Angela Denoke

Valery Gergiev conducts Strauss’ 'Elektra', one of the most powerful operas in the repertoire, accompanied by a superlative cast. Premiered in 1910 at Covent Garden, under the baton of Sir Thomas Beecham, 'Elektra' showcases many, of what were at the time, modernist techniques such as dissonance, chromaticism and fluid tonality but also some of his finest writing. The one-act Greek tragedy was reconstructed by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and his adapted text forms the libretto for the opera. The drama centres around Elektra and her determination to avenge her father’s death. The themes of death, violence, sexual repression and revenge are omnipresent.

American soprano Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet is recognised as a leading force in German and contemporary music repertoire and a great singing actress.

Angela Denoke and Dame Felicity Palmer both possess outstanding pedigrees in Strauss' opera. They are joined by outstanding Lieder specialist Matthias Goerne, making one of his rare forays into operatic repertoire.

One of the key works of the 20th century, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, finally entered the Vienna State Opera repertory in 2009 in its original language and without the sanitising changes made in the wake of Stalin’s death by the Soviet Communist Party. The plot remains as explosively provocative as ever, with its account of the murderous goings-on of a frustrated merchant’s wife in Tsarist Russia and a musical setting that veers virtuosically between biting social satire and sympathy for the protagonist. It was fortunate, then, that the Vienna State Opera was able to enlist the services of an experienced conductor and draw on its own home-grown ensemble, led by a singing actress of thrilling intensity. Angela Denoke is fascinating as Katerina Izmailova, her singing marked by its razor-sharp accuracy and highly individual timbre, her acting making her atrocities at least understandable if not forgivable. In order for the opera to create this impression, it also needs powerful antagonists, which it found in the form of the young heldentenor Marian Talaba, as Katerina’s duped husband Zinovy; the black bass of Kurt Rydl, who lends a chilling stature to Katerina’s violent stepfather Boris; and Nadia Krasteva’s richly coloured mezzo-soprano helps to flesh out the character of Katerina’s rival, Sonetka, who appears in the column of convicts in the opera’s harrowing final scene. Here Katerina’s seducer and lover, Sergey, turns out to be a false friend and, as such, a foil to the protagonist. Making his State Opera début, Misha Didyk used his lyrically and dramatically flexible tenor to create a portrait against which the dark and unfathomable facets of Angela Denoke’s portrayal could stand out even more clearly and impressively. The numerous smaller parts, together with the chorus and orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, were inspired by Ingo Metzmacher’s conducting to produce an interpretation that explored every aspect of Shostakovich’s score, a score teeming with the greatest extremes of tempo, dynamics and rhythm.

The mid-price collection presents some of the most important and admired recordings of the EMI Classics and Virgin Classics catalogue which make EMI - The Home of Opera.

Bonus Disc contains synopsis and libretto with translation.

Ludwig van Beethoven attempted to compose a number of works for the stage but only one opera was completed and that took three versions to reach its definitive form. The first had its premiere in November 1805, was entitled Leonore and was in three acts (with overture Leonore No. 2); the second in March 1806 was still entitled Leonore but now in two acts (with overture Leonore No. 3). The final version did not appear for eight years by which time he had also written another overture – entitled Leonore No. 1. This version had the new and final title and the overture Fidelio. Throughout his life Beethoven had sought to compose music which would praise freedom, valour and the brotherhood of mankind and the story of a wife’s bravery in seeking out her husband in a tyrant’s jail gives full rein to his musical genius. Sir Simon Rattle conducted the new production at Glyndebourne in 2001 and then recorded the work in Berlin with his orchestra and a first rate list of soloists in April 2003.