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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Rene Kollo sings Wagner and Strauss
Expressiveness and intelligent acting: For Herbert von Karajan he was the ideal Wagner singer. But René Kollo didn’t only shine as a heroic tenor. He also possessed immense versatility, reaching a large audience both as an expressive actor on the opera stage, and with his concert and television appearances and in his roles in operetta films. And for all these different activities, he never forsook his credibility as a “serious” singer. This Electrola recital with Kollo features Christian Thielemann on the rostrum – still at the outset of his career in 1992, but in the meantime one of the leading conductors of Wagner and Strauss. | 
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| |  | Vogt: Wagner
After the sensational success of his debut album ‘Helden’ (Heroes), Germany´s leading Wagner tenor - Klaus Florian Vogt - presents his first all-Wagner arias CD. The album presents arias from the Wagner operas Mr Vogt has sung at famous opera houses around the world, including ‘Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’, ‘Lohengrin’ (being his breakthrough success and most famous role at the Bayreuth Wagner festival), ‘Parsifal’ (new production at the Deutsche Oper Berlin 2012), ‘Walküre’ (new production of the ‘Ring des Nibelungen’ at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich). The CD also includes roles Vogt has not sung before on stage, such as ‘Rienzi’ and ‘Tristan and Isolde’. Vogt is accompanied here by the acclaimed Finnish soprano Camilla Nylund and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jonathan Nott. Klaus Florian Vogt sings in all major opera houses around the world. In 2013, he will star in a new production in Milan (‘The Flying Dutchman’) and will also perform at the opera houses in Barcelona (‘Rusalka’), Tokyo (‘The Mastersingers of Nuremberg’), Berlin (‘Lohengrin’), Munich (‘The Flying Dutchman’ & ‘Lohengrin’), Hamburg (‘The Mastersingers of Nuremberg’) and Helsinki (‘The Dead City’). He will also be on stage in Bayreuth in 2013. Mr Vogt received the prestigious German Echo ‘Singer of the Year’ Award in 2012 for the ‘Helden’ CD. “…the timbre rewards the ear with its clarity, youthfulness and affecting sweetness” International Record Review on ‘Helden’ “…delightful, fleet nimbleness…” The Independent on ‘Helden’ “On this disc, he sings things he would never perform in the theatre, his obvious characteristic being an ethereal quality ideally suited to Lohengrin. It casts new light on Walther in Meistersinger and on Parsifal, though there his resources are stretched to the limit...Jonathan Nott seems to be a remarkable Wagner conductor.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2013 **** “There is no lack of intelligence, sensitivity or preparation but of the requisite tessitura and sound quality...But the successes, where Vogt's voice works well with the music, are genuine...[in Lohengrin's farewell] Vogt is able to harness the (apt) wide-eyed innocence of his vocal delivery...to the dramatic situation.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2013 “In the prayer from Rienzi Vogt is very good indeed, with the flexibility to manoeuvre his way around the sometimes delicate filigree of the vocal writing...Nott faithfully follows the dictates of the music in these small-scale performances, and the orchestra plays well for him” MusicWeb International, 29th April 2013 “though possessing an undoubted princely nobility and boyish enthusiasm well suited to the younger roles, Vogt sounds thin and strained in places...his performance seems most effective when allied to the foil of Camilla Nylund's soprano” The Independent, 22nd February 2013 |
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| |  | Kaufmann: Wagner
Kaufmann’s fifth solo album on Decca is specially recorded for the Wagner anniversary year by the world’s leading Wagner tenor. Kaufmann and Wagner is a classic combination: “For any Wagnerians who've been slumbering, Fafner-like, in their caves during the last few years, here's your wake-up call: Jonas Kaufmann is the tenor we've been waiting for” (Washington Post). A selection of the great Heldentenor scenes and arias coupled with the complete (and rarely recorded by the tenor voice) Wesendonck Lieder. Also includes scenes from Die Walküre, Siegfried , Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tannhäuser and Lohengrin (extended Grail Scene – Gralserzählung - with its original second verse). Joined by one of the most formidable combinations in the opera world today – the chorus and orchestra of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, under director Donald Runnicles – this recording is also a sonic spectacular, made in Decca’s time-honoured tradition. “As Siegmund, his dark, baritonal timbre comes into its own. In Rienzi’s Prayer and Tannhäuser’s Roman narration, his Italianate timbre — surely what Wagner wanted — easily negotiates the bel canto turns and grace notes overlooked by burlier singers...No Wagner tenor sings Lieder with such musicianship, colour and sensitivity. With this glorious disc, Kaufmann sets a standard for our time.” Sunday Times, 3rd February 2013 “a matchless Wagner recital...Tannhäuser’s Act 3 Rome Narration is a triumph of heroic timbre, dramatic intensity and musical sensibility...The gem for me is the Wesendonck Lieder, intended for soprano and yet, thanks to singing of such melting ardour, perfectly “owned” by the world’s leading Wagner tenor.” Financial Times, 2nd February 2013 ***** “When I listen to Wagner, this is how I dream it should sound.” Musical Toronto, 5th February 2013 “His artistry is exceptional. His sexy, heroic way with Siegmund, and the marvellous introversion he brings to Lohengrin's In Fernem Land, leave us in no doubt as to why he is today's interpreter of choice for both roles. Yet he brings the same insight and intensity to his new material...Best of all is Rienzi's prayer, in which his almost oceanic tone blends with the elegance of the fine Mozart singer he once was.” The Telegraph, 7th March 2013 **** “This new disc is mostly magnificent, but had me pining for more...Kaufmann may never sing Siegfried in the theatre, but the Forest Murmurs here, in an usually extended version, makes one long to hear him in the complete role; the Tannhäuser Rome Narration even more so, a shattering account...all told this is a further testimony to [Kaufmann's] lonely greatness among contemporary Wagner tenors.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 ***** “To judge from the performances on this wide-ranging sampler, the Met's new Parsifal seems ready for coronation as the reigning Wagnerian tenor of his generation.” Opera News, April 2013 “Turn immediately to the Tannhäuser excerpt...Kaufmann both darkens and stresses up his voice to portray the failed pilgrim's predicament...The other operatic excerpts...also find the tenor pushing the confines of a recital disc excitingly towards the level of live performance...the disc is something of a triumph.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013 “Kaufmann is so careful that the sudden fire of some of his operatic performances can shock...[He] lets us in to the naivety and the purity of [Siegfried]...his enacting of Tannhäuser’s “Rome Narrative...is tremendously effective...it is as near to an internal Tannhäuser as we are going to get” Opera Today, April 2013 |
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| |  | Father and SonWagner Scenes And Arias
“In the Wagnerian landscape, this is a revelation.” (Opéra) “O'Neill gave a blazing account …, confirming his place in the forefront of today's dramatic tenors.” (The Daily Telegraph) “A true heldentenor voice, with a rich, warm baritone quality in the lower registers combined with a clarion, ringing top.” (The Opera Critic) “To make this CD,” O’Neill said recently, “has been a dream of mine since my first Wagner role, Siegmund in Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera, in which I was the cover for the great Placido Domingo. This album surveys Wagner’s mature career from Lohengrin in 1850 through to Parsifal in 1882.” “This is an exciting calling card from a singer with every chance of a big Wagnerian future.” The Observer, 18th April 2010 “Bleeding chunks of Wagner can make for awkward home listening. But clever programming and the ringing heldentenor of O’Neill make this opera recital less bloody than some...O’Neill wrestles with father figures and magic swords in a voice powerful and noble.” The Times, 1st May 2010 **** “His tone is more clean-cut [than Domingo's]...silver to Domingo's gold. His delivery...[is] thrilling, and not without real character and verbal sensitivity...He is lavishly supported here by his homeland orchestra..Altogether, this recording, in good sound, is more than promising.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2010 ***** “All credit to O'Neill for being able to make so much of this difficult assignment...in the more robust passages - Siegfried's reaction to the sleeping Brünnhilde, Parsifal remembering Amfortas's suffering - [his] authority and potential are unmistakable.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Georges Thill
All tracks sung in French unless specified | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Ben Heppner sings Wagner
Ben Heppner – recognized and one of the world’s leading Heldentenors - features a selection of the finest excerpts for tenor voice from Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. Tracing the life of Wagner’s ultimate hero Siegfried from his father Siegmund (Die Walküre) to Siegfried’s youth (Siegfried) and death (Götterdämmerung), the album features famous excerpts including “Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond” and “Notung! Notung! Neidliches Schwert”, as well as orchestral excerpts such as Siegfried’s Funeral March. Supported by the excellent Staatskapelle Dresden and accomplished Wagner expert Peter Schneider, a regular guest conductor at the Bayreuth festival since the early 1980s with more than 100 conducted performances, Ben Heppner’s approach to Siegfried’s life is a supreme musical experience for every Wagner lover. “… over the last 15 years, certain Wagner roles have been the "property" of Ben Heppner – of all things, a Wagner tenor who, in addition to the requisite power, has what might be called a "conventionally beautiful" voice which he actually uses with some discretion and imagination… It's a wonderful piece of singing…” Fanfare “Ben Heppner is not scheduled to make his debut as Wagner's dwarf-beating, anvil-busting hero until 2008 (Aix, under Sir Simon Rattle) so the present disc will have to suffice as a rain check. It does so because the Canadian tenor (whom we never seem to see in the UK) is in prime vocal form and… is in constant search of original, unhackneyed line readings” Gramophone Magazine “He seems to have everything – power, stamina, a bright, truly tenorial timbre… and he has grown up vocally, through Walther and Lohengrin into Tristan, at an intelligent pace, while mixing in some Italian roles to keep the voice supple. Now, on this recital, he tackles Siegfried and Siegmund, from what we hear, he's more than ready for them and Wagnerians should be waiting in line… His combination of lyricism and sheer power are unique today: his cries of “Wälse!” are as brilliant as his “Winterstürme” is caressing and tender. He also never resorts to crooning soft moments; what we hear is a true range of dynamics, in real voice. Here and throughout his diction is impeccable and the forward placement of his voice brings real urgency to his exclamation. On to Siegfried. Not enough praise can be lavished on his Forging Song. I, certainly, have never heard it sung as effortlessly, energetically, expressively, fearlessly, and with such true boyish joy before. He attacks the music and text heroically – this Siegfried seems indomitable – and his tone never falters: it's always big and bright… The “Forest Murmurs” shows us an entirely different side of Siegfried, tender and pensive, and Heppner delivers the solo to us with beautiful tone, enraptured… Heppner's amazement is palpable, and he phrases each mood-change and new sensation with great freshness of tone… Overall, the Staatskapelle Dresden plays with lustre and rhythmic thrust. This is a stunning CD, sure to delight and tease Wagnerians. It gets the highest recommendation.” International Record Review “This is work of a resourceful, imaginative artist…” John W. Freeman, Opera News |
| | | Scheduled for release on 15 July 2013. Order it now and we will deliver it as soon as it is available. |
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| |  | Jess Thomas sings Wagner
Among the many Heldentenors are spoken of in glowing terms, perhaps none has been so unfairly neglected as Jess Thomas. Full-throated and resplendent, not a hint of strain, an amazing array of colours in the voice (from sotto voce to overpowering), he possessed an artistry that was not only a thrill in the theatre but that was beautifully caught in the recording studio – except, his studio recordings are few and far between. The only recital record of note was a showcase of Wagner arias he made with the Berlin Philharmonic (no less) and Walter Born in 1963. This recital appears in its entirety, for the first time internationally on CD, topped and tailed by scenes from Siegfried with Herbert von Karajan and the closing scene from Lohengrin, recorded ‘live’ in Bayreuth with Wolfgang Sawallisch. Born in 1927 in Hot Springs, South Dakota in the US, Thomas studied psychology at the University of Nebraska, worked for four years as a psychological adviser at a high school, and then embarked on postgraduate studies at Stanford University, California. The professor of singing there, Otto Schulmann, had worked before the war as a répétiteur for Karajan in Ulm; he heard Thomas and encouraged him to pursue a singing career. After studying intensively with Schulmann for three years and making his début in 1957 at San Francisco in the baritone role of Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier, Thomas, like most gifted American singing graduates at the time, gravitated to Germany, the home of his preferred repertoire and a country with many opera houses. He spent three years at the Karlsruhe Opera, where his first role was Lohengrin. His breakthrough in larger houses came when the opera producer Wieland Wagner, the composer’s grandson, cast him both in Parsifal at Bayreuth under Hans Knappertsbusch – with whom Thomas would enjoy some of his most memorable musical experiences – and as Radames in Berlin, under Karl Böhm. Thomas was both linguistically and musically more attracted to the greater depth, as he saw it, of Wagner’s works: ‘Wagner revolutionised the entire world of opera and not only with respect to the music, but above all in the fusion of music and drama’. He began to learn heavier Wagnerian roles such as Tannhäuser, Tristan and Siegfried. Karajan chose him as his Siegfried in his studio recording of the Ring, he recorded Lohengrin with Kempe and Hans Sachs with Keilberth. With insightful notes by Alan Newcombe, this release is a fascinating portrait of one of the greatest Wagner voices of any era. “I heard Jess Thomas the American tenor at Bayreuth last year singing Lohengrin like an angel. My simile is as yet relative, as I have not yet reached that stage, but relative also in the sense that so many of the native-born Wagnerian tenors one encounters emit sounds which to my ear do not qualify as ‘singing’ at all, being rather related to the noise newsboys make when calling a paper; i.e., a strong, carrying shout […] Mr. Thomas sings, and sings most sensitively, producing a steady flow of pleasing tone. He sings with intelligence and musicianship, too.” Gramophone Magazine |
| | | Scheduled for release on 15 July 2013. Order it now and we will deliver it as soon as it is available. |
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| |  | Mario del Monaco Vol. 3Live recordings 1948-1962
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| |  | Great Swedish Singers: Set Svanholm (1943-1958)
Set Svanholm (tenor), Florence Widgren (vocals), Inge-Gerd Norlin (vocals), Hjordis Schymberg (soprano), Birgit Nilsson (soprano), Elisabeth Soderstrom (soprano), Sigurd Bjorling (baritone) Swedish Radio Orchestra, Stockholm Royal Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Herbert Sandberg, Nils Grevillius, Sixten Ehrling, Lars-Erik Larsson, Tor Mann | |
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| |  | Giuseppe Borgatti
Giuseppe Borgatti & Isadoro Fagoaga (tenors) Giuseppe Borgatti was Italy's first truly great Wagnerian tenor. His voice was big and powerful and had a beautiful timbre withan astonishing dynamic range. It is argued that recordings do not do his voice justice, but this release will be of interest to collectors. Additional tracks are sung by Isadoro Fagoaga. All tracks sung in Italian | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Gramophone Magazine