Jonathan Kent's spectacular production of Purcell's huge semi-opera is joyous, imaginative and witty Glyndebourne, with its intimate auditorium, provides the perfect setting for a drama which is partly spoken and partly sung. Based on an adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the story is lavished with a brilliance that justifies this production's acclaim. Paul Brown's inventive designs, Kim Brandstrup's exquisite choreography, an excellent cast of actors and singers and outstanding playing by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under William Christie combine to make a seamless theatrical experience, here recorded in High Definition and true surround sound.

This live recording of Ariadne auf Naxos in October 2014 took place not only at the site of the opera premiere of the version of the opera that we are best familiar with these days, but it also testifies Christian Thielemann’s first conducting engagement of a scenic performance of a Strauss opera at the opera house on the Ring. The cast includes Soile Isokoski as Ariadne, Johan Botha - in one of his latest performances before his untimely death - as Bachus, Daniela Fally as Zerbinetta, Sophie Koch as the composer, Jochen Schmeckenbecher as the music teacher and Peter Matic as the dancing master. Many attendees of the premiere of Strauss’ first version of Ariadne - which was intended to succeed Moliere’s Le Bourgeois gentilhomme and for this reason was six hours long - felt that they had just been part of a first-rate funeral.

David Daniels' Rinaldo is surely the equal of his illustrious 18th -century predeccessors. His countertenor is one of the most accomplished voices I have heard… As Arimda, Noemi Nadelmann's voices started where her legs ended, and shet hrew coloratura at us as though it was going out of fashion (astride her pet Hydra being a particularly fabulous show-stopper). David Walker as Goffredo is no vocal sluch either; his voice is brighter edged than Daniels', and almostb as fluent.

Tancredi, which was based on Tasso’s epic poem Gerusalemme Liberata and was first heard in 1813, is most widely remembered for its overture, but this excellent Naxos set makes a strong case for the piece. It completely displaces the previous versions from Sony and RCA, and the eminent Rossini scholar and conductor, Alberto Zedda, proves a far more resilient, generally brisker and lighter Rossini interpreter than his predecessors. Sumi Jo is superb as the heroine, Amenaide, in dazzlingly clear coloratura, as well as imaginative pointing of phrase, rhythm and words.

The Opera\-Oratorio Passio Christi narrates the events of the Lords Passion from the Last Supper to the dawn of Resurrection. The story is told through the feelings and emotions of some of the characters who took part in it in various ways: Peter, Judas, the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, the Cyrenean, the soldier Longinus and the Angels. Each character sings the verses of the saints and poets of the world in a different language (Italian, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Latin and ancient Greek) to represent the whole world before the mystery of human suffering. The dramatic structure of the Opera follows the ancient structure of the Sacred Representations: in fact, its original form is designed for dramatization and scenic action. The events of the Gospel are interspersed with the arias of the various characters, which constitute a sort of cinematographic still image.

A genius with the ability to combine French and Italian influences in an art that transported the English language, Purcell may be William Christie's favourite composer.This production of Dido and Aeneas, directed by Deborah Warner and interpreted by Les Arts Florissants, was overwhelmingly acclaimed when created at the Vienna Festival in 2006 and again when repeated at the Opéra Comique in 2008.This short opera, one of the earliest, is particularly dear to William Christie who has recorded and directed it on several occasions.

It is probably now or never. With classic older sets vying with a clutch of more recent recordings, there is currently as complete and interesting an array of recordings of Rossini's La Cenerentola as we are likely to get at any one time. Among recent versions, Chailly's new Decca set is self-evidently a powerful contender. Cecilia Bartoli is arguably the most personable and musically accomplished Cenerentola since Teresa Berganza recorded the role with Abbado in 1971; and there is a strong cast of supporting principals, among them Alessandro Corbelli who offers the best characterized Dandini since Bruscantini. (With the added advantage of being far more technically expert in fioriture passages than was his distinguished predecessor.)

Cecilia Bartoli remains one of the world's finest Rossini singers and she proves it again with Il Turco in Italia, her 1st complete Rossini recording since 1993. The performance was recorded in Milan, with the power of the La Scala Orchestra & Chorus and the best Rossini an cast possible, led - of course - by Cecilia Bartoli's coloratura, more brilliant than ever.

Betrayal, sorcery and one dazzling aria after the next…Ovid's Queen Niobe of Thebes, who turns to stone when her children are slain by the gods as punishment for her arrogance and pride, is the subject of this forgotten 1688 masterpiece. The Italian composer-priest Agostino Steffani languished in obscurity until the opera was rediscovered recently; the Boston Early Music Festival give its world-premiere studio recording with Karina Gauvin in the psychologically complex title role, and countertenor Phillipe Jaroussky singing 'powerfully and sweetly' (The New York Times) as Niobe's husband Anfione, driven to suicide in the face of family tragedy.

The success of his first opéra comique Le Huron (1769) won André-Modeste Grétry the high esteem and personal friendship of the Dauphine, after which the French court opened its doors to him and several of his works were performed there in succession. Official confirmation of his status came in 1773, when Louis XV and his court commissioned him to write a large-scale work for a special occasion: this was to be Céphale et Procris.

“Levine's version of Luisa Miller consistently demonstrates his Verdian mastery, and not just in the best-known masterpieces…Not only in Levine's conducting but also in the sets and costumes of Nathanial Merrill's production the attractive rustic element of the piece is effectively brought out.” (Penguin Guide)

Few singers have fused words and music as eloquently as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and few sopranos have proved more radiant in Strauss. All this makes her the ideal protagonist in the composer’s final opera, his ingenious and engaging ‘conversation piece’ on artistic themes. Schwarzkopf is joined by a cast of superlative stature and style and by a conductor intimately identified with the works of Strauss, Wolfgang Sawallisch.

A newly written opera about Kirsten Flagstad! In Flagstad - An Opera we get close to our biggest international opera star. The woman called "the Voice of the Century" looks back on her turbulent life, in a work written by Ketil Bjørnstad and Einar Bjørge.