Music / opera

Orfeo & Euridice


Reviews (30)


AllMusic

2019

By

By

James Manheim

2019

"The early music group La Nuova Musica and leader David Bates keep things moving; the entire opera fits on a single CD. However, each detail is carefully considered and vivid. Sample the beginning of Act II, with the chorus warning of the furies of hell and Orfeo entering with his famous lyre. Orfeo is a plum countertenor role, but the sheer beauty of Iestyn Davies' performance here ranks among the greats, and he's ably backed by sopranos Sophie Bevan and Rebecca Bottone. A superior Orfeo ed Euridice".


MusicWeb international

2024 May

By

By

Daniel Floyd

2024 May

"This new release, conducted by Stefan Plewniak, replaces Jacobs as my reference. The countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński, who exudes genuine passion without ever sounding exaggerated or striving for effect, portrays a lovelorn Orfeo ... Elsa Dreisig's fervid, beautiful 'Qual vita è questa mai - Che fiero momento!' leaves no doubt that Euridice's entreaties for Orfeo to look at her are irresistible. Fatma Said gives Amore a flirtatious, ingratiating personality ... The choir and orchestra of Il Giardino d'Amore, conducted by Plewniak, play and sing immaculately with panache and verve ... Orliński states that it has been his long-standing dream to record this role. This recording is a triumph for him and, taken as a whole, a standard against which other interpretations of Orfeo ed Euridice must be measured".


DR musik

2015 uge 46

By

By

Jens Cornelius

2015 uge 46

"Vurdering: Ugens album" - "Kontratenoren Franco Fagioli har et meget stort stemmeomfang og en bel canto teknik, der gør ham i stand til at synge uendeligt lange fraseringer ... Orkestret spiller på originalinstrumenter fra 1700-tallet og det franske kor Accentus er usædvanligt velklingende. En helt igennem lækker operaindspilning".


Politiken

d. 4. Aug. 2018

By

By

Thomas Michelsen

d. 4. Aug. 2018

"Orfeus skal med sin sang og sit lyrespil blødgøre frygtelige furier og vrede uhyrer på sin vej, før han når frem til sin kone på les champs-élysées. Desværre lyder Jaroussky selv lidt som en gammel furie, når han lige i første omgang oplader sin røst ... Man kan finde mange indspilninger af denne Glucks kendteste opera, men på den seneste udgivelse er der både en fin friskhed i instrumenterne og gode stemmer i spil. Philippe Jaroussky selv slipper til dels furieklangen i rollen som Orfeus, og den amerikanske sopran Forsythe med det passende fornavn Amanda ... lyder lyrisk, men har tilpas fedme i klangen, mens hendes ungarske soprankollega Emöke Baráth har sødme i stemmen som Amor".


Kristeligt dagblad

d. 9. June 2010

By

By

Jakob Holm

d. 9. June 2010

"De færreste tenorer har kastet sig ud i dette strabadserende værk grundet de voldsomme tekniske krav, men Flórez forsøger her - med et svingende resultat til følge. Han synger for så vidt smukt og fejlfrit med perfekt intonation og relativ klarhed i højden, men hans tørre, lettere nasale klang indfanger ikke den tragiske stemning ... Formodentlig en udgave, der hurtigt vil blive glemt".


Politiken

d. 5. Nov. 2015

By

By

Thomas Michelsen

d. 5. Nov. 2015

"Det råder Equilbey bod på ved på den første af udgivelsens tre cd'er at levere en forkortet version af operaen ... Men på de to følgende skiver er det Glucks rene originalversion, som den kunne høres i Wien, der synges og spilles, og det er gode kræfter, Laurence Equilbey råder over ... hun får det maksimale ud af sit Accentus-kor, der synger klart og smukt, selv om det desværre står lidt diffust på optagelsen. Malin Hartelius er en Eurydike med bid i, men det er kontratenoren Franco Fagioli, der er showets stjerne".


Jyllands-posten

d. 3. Oct. 2005

By

d. 3. Oct. 2005


Jyllands-posten

d. 27. Aug. 2001

By

d. 27. Aug. 2001


Jyllands-posten

d. 5. July 2004

By

d. 5. July 2004


BBC music magazine

2010 June

By

By

Anna Picard

2010 June

"Here Flórez's rapid vibrato and sweetness give the impression of gliding brightly above the music. His ia an elgant, aloof Orpheus".


BBC music magazine

2024 June

By

By

Ashutosh Khandekar

2024 June

"Opera choice: Orliński is the mastermind behind the recording, made in his native Poland with a Polish orchestra and chorus. Credited as artistic director, he also sings the role of Orfeo with searing intensity, every phrase taking us on a rollercoaster ride from hope to despair and back ... French-Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig is a wonderfull feisty Euridice ... It all ends happily in this 1762 first version of Gluck's opera ... [A] fresh, lively and surely definitive recording of a time-honoured story".


Fono Forum

2024 Mai

By

By

Manuel Brug

2024 Mai


Klassisk

2015, nr. 39

By

By

Andrew Mellor

2015, nr. 39

"Laurence Equilbey tror på kraften i den oprindelige udgave [Wien 1762] ... Accentus har ikke den klareste klang, men de synger med glimrende vokaler og kollektiv kraft ... Fagioli er også noget særligt ... ejer en bemærkelsesværdig evne til at holde liv i tonen ... Emmanuelle de Negri og Malin Hartelius slår mig begge som mere varierede og nuancerede ... Denne indspilning er et godt sted at starte".


Fono Forum

2015 Dezember

By

By

Matthias Hengelbrock

2015 Dezember

"Das in der Bläser-Stericher-Balance etwas disproportionierte Insula orchestra agiert auf dem heute üblichen hohen Niveau ohne stilistische Besonderheiten, und auch der Chor accentus macht seine Sache ordentlich, ohne dass man ihm die Qualitäten eines Stuttgarter Kammerchors attestieren könnte".


Diapason

2015 novembre

By

By

Jean-Philippe Grosperrin

2015 novembre


BBC music magazine

2015 Christmas

By

By

Max Loppert

2015 Christmas

"Only when the rare singer-actor is cast capable of tackling the role with tonal strength, verbal sensivity and dramatic intensity do Gluck's words make full, powerful sense. Hence my disappointment ... Its Orfeo, Argentinian Franco Fagioli, lacks to my ears those essential Gluckian qualities listed above".


BBC music magazine

2019 Christmas

By

By

Berta Joncus

2019 Christmas

"Opera choice: Bates is, like Gluck, wonderfully radical. Where other directors smooth over disjunctions, he revels in rupture ... This is directorship at its most alert, and aiding Bates is an optimal cast ... Iestyn Davies radiates Orfeo's impassioned tenderness, changing vocal colours as the drama demands. Sophie Bevan's Euridice swings, with blazing bravura and increasing intensity, from anguish to narcissism ... It's the stuff of Gluck's dreams".


Fono Forum

2020 März

By

By

Gerhard Persché

2020 März

"Bates hat sich mit senem Vokal- und Instrumentalensemble La Nuova Musica für diese Live-Einspielung eine frisch akzentuierte, knackige Partiturexegese zurechtgelegt, lebendiges Chiaroscuro, allem romantisch Schwammigen abhold ... Counter Iestyn Davies ist ein Orfeo von hohem stimmlichen Adel, wobei die Partie ihm ein Gran zu tief liegen scheint. Sophie Bevan als Euridice sowie Rebecca Bottone als Amore singen auf gutem Niveau. Man darf die Aufnahme ohne weiteres zu den erfreulichen Ereignissen in der Schallplattenrezeption dieses Werks zählen".


Operabladet Ascolta

(2013) 32. årgang nr. 3

By

By

Henrik Marcussen

(2013) 32. årgang nr. 3

"Smukt udført med den dengang helt unge Grace Bumbry, men forekommer i dag altmodisch i den for tiden typiske musikalske iklædning".


The gramophone

2010 June

By

By

Richard Fairman

2010 June

"Flórez is the centre of attention in this stylish live recording from Madrid ... Needless to say, the high quality of Flórez's singing never falters for a second. There is no harshness to be heard and his intonation is never suspect. From the opening scene he sings the most aristocratic of legato lines, which are a constant source of pleasure ... Is he a moving Orphée? Yes and no ... he rarely responds in detail to the shifting moods of the drama".


The gramophone

2024 July

By

By

Richard Lawrence

2024 July

"It is clear from his introductory note in the booklet that the movind spirit behing this recording is Jakub Józef Orliński ... The result is a fine account of Gluck's opera in the original version of 1762 ... Orliński's countertenor is well suited to the role [Orfeo]. The sweetnes of his tone, smooth across his entire compass, is apparent from his first aria ... Elsa Dreisig is a strong Euridice, giving Orfeo a really hard time when she complains of his apparent coolness on their journey back from the Underworld ... The orchestra and 15-strong chorus of Il Giardino Amore play and sing beautifully, and Plewniak conducts with a sure hand".


Klassisk

2024, nr. 73

By

By

Andrew Mellor

2024, nr. 73

"Den breakdansende polske kontratenor Jakub Józef Orliński ikke bare indtager titelpartiet på denne nye indspilning, men er også producent, casting director og kunstnerisk leder (sammen med Stefan Plewniak, der dirigerer) ... Sopranerne Elsa Dreisig og Fatma Said medvirker også på denne udgivelse".


The gramophone

2015 October

By

By

Tim Ashley

2015 October

"Vocally its often impressive ... [One] cannot help but be struck here by his [Fagioli] even purity of line, the androgynous beauty of his tone and his sparing use of those baritonal lower registers ... Equilbey and the Insula Orchestra are painstaking in their re-creation of Gluck's original sound world: period strings and brass underscore the harshness of Orfeo's isolation where the warmer sound of conventional instruments tends to console ... The choral singing from Accentus [is] exceptional in its nobility and fervour".


The gramophone

2019 December

By

By

Richard Lawrence

2019 December

"Editor's choice: The chorus has much to do, and I lost count of the number of times it ravished the ear ... The orchestra, too, is extremely accomplished ... The soloists are magnificent. Iestyn Davies sings smoothly throughout ... Sophie Bevan comes across powerfully, getting more and more stroppy as she rails at Orfeo for not looking at her. Rebecca Bottone has a perfect voice for Amore (Cupid), light and bright ... High praise, then, for David Bates and his ensemble".


Operabladet Ascolta

(2002) 20. årgang nr. 6

By

(2002) 20. årgang nr. 6


Weekendavisen

d. 14. May 2004

By

d. 14. May 2004


Berlingske tidende

d. 18. May 2004

By

d. 18. May 2004


Kristeligt dagblad

d. 7. June 2004

By

d. 7. June 2004


Operabladet Ascolta

(2002) 21. årgang nr. 4

By

(2002) 21. årgang nr. 4



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