This production of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro caused a sensation when it first came out, stunning critics and audiences alike with its perfect balance of joyous humor, improvisatory brilliance, and always subtle music-making.

With this opera, Verdi composed a true music drama. For this great early opera, he demanded from his librettist Francesco Maria Piave a text that would have “extravagance, originality brevity and sublimity.” Thomas Hampson made a triumphant début in the title role of Verdi’s Macbeth in this Zurich Opera production, with Paoletta Marrocu as his beautiful, power-hungry wife. In David Pountney’s hard-edged, post-modern production duality of man and woman is constantly brought into question. His Macbeth is not just a story about the usurpation of a crown with supernatural intervention, it resonates with symbolic references to the battle of the sexes and throws into sharp relief the link between power and gender. A strong supporting cast draws a top quality performance from the Zurich Opera Orchestra.

Hot on the heels of the Gramophone Award-winning account of Schmidt’s Fourth Symphony (1/96) Franz Welser-Most has turned his attention to another undervalued late-romantic Austrian masterpiece. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find this disc on the nomination lists for next year’s Awards.

The most comprehensive edition devoted to Gioachino Rossini marking his 150th anniversary.
Born in 1792, Rossini was the most popular opera composer of his time. Although he retired from the Opera scene in 1829, he continued to compose in other genres, including sacred music, piano and chamber works. He did gather his late works under the ironic title Péchés de vieillesse (Sins of Old Age), which veils a true collection of masterworks.

“…Fleming looks fabulous, knows and can deliver good German, and can sing this role at least as well as anyone on the planet at the moment. But it's a shame that all concerned did not wait for a genuinely new production to preserve. This run-through of an old staging… is fluent and energetic… but it is not an evening pregnant with dramatic insight. In the pit Welser-Möst is an efficient, unemotional guide to the score…” (Gramophone Magazine)

It was hard to muster much enthusiasm for Welser-Möst’s soft-grained, untheatrical approach to Mozart’s score and his careful avoidance of appoggiaturas, though it has to be admitted that the clarinet and basset-horn obbligatos — their players not credited in the program — sounded ravishing. Welser-Möst’s beat could certainly have been fueled by some extra zest, his syncopations by stronger incisiveness. Little was made of the explosive clashes of contrasting keys, Welser-Möst’s opera gentile dallyings replacing Mozart’s needed opera seria gravitas.

This stylish and beautifully sung and acted 2006 performance of Don Giovanni from the Zurich Opera House should be of strong interest to anyone who loves the opera. The production, directed by Sven-Eric Bechtolf with costumes by Marianne Glittenberg and particularly striking sets by Rolf Glittenberg, is visually and dramatically dazzling. The timeframe is contemporary, but the clever trompe l'oeil set suggests the infinitely receding stage depth that flourished in 18th century scenic design. Don Giovanni's palace is a cosmopolitan playboy's penthouse, and the costumes clearly define the social standing of the characters in modern terms. It would be hard to imagine a Don Giovanni more suave, seductive, and confident than Simon Keenlyside; he's a terrific actor and he perfectly conveys the casual arrogance and entitlement that can attend someone well aware of his own attractiveness. His singing is every bit as fine as his acting; his tone is large and warm, his lines soar lyrically, and he has the effortless-sounding agility necessary for the rapid-fire recitative and arias like "Fin ch'han dal vino." The entire cast is vocally superb, if not consistently as dramatically assured as Keenlyside.

La Traviata, Giuseppe Verdi very personal opera, was premiered in 1853 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. The first night was a fiasco, but after a few revisions the opera set out to conquer the world. La Traviata offers no scope for grandiose crowd scenes or historical pomp. In keeping with the intimate nature of the action, Verdi’s music reflects the inner feelings of the protagonists. The heroine, whose emotional state is determined by external circumstances, is in the centre of the story of emotional upheavals. Jürgen Flimm haunting staging stays close to Verdi’s intent. He focuses on the protagonists, showing their shakiness, emotions, despair, love, sacrifice and tragedy rather than concentrating on the abysses of the Parisian demi-monde. Eva Mei and Piotr Beczala are a perfectly matched couple. Her soft and flexible soprano and his lyrical tenor, marked by excellent diction, work very well together, joined by the “golden” voice of outstanding Thomas Hampson.

Seen by millions on TV worldwide, the yearly traditional Wiener Philharmoniker’s New Year's Concert from Vienna is one of the best-known classical events in the world. The New Year's Concert, presented in the glittering Musikverein, features a charming programme that offers perennial favourites alongside some intriguing Strauss premieres. The 2011 concert is conducted by Austrian-born Franz Welser-Möst - newly installed as the music director of the Vienna State Opera and a favourite with Viennese concertgoers.