midsummer Night's Dream, and a formidable team of soloists for the spooky Walpurgisnacht.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2011 ****

“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 evenly matched. Soprano Anja Harteros is beautifully controlled, while mezzo Sonia Ganassi supplies a properly Italianate lyric intensity. ...tenor Rolando Villazón displays... his regular fierce personal commitment to whatever he is singing... René Pape's bass is large and sonorous... The sound captures the work's enormously broad sound picture, as well as a sense of almost infinite receding depth in its overall perspective.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2009 *****

“A Requiem to relish, Pappano's recording is a modern classic. …an authentically Italianate feel is important to any performance of the Requiem. Second nature to Toscanini and Giulini, it is a quality that contributes hugely to the eloquence and allure of Pappano's performance. You hear this early in the sense of a live narrative unfolding which mezzo soprano Sonia Ganassi brings to the "Liber scriptus"...Harteros's lighter...singing, radiant and sympathetic, suits Pappano's reading to perfection... Rolando Villazón is similarly discreet in the self-abasing loveliness of his "Ingemisco"... the bass René Pape is as fine as any on record, strong yet discreet, with a mastery of the subtly inflected cantabile line that is profoundly satisfying.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2009

“a gargantuan, extraordinary performance, given by an extraordinary musical cast...Pappano, with his Italian heritage and operatic career, quite obviously has this music coursing through his veins. Recorded in concert, it catapults the listener into the concert hall with its energetic force and surging rhythms. The dramatic contrasts are magnificently worked” Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk, 21st December 2009

“Pappano surprisingly treats the work primarily as ritual. This is a performance of measured treads and rhythms, ­advancing like some vast processional that flattens everything in its path. Its inexorability leaves you feeling jittery...The choral singing is formidable.” The Guardian, 11th September 2009 ****

“Very welcome on this recording… are less usual arias from Mefestofele… and Dvorák's Rusalka… with brisk support provided throughout by the Dresden Saatskapelle and Staatsopernchor under the direction of Sebastian Weigle, this is a fine showcase.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2008 ****

“Probably the premier basso cantante of our time, René Pape is a good god, a good king and a still better singer…” Gramophone Magazine, December 2008

“Claudio Abbado’s Magic Flute sounds like a breath of fresh air… Since his own near-death experience during a grave illness, every piece he conducts has taken on a sense of existential urgency, including the Flute. One has seldom heard the work performed with such a light touch and effortless fluency, with such feeling for dramatic refinement and with the characters so musically alive.” (Die Zeit, May 2005)