Choir and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Elizabeth Kenny / Steven Devine HENRY PURCELL Dido & Aeneas

Here is England’s first great opera presented with a truly cohesive sense of theatrical purpose, one which unusually allows the drama to unfold in a close identification with each of the cameo characters… we have a supremely wide-ranging, tragic and experienced queen from the start, inhabiting the shadows of ‘Ah! Belinda’ with early signs of deplorable fate, which are accentuated by an extended symphony luxuriating poignantly on this resonating conceit… Lucy Crow’s Belinda is a splendid foil for Connolly’s self-absorption, with her astute and increasingly desperate buoying up.

(Gramophone Editor’s Choice)

There are many recordings of Dido and Aeneas, and I am convinced that this one must rank among the finest. Sarah Connolly assembled the cast and played a major part in the artistic decisions, including the insertion of pieces of additional music. She brings to the role of Dido a regal gravity that is indispensable for a convincing portrayal… The success or failure of a performance of Dido can depend on the celebrated lament. Here Sarah Connolly takes a very slow tempo, but the dramatic tension and musical direction are never in jeopardy. It is an exquisitely eloquent reading. (American Record Guide) 

From the outset, Connolly exudes imposing presence, pathos and unassailable dignity; her Act III Lament consummates a deeply-felt empathy with the role… Purcell year will doubtless bring a crop of highly cherishable performances; Connolly’s Dido already sets the bar decidedly high. (BBC Music Magazine 'Choice')

Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera / Anthony Negus MacMILLAN The Sacrifice

Chandos offers the world premiere recording of this theatrically and musically devastating opera commissioned and performed by Welsh National Opera. This is released on CD only, and not available to download. The Sacrifice, described by The Scotsman as ‘a powerful and evocative piece of music’, is a compelling and timeless story of a ruler’s ultimate sacrifice to safeguard the future of his war-torn, faction-ridden country; a story of love, revenge and reconciliation, inspired by the heightened mythical world of the Welsh folk-tales collected in The Mabinogion. With hints of Tippett, Berg, Richard Strauss and the film music of Bernard Herrmann this opera evokes the late-romantic idiom, with a twenty-first-century twist.

The powerful cast of The Sacrifice reunites a number of artists who have received great acclaim for their recent roles with Welsh National Opera – and internationally: Sarah Tynan (who sang the role of Iphis in Jephtha), Christopher Purves, Peter Hoare, Leigh Melrose and Lisa Milne.

Further praise came from Western Mail: ‘There is no mistaking James MacMillan has a popular hit on his hands, with the cries of bravo as the curtain fell on the world premiere of his new opera… MacMillan also creates music of great beauty and the act two love duet between Siân and Evan is mesmerising as are the songs given to Megan, Siân’s childlike sister, sung exquisitely by Sarah Tynan… big, bold and audience pleasing.’

“Invest in this bold set and you’ll be rewarded with singing of unflagging stamina from a strong cast (notably Lisa Milne as Sian and Christopher Purves as the General, as well as red-blooded, hugely committed contributions from the WNO Chorus and Orchestra. The audibly spellbound Cardiff audience laps it up – as, indeed, will the composer’s may admirers. Enthusiastically recommended.” (Andrew Achenbach / Gramophone)