La Voix Humaine, Poulenc’s one-act and one-character opera, is given a tour de force performance by brilliant singing actress, Dame Felicity Lott. Its appeal is enhanced further by the solo piano accompaniment of Graham Johnson.

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While performed on a practically bare stage, this production of Verdi’s infrequently played I Vespri Siciliani receives superb singing and musical direction.

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An opera virtually unknown to today’s audiences, Das Labyrinth is Peter von Winter’s sequel to Mozart’s popular Magic Flute. The outdoor Salzburg Festival performances features a mostly young cast, some stylish singing, and great stage play with clever sets. A most enjoyable watch with great sights and sounds.

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The coupling of the two Gluck Iphigénia operas is a rare occasion, served well by this updated, bare staged effort of the Nederlandse Opera. Excellent singing trumps the lack of sets and the clashing wardrobes.

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The Pergolesi revival gives us a rarely staged opera well realized by the forces in the Teatro Valeria Moriconi, Jesi. Stylized ancient costumes on a bare cruciate stage are offset by super vocalism, musical direction and recording properties.

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An unusual staging of Haydn’s rarely performed opera receives strong vocal performances. There is some shrillness in the surround version soundtrack that is not noted in the two-channel option.

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A beautifully performed and filmed Opera Australia production of a classic opera is undermined by less than ideal recorded balance between soloists on stage and orchestra in the pit. Still worth a watch, given the otherwise high performance values.

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La Forza Del Destino, one of Verdi’s darkest works, receives a decent production from the Florence May Music Festival company. The vocal strengths of the cast compensate for some pretty bare staging and unrelenting darkness of the sets

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Rigoletto, one of Verdi’s most popular operas, receives a Teatro di Regio Parma production that is beautifully shot but suffers from the vocal inadequacies of some of its principals.

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A rarely performed middle Verdi opera, this Parma production gives us a good reason to watch and welcome a work that will be unfamiliar to many operagoers.

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