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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | George Benjamin: Written on Skinand Duet for piano and orchestra
'Written on Skin' is the second collaboration between George Benjamin and Martin Crimp. Their previous one-act opera 'Into The Little Hill' has been received with universal acclaim. Written on skin was jointly commissioned by The Festival d Aix-en-Provence and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and this recording was largely produced from a broadcast recording by Radio France in July 2012 at Aix. George Benjamin’s status as one of the UK’s leading composers has created unprecedented demand for the new opera. “George Benjamin has written nothing better…and that’s saying something.” Richard Morrison, The Times “The first opera masterpiece of the 21st Century.” Serge Martin, Le Soir “The gathering erotic charge between the artist and wife is portrayed with mesmerising power. Even more riveting than the singing is the playing of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, which is shot through with mysterious and sinister sounds...Benjamin paces the music in a way that makes it seem luxuriant and expansive, yet with an almost imperceptible tremor of tension. On every level it's masterly.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 ***** “a compact and sophisticated piece for the 21st century, full of strong ideas and singable lines” Financial Times, 1st March 2013 “the dark spirit of the drama is impressively sustained throughout, with the five singers giving their all and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra relishing the music's startlingly distinctive range of colours and textures...This is music of formidable self-assurance, performed and recorded with matching conviction.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013  BBC Music Magazine
Opera Choice - June 2013 |
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| |  | Down by the Salley GardensWorks by Vaughan Williams, Finzi, Howells & Quilter
Berkeley, L: | The Horseman | Finzi: | Since we loved The sigh At Middle-Field Gate in February (from I Said to Love) | Gurney: | Down by the Salley Gardens | Hely-Hutchinson: | et in the manner of Händel | Howells: | King David The Widow Bird The Little Boy Lost | Purcell: | Music for a while, Z583 arr. Tippett Lord, what is man?, Z192 arr. Britten Let the night perish (Job's Curse), Z191 arr. Britten | Quilter: | It was a lover and his lass Three Shakespeare Songs, Op. 6 Hey, ho, the wind and the rain (No. 5 from Five Shakespeare Songs, Op. 23) Take, O take those lips away | Stanford: | La Belle Dame sans merci (John Keats) (1877) | Vaughan Williams: | Linden Lea Bright is the Ring of Words (No. 8 from Songs of Travel) | Warlock: | Jillian of Berry |
This programme offers a vivid and varied cross-section of English song, ranging from the Edwardian aesthetic of Quilter and early Vaughan Williams to the intensely expressive style of Howells and Finzi. The Purcell realisations by Britten and Tippett, meanwhile, are products of two great 20th-century composers engaging with their musical heritage. In all these different styles, Bejun Mehta shows the same verbal and vocal mastery that won such acclaim for his debut Handel recital on harmonia mundi. “Mehta is a technically excellent singer; with a firm well-supported line; an unusually resonant lower range; and fine expressive diction, well equal to Julius Drake's sturdy accompaniment. And he's hardly more bloodless than genteel English tenors of the era...he exploits his thinner tone deftly for unusual, even eerie effects, especially in Stanford's chilling La belle dame snas merci” BBC Music Magazine, November 2011 ***** “Any suspicion that these songs might sound lukewarm or tentative in the hands of a countertenor is soon dispelled by Mehta's invigorating singing of Quilter's 'Blow, blow, thou winter wind' and the keen way he dramatises Stanford's 'La Belle Dame sans merci'. The verbal point he brings to a handful of Purcell songs in arrangements by Britten and Tippett is also appreciated.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2011 “Mehta may not possess the most extensive of vocal paintboxes but he does gradate the shades at his disposal to good effect: pastels rather than oils. In Drake he has a partner who draws suitable sounds from the piano.” International Record Review, November 2011 “Bejun Mehta certainly can't be faulted on his eclecticism in his whistle-stop tour of English song...Mehta's singing is so heart-stoppingly beautiful and musically perceptive that you wish he had recorded whole cycles rather than just representative songs.” The Guardian, 1st September 2011 **** “Mehta's gift for mood and atmosphere is heard in the light beauty of Quilter's "It was a lover and his lass", the sweet melancholy of Gurney's "Down by the Salley Gardens" or the veiled mystery of Lennox Berkeley's "The Horseman". Pianist Julius Drake provides customary alert, expressive accompaniment.” The Observer, 11th September 2011 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Kenneth Tarver (Belshazzar), Rosemary Joshua (Nitocris), Bejun Mehta (Cyrus), Kristina Hammärström (Daniel), Neal Davies (Gobrias), Christina Sampson, Lucy Taylor, Andrew Radley, Richard Wilberforce, Vernon Kirk & Andrew Davies RIAS Kammerchor & Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, René Jacobs Directed by Christof Nel – A Film by Don Kent Set Designer: Roland Aeschlimann Costume Designer: Bettina Walter Produced by Bel Air Media / Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2008 Handel's Belshazzar at the Aix Festival was imported from the Staatsoper Berlin. Berlin had built a huge, magnificent production and imported English and American opera singers, including star-turn countertenor Bejun Mehta. Add to this a superb local Baroque instrumental ensemble and an accomplished vocal ensemble, not to mention the world-renowned early music conductor, René Jacobs: and voilà, an operatic hit. Christophe Nel, a well-respected director in progressive German opera houses teamed up with famed Swiss minimalist set designer Roland Aeschlimann and costume designer Bettina Walter to create a production which respected the supposed austerity of oratorio. This experienced team brought Handel's not-so-high drama and philosophic tragedy to almost operatic dramatic standards as the Persian prince Cyrus overran the dissolute Babylonians and freed the captive Jews. “The Persian prince Cyrus, was sumptuously sung in heroic stances by Bejun Mehta; Rosemary Joshua, Belshazzar's mother Nitocris, sang in convincingly Handelian terms, and convincingly portrayed a religious zealot troubled by her wayward son. Most beautiful too was the singing of Neal Davies as the Syrian Gobrias, whose son had been killed by the dissolute emperor Belshazzar, a role also well sung and broadly characterised by American tenor, Kenneth Tarver. The star of the show was the RIAS-Kammerchor, able to personify Babylonians or Jews at the drop of a hat, singing magnificently. The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin again proved itself a world-class chamber ensemble." musicwebinternational “the dramatic essence of the story...comes over in a striking semi-expressionist fashion. There's a strong set of central performances. Though Tarver is encouraged to go over the top as Nel's bisexual hedonist villain, his bright and brilliant tenor is purposefully deployed...Joshua supplies sobriety and maternal concern on a grand scale...Mehta's King Cyrus is immaculately sung and powerfully acted...Jacobs proves a consistently lively presence” BBC Music Magazine, August 2011 **** “Happily, stage producers Christof Nel and Martina Jochem place their faith entirely in Charles Jennen's plot and characters...The capable RIAS Chamber Choir get stuck into the dramatic story and the entire cast achieve an abundance of highly effective acting and dramatic visual ideas...Most of the singers are superb and their acting draws us into the contrasting moralities and fortunes of their characters.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2011 “Ten minutes into this gripping performance and you understand Rene Jacobs's enthusiasm for the idea [of staging it] - the music lends itself perfectly to dramatization...Jacobs and his cast respond thoughtfully, but not over-zealously, to Handel's vivid characterization...[Tarver] looks and sounds like the perfect Belshazzar...Joshua is spellbinding...[Mehta] has an instinctive feel for Handel...it's one of the most convincing stagings of a Handel oratorio I've seen.” International Record Review, September 2011 BBC Music Magazine Blu-ray Choice - August 2011 |
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Kenneth Tarver (Belshazzar), Rosemary Joshua (Nitocris), Bejun Mehta (Cyrus), Kristina Hammärström (Daniel), Neal Davies (Gobrias), Christina Sampson, Lucy Taylor, Andrew Radley, Richard Wilberforce, Vernon Kirk & Andrew Davies RIAS Kammerchor & Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, René Jacobs Directed by Christof Nel – A Film by Don Kent Set Designer: Roland Aeschlimann Costume Designer: Bettina Walter Produced by Bel Air Media / Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2008 Handel's Belshazzar at the Aix Festival was imported from the Staatsoper Berlin. Berlin had built a huge, magnificent production and imported English and American opera singers, including star-turn countertenor Bejun Mehta. Add to this a superb local Baroque instrumental ensemble and an accomplished vocal ensemble, not to mention the world-renowned early music conductor, René Jacobs: and voilà, an operatic hit. Christophe Nel, a well-respected director in progressive German opera houses teamed up with famed Swiss minimalist set designer Roland Aeschlimann and costume designer Bettina Walter to create a production which respected the supposed austerity of oratorio. This experienced team brought Handel's not-so-high drama and philosophic tragedy to almost operatic dramatic standards as the Persian prince Cyrus overran the dissolute Babylonians and freed the captive Jews. “The Persian prince Cyrus, was sumptuously sung in heroic stances by Bejun Mehta; Rosemary Joshua, Belshazzar's mother Nitocris, sang in convincingly Handelian terms, and convincingly portrayed a religious zealot troubled by her wayward son. Most beautiful too was the singing of Neal Davies as the Syrian Gobrias, whose son had been killed by the dissolute emperor Belshazzar, a role also well sung and broadly characterised by American tenor, Kenneth Tarver. The star of the show was the RIAS-Kammerchor, able to personify Babylonians or Jews at the drop of a hat, singing magnificently. The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin again proved itself a world-class chamber ensemble." musicwebinternational “the dramatic essence of the story...comes over in a striking semi-expressionist fashion. There's a strong set of central performances. Though Tarver is encouraged to go over the top as Nel's bisexual hedonist villain, his bright and brilliant tenor is purposefully deployed...Joshua supplies sobriety and maternal concern on a grand scale...Mehta's King Cyrus is immaculately sung and powerfully acted...Jacobs proves a consistently lively presence” BBC Music Magazine, August 2011 **** “Happily, stage producers Christof Nel and Martina Jochem place their faith entirely in Charles Jennen's plot and characters...The capable RIAS Chamber Choir get stuck into the dramatic story and the entire cast achieve an abundance of highly effective acting and dramatic visual ideas...Most of the singers are superb and their acting draws us into the contrasting moralities and fortunes of their characters” Gramophone Magazine, October 2011 “Ten minutes into this gripping performance and you understand Rene Jacobs's enthusiasm for the idea [of staging it] - the music lends itself perfectly to dramatization...Jacobs and his cast respond thoughtfully, but not over-zealously, to Handel's vivid characterization...[Tarver] looks and sounds like the perfect Belshazzar...Joshua is spellbinding...[Mehta] has an instinctive feel for Handel...it's one of the most convincing stagings of a Handel oratorio I've seen.” International Record Review, September 2011 BBC Music Magazine DVD Choice - August 2011 |
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| |  | Handel: Ombra Cara
In his first recital for harmonia mundi, Bejun Mehta, the American countertenor, has chosen highlights from the repertoire of the famous castrato Senesino, accompanied by René Jacobs and Freiburger Barock. Bejun (b.1968) is a protegée of René Jacobs and has been sponsored by Marilyn Horne. He made his opera debut as a countertenor, having been inspired by David Daniels, as Armindo in a New York City Opera production of Partenope. Stage rôles have included Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare, Tamerlano, Ottone in Agrippina and Endimione in Le Calisto. + BONUS DVD: OMBRA CARA 'MAKING OF' NTSC 16.9, Subtitles, Fr, Ger, Total time: 15’25”, Interview in English “Mehta's disc towers above the other Handel 'medley' recordings currently fashionable among opera stars. Musicality and a brilliant intelligence emanate from every track...This is not just an aria collection, but a celebration of genius, in composition and performance alike.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2010 ***** “Mehta's singing can be astonishingly good...his precise coloratura in direct faster arias is superb...The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra plays excellently, particularly during a passacaglia from Rodrigo.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2011 “Mehta deals with and vanquishes any vocal difficulties, for his voice is like a well-oiled engine...[He] employs the colours of his voice skilfully...He is among the best of countertenors, and Handelians should relish these performances. In every piece, the orchestra produces instrumental colour and stylish playing, be it from trumpet or lute. Jacobs lends a wise and experienced hand.” International Record Review, January 2011 “Mehta's way of listening to the orchestra around him, and either allowing his singing to stand out in relief, or to meld with the instrumental textures, produces wonderfully variegated effects and ever-changing perspectives...Mehta's beauty of tone and musical intelligence confirm his position in the highest echelon of contemporary countertenors” The Guardian, 23rd December 2010 ***** “...a superior musician at the peak of his vocal powers. He has luxury support from the Freiburg Barockers and Jacobs, himself a former countertenor and a no less imaginative Handelian. The icing on this sumptuous cake is the gorgeous duet from Sosarme, in which Rosemary Joshua’s voice blends ideally with Mehta’s. A treat from start to finish.” The Times, 2nd January 2011 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Glyndebourne staged the premiere of The Rape of Lucretia with Kathleen Ferrier cast as Lucretia and the following year premiered Albert Herring. Thirty four years then elapsed before another of Britten’s operas was staged. In 1981, Glyndebourne presented A Midsummer Night’s Dream. An acclaimed staging by director Peter Hall which has enjoyed 4 revivals since, it has frequently been described by critics, and the press alike, as the ‘perfect realisation of a fairy tale’. Britten employed disparate musical styles and devices to depict the interaction of the fairy kingdom; the quartet of lovers, the Mechanicals and town tradesmen determined to make it in showbiz. He juxtaposes a wide variety of styles to create the various worlds in the play. Brash trombones clash with Elizabethan flourishes, tormented string sounds and tuned percussion evoke the mood of the dark forests. With the challenging vocal writing a combination of singing, sprechstimme and spoken word cleverly intertwine. This recording from Glyndebourne’s 2006 Festival, and the most recent revival, is a remarkable production cleverly capturing both the callousness of Oberon’s trickery on Tytania, as well as beautifully conveying the sense of sexual freedom that Bottom experiences when encountering Tytania. The stars in this recording are numerous but without doubt Bejun Mehta’s Oberon is one of the greatest on record. Iride Martinez makes a notable UK debut as Tytania. The lovers’ quartet sing almost all of their scenes as an ensemble, and beautifully at that, with Kate Royal (as Helena) and Jared Holt (as Demetrius) making the most harmonious of couples. Matthew Rose is both a wonderful and beguiling Bottom and is at the very heart of this recording whilst not forgetting the perfect performance from the well drilled Trinity Boys Choir, and show stealer, the 11 year-old Jack Morlen as Puck. “this live [Dream]...will certainly transport even the most distracted listener over hill and over dale to the realm of the Fairy Queen....Mehta's Oberon is one of the main reasons for choosing this disc: his is by far the most powerful casting in this role since James Bowman...His Tytania is impressive too: Iride Martinez is a nightingale one moment, a true Queen of the Night the next...a delectable Dream.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2012 **** “the performance boasts some fine singing. Bejun Mehta is a silky yet seductively threatening Oberon, Iride Martinex (Tytania) floats her high notes ravishingly, and Matthew Rose is an amusing Bottom...11-year-old Jack Morlen is a terrifically elfin-sounding Puck, and Ilan Volkov conducts with a fine sense of the score's strange charm.” Classic FM Magazine, March 2012 **** “Even if the Sussex opera house missed a trick by not filming the last revival in 2006, the smell of the theatre still irradiates this audio recording from the same year. It picks up the stage noise but also the vibrancy of live performance and the superb quality of Glyndebourne’s ensemble: you can “watch” the opera in your mind’s eye, such is its perfumed potency.” Financial Times, 10th December 2011 **** “Its number one strength is the imposingly sung Bottom of Matthew Rose. No mere buffo bass, he brings a proto-Wagnerian grandeur of voice to the role, together with a very un-Wagnerian sense of humour...The fairy kingdom is less memorably represented...Ilan Volkov proves a conductor in the best Britten tradition...Other CD recordings have better casts...but this one enjoys a rude energy of its own.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2012 “Mehta's Oberon is the collectors' item...he sounds quite unlike any previously recorded Oberon, but his rich dark timbre does recall that of the role's creator at Covent Garden [Russell Oberlin]...If the occasional hint of an American accent intrudes, it serves only to underline Oberon's 'otherness'...a fascinating glimpse at another Glyndebourne classic which proclaims the festival's ethos while presenting unmissable contributions from Mehta, Rose and Volkov.” International Record Review, December 2011 “Ilan Volkov’s lushly romantic conducting of Britten’s inventive score is exhilaratingly hot-blooded, but occasionally his enthusiasm runs away with him, leaving some of the singers overwhelmed. Bejun Mehta makes a commanding Oberon and Matthew Rose an endearing Bottom” The Telegraph, 18th November 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Handel’s oratorio Theodora, in its first-ever staging at the Salzburg Festival ,was among the highlights of the Handel year in 2009. Great cast that features Christine Schäfer and Bejun Mehta, conducted by Ivor Bolton. Acclaimed stage director Christof Loy presented Theodora as the profoundly moving tale of a woman who prefers death to denying her own faith. Video director Hannes Rossacher, known both in the pop (Rolling Stones) and classical world (Mozart's "Lucio Silla" for UNITEL), captures the essence of this rarely recorded work. Running Time Opera: 189 minutes “The performances are generally dramatically real...Outstanding is Bejun Mehta's sweet-toned yet dynamic Didymus. Ivor Bolton secures an efficient musical performance.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2011 *** “Joseph Kaiser gives an outstanding vocal and dramatic performance as the beleaguered Roman guard Septimius...The Salzburg Bach Choir manages the impressive feat of moving around a lot while remaining vocally balanced and blended (and their English is flawless)...The music provision from the classy team of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Ivor Bolton is exemplary at letting Handel do the talking.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2011 “Ivor Bolton conducts with a freshness, a liveliness, even in sad, inward-looking solos and choruses, which does not mean a lack of sensitivity but rather an avoidance of dullness...Among the six singers in the cast there is not one weakness.” International Record Review, July/August 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Handel’s oratorio Theodora, in its first-ever staging at the Salzburg Festival ,was among the highlights of the Handel year in 2009. First Theodora on Blu-ray. Great cast that features Christine Schäfer and Bejun Mehta, conducted by Ivor Bolton. Acclaimed stage director Christof Loy presented Theodora as the profoundly moving tale of a woman who prefers death to denying her own faith. Video director Hannes Rossacher, known both in the pop (Rolling Stones) and classical world (Mozart's "Lucio Silla" for UNITEL), captures the essence of this rarely recorded work. Running Time Opera: 189 minutes “The performances are generally dramatically real...Outstanding is Bejun Mehta's sweet-toned yet dynamic Didymus. Ivor Bolton secures an efficient musical performance.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2011 *** “Ivor Bolton conducts with a freshness, a liveliness, even in sad, inward-looking solos and choruses, which does not mean a lack of sensitivity but rather an avoidance of dullness...Among the six singers in the cas there is not one weakness.” International Record Review, July/August 2011 “Joseph Kaiser gives an outstanding vocal and dramatic performance as the beleaguered Roman guard Septimius...The Salzburg Bach Choir manages the impressive feat of moving around a lot while remaining vocally balanced and blended (and their English is flawless)...The music provision from the classy team of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Ivor Bolton is exemplary at letting Handel do the talking” Gramophone Magazine, October 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | staged version
Stage Director - Claus Guth Recorded live at the Theater an der Wien, 2009 Claus Guth, one of the most interesting and successful German stage directors in the area of theatrical music, has created a unique concept for the staging of Handel’s most famous work. Winner of the Diapason d'Or and the BBC Music Magazine Award, Spinosi and Ensemble Matheus is internationally acclaimed for its interpretations of early music on authentic period instruments. Video director Hannes Rossacher, internationally known as one of the leading video directors for rock and pop events (Rolling Stones), has captured this unique performance of the oratorio on film. “there are some penetrating ideas lurking behind the underlying premise, which in essence orbits around the moral, theological and familial fallout surrounding a suicide...the singing blazes with conviction...Not a Messiah for the faint-hearted but there are rich rewards for the open-mindedly indulgent.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 “The singing is very good (Susan Gritton and [Richard] Croft are particularly fine) and Jean-Christophe Spinosi's conducting is luscious.” Classic FM Magazine, January 2011 ** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | staged version
Stage Director - Claus Guth Recorded live at the Theater an der Wien, 2009 Claus Guth, one of the most interesting and successful German stage directors in the area of theatrical music, has created a unique concept for the staging of Handel’s most famous work. Winner of the Diapason d'Or and the BBC Music Magazine Award, Spinosi and Ensemble Matheus is internationally acclaimed for its interpretations of early music on authentic period instruments. Video director Hannes Rossacher, internationally known as one of the leading video directors for rock and pop events (Rolling Stones), has captured this unique performance of the oratorio on film. “there are some penetrating ideas lurking behind the underlying premise, which in essence orbits around the moral, theological and familial fallout surrounding a suicide...the singing blazes with conviction...Not a Messiah for the faint-hearted but there are rich rewards for the open-mindedly indulgent.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 “The singing is very good (Susan Gritton and [Richard] Croft are particularly fine) and Jean-Christophe Spinosi's conducting is luscious.” Classic FM Magazine, January 2011 ** | | | This item is currently out of stock at the UK distributor. You may order it now but please be aware that it may be six weeks or more before it can be despatched. |
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Gramophone Magazine