Top Discs for 2014

Recommendations for discs are coming in at this time of year.  We start with recital discs:

Opera News:

The Year’s Top Twelve Recital Discs

• Ildar Abdrazakov, Power Players (Delos) 
• Cecilia Bartoli, St. Petersburg (Decca) 
• Nicole Cabell, Chanson d’Avril (Delos) 
• Max Emanuel Cencic, Rokoko (Decca) 
• Alice Coote, Handel Arias (Hyperion) 
• Sabine Devieilhe, Le Grand Théâtre de L’Amour (Erato) 
• Vittorio Grigòlo, The Romantic Hero (Sony) 
• Thomas Hampson, Notturno (DG) 
• Dmitri Hvorostovsky, The Bells of Dawn (Ondine) 
• Jonas Kaufmann, You Mean the World to Me (Sony) 
• Olga Peretyatko, Arabesque (Sony) 
• Anna Prohaska, Behind the Lines (DG) 

Classical Grammys:

• Douce France Anne Sofie Von Otter; Bengt Forsberg, accompanist (Carl Bagge, Margareta Bengston, Mats Bergström, Per Ekdahl, Bengan Janson, Olle Linder & Antoine Tamestit) Label: Naïve 
• Porpora: Arias Philippe Jaroussky; Andrea Marcon, conductor (Cecilia Bartoli; Venice Baroque Orchestra) Label: Erato 
• Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin Florian Boesch; Malcolm Martineau, accompanist Label: Onyx 
• Stella Di Napoli Joyce DiDonato; Riccardo Minasi, conductor (Chœur De L'Opéra National De Lyon; Orchestre De L'Opéra National De Lyon) Label: Erato/Warner Classics 
• Virtuoso Rossini Arias Lawrence Brownlee; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (Kansas City Symphony Orchestra) Label: Delos 

BBC Music has its own awards:

• Strauss, Fauré, Debussy, Strauss: Die erwachte Rose; Mädchenblumen Op. 22; other lieder Christiane Karg (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano) Wigmore Hall Live WHLive 0062 
• An die Geliebte Songs by Beethoven, Strauss, Weber and Wolf Julian Prégardien (tenor), Christoph Schnackertz (piano) Myrios MYR012 
• Stella di Napoli Arias by Puccini, Bellini, Donizetti, Mercadante, etc Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano); Orchestre et Choeur de L’Opéra de Lyon/Riccardo Minasi Erato 2564636562

In addition are suggestions for opera DVDs

Opera News:

• BACH: Johannes-Passion (Peter Sellars, Berliner Philharmoniker; Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings) 
• GLUCK: Orfeo ed Euridice (Ondřej Havelka, Baroque Theatre of Český Krumlov Castle; Arthaus Musik) 
• MOZART: Die Zauberflöte (Robert Carsen, Festspiele Baden-Baden; Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings) 
• R. STRAUSS: Elektra (Patrice Chéreau, Aix-en-Provence; BelAir Classiques) 
• WAGNER: Parsifal (François Girard, Metropolitan Opera; Sony) 

The Opera Awards:

• David et Jonathas (Charpentier), c. William Christie, p. Andreas Homoki (Bel Air Classiques) 
• The Gambler (Prokofiev), c. Valery Gergiev, p. Temur Chkheidze (Mariinsky) 
• Médée (Cherubini), c. Christophe Rousset, p. Krzysztof Warlikowski (Bel Air Classiques) 
• Moby-Dick (Heggie), c. Patrick Summers, p. Leonard Foglia (Euroarts) 
• Pelléas et Mélisande (Debussy), c. Stefan Soltesz, p. Nikolaus Lehnhoff (Arthaus) 
• The Rape of Lucretia (Britten), c. Paul Daniel, p. David McVicar (Opus Arte) 
• The Tempest (Adès), c. Thomas Adès, p. Robert Lepage (DG) 

It is interesting the complete lack of overlap in these lists, except for Stella di Napoli.