Recommended Recordings

We are frequently asked to recommend recordings for our upcoming productions. To help give our audience members some listening options, Chad Calvert (Opera Carolina's Resident Stage Director) has gone through the current CD catalog and given us reviews for his top picks.

Indicate "Chad's Choice" or the recording he likes the best.

Roméo et Juliette

What to see and hear.

Angela Gheorgiu, Roberto Alagna, José Van Dam, Simon Keenlyside.
Toulouse Capitole Orchestra et Choeur, Michel Plasson. EMI Classics (3 discs/enhanced CD).

This is probably the best complete modern recording of Romeo: it offers the best combination of singing and style since the 1912 Paris recording under Ruhlmann—and it's uncut. Performances by the leads, husband-and-wife team Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu, are stunning in their clarity and emotion. Conductor Michel Plasson evokes an excellent performance from his orchestra and choir as well as his featured singers—especially the Frère Laurent of Jose Van Dam. For the computer savvy, there's a real treat if you pop a disc into your CD-ROM drive: This "Enhanced CD" explores the history of the story and its adaptation. It also includes biographies of the composer, cast and librettists and a libretto that scrolls in synch with the audio portion of the CD. There is also a highlights version available.

Posted: Friday, October 12th @ 11:13am

Plácido Domingo, Ruth Anne Swenson, Alastair Miles, Susan Graham
Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra , Leonard Slatkin. RCA Victor Red Seal (2 discs).

This is a runner-up set, this time with the traditional cuts. Domingo and Swenson are polished and in fine voice (if less idiomatic than the Alagnas) as the star-crossed lovers, Susan Graham is delightful in Stephano's one aria, and Alastair Miles is a thoughtful, sonorous Laurent. Slatkin's conducting, while generous with his singers, is a bit short on character and brio. Highlights available.

Also of note:
The above-mentioned Ruhlmann set is a collector's item—Malibran Music has a highlights disc, or you may try to find the complete set on VAI Audio. The 1947 Met Historic Broadcast with Bjoerling and Sayão is pretty irresistible for sheer singing (despite severe cuts), but is also pretty difficult to find. The Covent Garden video (Pioneer LD, Kultur VHS) features effective staging by Nicholas Joël, superb conducting by Charles Mackerras, and stars a passionate and convincing Roberto Alagna.

Posted: Friday, October 12th @ 11:13am

Past Reviews

Amahl & the Night Visitors
Cinderella (La Cenerentola)
La Bohème
La Traviata
La Vida Breve
Lucia di Lammermoor
Macbeth
Madama Butterfly
Pagliacci
Porgy & Bess
Rigoletto
Roméo et Juliette
Samson & Delilah
The Magic Flute
The Pearl Fishers
The Pirates of Penzance
Tosca