Puccini reviews

Madam Butterfly: a guide to Puccini's famous opera and its best recordings

Alexandra Wilson finds the best recordings of Puccini’s controversial opera about a devastating romantic encounter between East and West

Puccini: La bohème (DVD)

Sonya Yoncheva, Charles Castronovo et al; Royal Opera House Orchestra/Emmanuel Villaume (Opus Arte / DVD)

Passione (Freddie de Tommaso)

Freddie De Tommaso (tenor); London Philharmonic Orchestra/Renato Balsadonna (Decca)

Puccini: La Fanciulla del West

Melody Moore, et al; Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra/Lawrence Foster (Pentatone)

I Am Hera

Hera Hyesang Park (soprano); Vienna Symphony Orchestra/Bertrand de Billy (DG)

Italian Opera Arias (Linda Richardson)

Linda Richardson (soprano); Sinfonia of London/John Wilson (Chandos)

Puccini: Il Tabarro

Melody Moore, et al; MDR Leipzig Radio Choir; Dresden Philharmonic/Marek Janowski (Pentatone)

The best recordings of Puccini’s Tosca

Alexandra Wilson plunges into a world of love, lust, deception and violence as she names the best recordings of Puccini’s dramatic opera, Tosca

Hymns of Love (Dmytro Popov)

Dmytro Popov (tenor); Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Mikhail Simonyan (Orchid Classics)

Puccini: Suor Angelica (Florence, 2019)

María José Siri, Anna Maria Chiuri (voices); Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Valerio Galli (Dynamic, DVD)

Puccini - Gianni Schicchi

Bruno de Simone, Francesca Longari, et al; Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Dynamic/DVD)

Anima Rara

Ermonela Jaho (soprano), et al (Opera Rara)

Amour éternel

Ekaterina Siurina (soprano), et al; Kaunas Symphony/Constantine Orbelian (Delos)

Vincerò!

Piotr Beczala (tenor) (Pentatone)

Puccini: Il tabarro

Franco Vasallo, Angelo Villari et al; Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Dynamic/DVD)

Desire

Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano); Morphing Chamber Orchestra/Frédéric Chaslin (Sony Classical)

Puccini: Turandot

Iréne Theorin, Gregory Kunde, et al; Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Real/Nicola Luisotti (Bel Air Classiques/DVD)

Puccini: La Fanciulla del West

Emily Magee, Roberto Aronica, Claudio Sgura, Bruno Lazzaretti, John Paul Huckle; Chorus & Orchestra of the Teatro di San Carlo/Juraj Valčuha; dir. Hugo de Ana (Dynamic; DVD)

Maria Callas: Magic Moments of Music

Maria Callas et al; Orchestra of the Royal Opera House/Carlo Felice Cillario; dir. Holger Preusse (C Major, DVD)

Puccini in Love: various duets

Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano), Roberto Alagna (tenor); Sinfonia Varsovia/Riccardo Frizza (Sony)

Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Maria José Siri, Carlos Álvarez, Bryan Hymel, Annalisa Stroppa; La Scala Chorus & Orchestra/Riccardo Chailly; dir. Alvis Hermanis (Decca)

Italian Masterworks

Riccardo Zanellato, Chicago Children’s Choir; Chicago Symphony Chorus & Orchestra/Riccardo Muti (CSO)

Puccini: La bohème

Michael Fabiano, Nicole Car, Simona Mihai et al; Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House/Antonio Pappano; dir. Richard Jones (Opus Arte, DVD)