Puccini reviews
Puccini's La bohème: the best recordings of this masterful opera
Christopher Cook braces himself against the Parisian winter cold as he selects the best recordings of Puccini’s most heart-wrenching, ‘perfectly constructed’ opera, La bohème
Madam Butterfly: a guide to Puccini's controversial masterpiece and its best recordings
Alexandra Wilson finds the best recordings of Puccini’s controversial opera about a devastating romantic encounter between East and West
Puccini: La bohème (DVD)
Sonya Yoncheva, Charles Castronovo et al; Royal Opera House Orchestra/Emmanuel Villaume (Opus Arte / DVD)
Passione (Freddie de Tommaso)
Freddie De Tommaso (tenor); London Philharmonic Orchestra/Renato Balsadonna (Decca)
Puccini: La Fanciulla del West
Melody Moore, et al; Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra/Lawrence Foster (Pentatone)
I Am Hera
Hera Hyesang Park (soprano); Vienna Symphony Orchestra/Bertrand de Billy (DG)
Italian Opera Arias (Linda Richardson)
Linda Richardson (soprano); Sinfonia of London/John Wilson (Chandos)
Puccini: Il Tabarro
Melody Moore, et al; MDR Leipzig Radio Choir; Dresden Philharmonic/Marek Janowski (Pentatone)
The best recordings of Puccini’s Tosca
Alexandra Wilson plunges into a world of love, lust, deception and violence as she names the best recordings of Puccini’s dramatic opera, Tosca
Hymns of Love (Dmytro Popov)
Dmytro Popov (tenor); Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Mikhail Simonyan (Orchid Classics)
Puccini: Suor Angelica (Florence, 2019)
María José Siri, Anna Maria Chiuri (voices); Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Valerio Galli (Dynamic, DVD)
Puccini - Gianni Schicchi
Bruno de Simone, Francesca Longari, et al; Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Dynamic/DVD)
Anima Rara
Ermonela Jaho (soprano), et al (Opera Rara)
Amour éternel
Ekaterina Siurina (soprano), et al; Kaunas Symphony/Constantine Orbelian (Delos)
Vincerò!
Piotr Beczala (tenor) (Pentatone)
Puccini: Il tabarro
Franco Vasallo, Angelo Villari et al; Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Dynamic/DVD)
Desire
Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano); Morphing Chamber Orchestra/Frédéric Chaslin (Sony Classical)
Puccini: Turandot
Iréne Theorin, Gregory Kunde, et al; Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Real/Nicola Luisotti (Bel Air Classiques/DVD)
Puccini: La Fanciulla del West
Emily Magee, Roberto Aronica, Claudio Sgura, Bruno Lazzaretti, John Paul Huckle; Chorus & Orchestra of the Teatro di San Carlo/Juraj Valčuha; dir. Hugo de Ana (Dynamic; DVD)
Maria Callas: Magic Moments of Music
Maria Callas et al; Orchestra of the Royal Opera House/Carlo Felice Cillario; dir. Holger Preusse (C Major, DVD)
Puccini in Love: various duets
Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano), Roberto Alagna (tenor); Sinfonia Varsovia/Riccardo Frizza (Sony)
Puccini: Madama Butterfly
Maria José Siri, Carlos Álvarez, Bryan Hymel, Annalisa Stroppa; La Scala Chorus & Orchestra/Riccardo Chailly; dir. Alvis Hermanis (Decca)
Italian Masterworks
Riccardo Zanellato, Chicago Children’s Choir; Chicago Symphony Chorus & Orchestra/Riccardo Muti (CSO)
Puccini: La bohème
Michael Fabiano, Nicole Car, Simona Mihai et al; Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House/Antonio Pappano; dir. Richard Jones (Opus Arte, DVD)