A benchmark recording of Rossini's Semiramide from Mark Elder

'Semiramide has more than its share of grandness, and in the trumpet-crowned procession as the Queen of Babylon prepares to announce her choice of king you can't help but hear a pre-echo of Verdi's Aida, still nearly 50 years in the future.

'Elder always has an ear for the lightness in such episodes, and they sound hearty but never bombastic. The Opera Rara Chorus sings some tough music thrillingly well.'

Rossini

Semiramide

Albina Shagimuratova, Daniela Barcellona, Mirco Palazzi, Barry Banks, Gianluca Buratto, Susana Gaspar, David Butt Philip, James Platt (voices); Opera Rara Chorus; Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Sir Mark Elder

Opera Rara ORC57 231.03 mins (4 discs)

Freya Parr

Published: October 30, 2018 at 11:43 am

'Elder always has an ear for the lightness in such episodes, and they sound hearty but never bombastic. The Opera Rara Chorus sings some tough music thrillingly well.'

Rossini

Semiramide

Opera Rara ORC57 231.03 mins (4 discs)

Media Files :

Freya Parr

Digital Editor and Staff Writer, BBC Music Magazine

Freya Parr is BBC Music Magazine's digital editor and staff writer, editing and writing on all styles of music across both the website and print magazine. She has also written for titles including the Guardian, Circus Journal, Frankie and Suitcase Magazine, and runs The Noiseletter, a fortnightly arts and culture publication. Freya's main areas of interest and research lie in 20th-century and contemporary music. She's a regular sea shanty singer, folk obsessive and occasional flautist, pianist, organist and musical theatre director.

A benchmark recording of Rossini's Semiramide from Mark Elder

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