Operaramblings was never intended as a source of reviews for audio recordings of standard operatic rep.  There are plenty of those and, anyway, the sheer size of the back catalogue would make creating a useful reference source virtually impossible.  However, a significant number of audio recordings do come my way and so I have created an index of my reviews of them. It’s mostly a mixture of rarities (especially French ones), recital disks (mostly Canadian singers), new music (much of it Canadian) and audiophile material (see note at the bottom of the page). I have divided the list into disks containing works by one composer (more or less) and recitals. 

indicates a hybrid SACD release

Works by one or two composers

Abrahamsen – let me tell you – Hannigan, BRSO, Nelsons
Adams – Doctor Atomic – BBC Symphony, composer
Ahvenniemi – Soundtrack for an Imaginary Opera – Various singers and instrumentalists
Al-Zand – The Leader and other works – Various singers and instrumentalists
Albarn – Dr. Dee – ENO
Anderson – What She Saw – Arky, Salamon, Rodgers, Still
Beethoven – Symphony no.9 – Tafelmusik
Beethoven – Symphony no.9 – Bayreuth, Furtwängler
Beethoven – Folk Songs – Bohnet, Johannsen, Klimbacher, Herzer, Christelbauer, Bartos
Berg and Mahler – Sehnsucht – Hannigan, Steffani, Camerata RCO, Verbeek
Berlioz – L’Enfance du Christ – Melbourne Symphony, Davis, soloists
Berlioz – Symphonie Fantastique etc – Toronto Symphony, Davis
Bernstein – Candide – soloists, LSO, Alsop
Bertin – Fausto – soloists, Les Talens Lyriques, Rousset
Blais – mouvance – LeBlanc etc
Bliss – The Enchantress etc – BBC Symphony, Davis, soloists
Boesmans – On purge bébé – La Monnaie/De Munt
Bowles – A Picnic Cantata – New York Festival of Song
Brandt – Kassandra – Shumate, Besch et al, chamber ensemble, Isomura
Britten – Owen Wingrave – soloists, City of London Sinfonia, Hickox
Britten – Peter Grimes – Opera London, Langridge et al, Hickox
Britten – Peter Grimes – Skelton et al, Gardner
Britten – Peter Grimes – Rolfe Johnson et al, ROH, Haitink
Bryars – A Native Hill – The Crossing
Buckley – From Ocean’s Floor – Buckley et al
Burry – Baby Kintyre – CBC
Burry – The Highwayman – Szabó, ensemble, Christie
Caravassilis – From Sappho’s Lyre – various artists
Charpentier – Médée – soloists, Le Concert Spirituel, Niquet
Corigliano – The Lord of Cries – soloists, Boston Modern Opera Project, Rose
Couperin – Leçons de Ténèbre – La Nuova Musica
Crean – The Priestess of Morphine – Lyons, Bruton et al
Current – Airline Icarus – Brian Current et al
Dayton – Stories Out of Cherry Stems – Procell et al
Diorio – Fetter and Air – Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia
Donizetti – Three Queens – Radvanovsky, Lyric Opera of Chicago
Dove – A Brief History of Creation and Gaia Theory – BBC SO and Hallé
Duval – Les Génies – soloists, Ensemble Il Caravaggio, Delaforge
Eatock – Chamber Music – Niagara Brass Ensemble et al
Eatock – Choral and Orchestral Music – soloists, Soundstreams Choir 21, Fallis, Sinfonia Toronto, Arman
Eötvös – Tri Sestry – Oper Frankfurt
Farrin – Dolce la morte – Eric Jurenas, International Contemporary Ensemble
Felice – The Beauty of Innuendos – Mitzi Westra, Gregory Martin
Floyd – Prince of Players – Florentine Opera
Golijov – Ayre – Miriam Khalil
Goldenthal – Jabberwocky – Charles Temkey et al
Gordon – Aquanetta – Bang on a Can and soloists
Graun – Opera arias – Julia Lezhneva
Greenberg – First Light – Slovak National Symphony et all
Greve – The Palace of the Dreamking – Various
Grieg – Edvard Grieg – Lise Davidsen & Lei – sof Ove Andsnes
Grosz – Achtung, Aufnahme! – soloists, The Ebony Band, Herbers
Hagen – The Art of Song – Lyric Fest
Handel – Alcina – soloists, Les musiciens du Louvre, Minkowski
Handel – Israel in Egypt – soloists, Apollo’s Fire, Sorrell
Handel – Serse – soloists, English Concert, Bicket
Handel – Theodora – soloists, Arcangelo, Cohen
Haydn/Lutek – Heretic Threads – Boyd McDonald, Joseph Petric, Peter Lutek
Heggie – Songs for Murdered Sisters – Hopkins, Heggie
Henze – Das Floß der Medusa – soloists, ORF VRSO, Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Wiener Sängknaben, Meister
Herbert – Songs of Muriel Herbert – Ailish Tynan et al
Hersch – Poppaea – soloists, Ensemble Phoenix Basel, Henneberger
Hersch – the script of storms – Hong, Klang Ensemble, BBC Philharmonic, Muñoz
Higdon – Cold Mountain – Santa Fe Opera
Ho – Blaze – Christina Petrowska Quilico
Ho – Chinatown – Vancouver City Opera
Ho – The Lesson of Da Ji – Toronto Masque Theatre
Ho – A Woman’s Voice – Jianliang Zhu et al
Hoefner – Project Earth: The Blue Chapter – Iris Trio
Holman – Ash Roses – Lawrence Wiliford et al (review of release concert)
Holman – A Play of Passion – Colin Ainsworth et al
Horrocks-Hopayian – Welcome Party; Horrocks-Hopayian, LSO, Girton College Choir et al
Horvat – Fractures – Meredith Hall, Brahm Goldhamer
Janáček – The Diary of One Who Disappeared – Pavol Breslik et al
Jóhannson – Drone Mass – ACME, Theatre of Voices, Hillier
Kallembach – Antigone – Lorelei Ensemble
Kapilow – The Polar Express – Metamorphosis Chamber Orchestra
Kurka – The Good Soldier Schweik – Chicago Opera Theatre
Lambert/Walton – Façades – Greer, Woodley, West
Lang – love fail – Lorelei Ensemble
Lebel – field studies – Duvall, UltraViolet, Waniuk
Levy – The Anchoress – Pifarro, PRISM quartet, Yu
Lieberson – Songs of Love and Sorrow – Karttunen, Finley, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lintu
Liszt – Sardanapalo/Mazeppa – El Khoury, Hernández, Pushniak, Nationaltheater Weimar, Karabits
Louie – Take the Dog Sled – Mark, Sivuarapik, Esprit Orchestra, Pauk
Mack – The Travelled Road – Marino, Arida, Platte
Mahler – Das Lied von der Erde – Connolly, Dean Smith, RSB, Jurowski
Mahler – Lieder – Gerhaher, OSM, Nagano
Mahler – Lieder – Connolly, Middleton
Mahler/Strauss – Rückert Lieder and Ein Heldenleben – Yoncheva, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Payare
Mahler/Wagner – Live from Salzburg (Wesendonck Lieder and Rückert Lieder) – Garanča, VPO, Thielemann
Mahler (arr. Schoenberg) – Songs – Platts et al
Mahler (arr. Schoenberg) – Lieder – Hendricks, Swedish Chamber Ensemble, Derwinger
Mansouri – Dancing with Love – Afarin Mansouri, ensemble
Maria – Between Worlds – Margaret Maria, Donna Brown
Massenet – Ariane – Edris, Bossa, Aldrich etc
Maxwell Davies – Black Pentecost and Stone Litany – Jones, Wilson-Johnson, BBC Philharmonic, composer
Maxwell Davies – Eight Songs for a Mad King – Kelvin Thomas, Psappha
Maxwell Davies – Le Jongleur de Notre Dame – Albert, Opera Sacra, Peltz
Maxwell Davies – Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot – Jane Manning, Psappha
Maxwell Davies – Mr. Emmet Takes a Walk – Clarke, Best, Caine, Psappha
Maxwell Davies – Resurrection – BBC Philharmonic
Mazzoli – Cathedral City – Victoire
Mazzoli – Dark with Excessive Bright – Herresthal, Bergen Philharmonic, Gaffigan, Arctic Philharmonic, Weiss
Mazzoli – Proving Up – Opera Omaha
Mazzoli – Song From the Uproar – Fischer, NOW ensemble et al
Mazzoli – Vespers for a New Dark Age – Victoire et al
Messiaen – Vocal Music – Hannigan/Chamayou
Meyerbeer – L’Étoile du Nord – Wexford Festival
Meyerbeer – Robert le Diable – Osborne, Edris, Morley etc (review on Opera Canada website)
Monteverdi – Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria – soloists, I Gemelli, Gonzalez Toro
Mozart – Mozart 225 (complete works)
Musgrave – The Voices of Our Ancestors – The New York Virtuoso Singers, Rosenbaum
Nova – Titration – The Crossing, Nally
O’Riordan – Autumn Winds – Moss, Roadfeldt & Dutilly
Palej – Cloud Light – Michèle Bogdanowicz et al
Parry – Judith – William Vann, soloists, chorus and orchestra
Perkins – A New England Requiem – Da Capo Players and Choir
Perkins – The Stolen Child – Audivi
Perkins – Whispers of Heavenly Death – Julia Mintzner et al
Plant – I Will Fly Like A Bird – Thompson Street Opera
Primosch – Carthage – The Crossing
Puccini – Manon Lescaut – Anna Netrebko et al
Purcell – Dido and Aeneas – Flagstad et al, Mermaid Theatre orchestra and chorus, Jones
Purcell – Dido and Aeneas – Baker et al, ECO, Lewis
Purcell – Dido and Aeneas – Kirkby et al, Taverner Players, Parrott
Purcell – Dido and Aeneas – Lane et al, Tafelmusik, Lamon
Purcell – Dido and Aeneas – Barron et al, La Nuevo Musica, Bates
Purcell – King Arthur – Gabrieli Consort, Paul McCreesh et al
Rachmaninov – Dissonance – Grigorian, Geniušas
Rautavaara – Rubáiyát etc – Finley etc
Richter – Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works – Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg
Rodgers and Hammerstein – Oklahoma! – soloists, London Sinfonia, Wilson
Rolfe – Breathe – Larry Beckwith et al
Roth – Sometime I Sing – Mark Padmore, Morgan Szymanski
Roth – Songs in Time of War – Mark Padmore, Philippe Honoré, Morgan Szymanski, Alison Nicholls
Ryan – Found Frozen – Danika Lorèn, Krisztina Szabó, Dion Mazerolle, Steven Philcox
Sabet – A Cup of Sins – Jacqueline Woodley et al
Saint-Saëns – Déjanire – soloists, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Yamada
Saint-Saëns – Phryné – soloists, Opéra de Rouen-Normandie, Niquet
Sances – Complete arias 1636 – Bud Roach
Schubert – Heimweh – Anna Richter, Gerold Huber and Matthias Schorner
Schubert – Lieder with Orchestra – Benjamin Appl, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Oscar Jockel
Schubert – Winterreise – Rod Williams and Iain Burnside
Sheffer – 4×10: Four Ten Minute Operas – soloists, RSNO, composer
Shostakovich – Songs and Romances – Margarita Gritskova, Maria Prinz
Shostakovich – Symphony no.11 – BBC Philharmonic, Storgårds
Shostakovich – Symphony no.13 – Tikhomirov, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Muti
Sibelius – Luonnotar etc – Davidsen, Bergen Philharmonic, Gardner
Simms – Bestiaries – Cryptid Ensemble, ECM+
Skempton – The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Only the Sound Remains – BCMG
Smyth – Der Wald – soloists, BBCSO, Andrews
Snider – Penelope – Worden, Signal, Lubman
Snider – Unremembered – Newsome, Stith, Worden, Unremembered Orchestra, Outwater
Sokolović – Sirènes – Queen of Puddings and ECM+
Somervell – Maud/A Shropshire Lad – Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
Soper – The Understanding of All Things – Pat Soper, Sam Pluta
Spontini – La vestale – soloists, Les talents lyriques, Rousset
Staniland – Dark Star Requiem – Wayne Strongman et al
Staniland – Go by Contraries – Tyler Duncan, Martha Guth, Erika Switzer
Stott – Odysseus and the Sorceress – Abe Buckoke et al
Strauss – Vier letzte Lieder (orchestral and piano versions); Asmik Grigorian et al
Tamber – Torus – Mireille Asselin et al
Tann – Exultet Terra – Capella Clausura
Thomalla – Dark Spring – Mannheim Opera
Togni – hymns of heaven and earth – Stacie Dunlop et al
Togni – Responsio – LeBlanc etc
Ullmann – Der Kaiser von Atlantis – soloists, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Hahn
Vollrath – Old & New Poetry – Various
Wadsworth – The Far West – Luminous Voices
Wagner – The Golden Ring – soloists, VPO, Solti
Wagner – Siegfried – soloists, VPO, Solti
Wagner – Die Walküre – soloists, VPO, Solti
Weill – L’Opéra de Quat’sous – Comédie Française
Weill – Propheten and Whitman Songs – soloists, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony, Davies
Weininger – All Is Mere Breath – soloists, Empire City Men’s Chorus, Peterson
Willans – Summer Night – Peter Barrett, Martha Guth, Allyson McHardy, Helen Becqué
Williams – Rocking Horse Winner – Tapestry Opera
Zaba – Unfinished Business – McKenzie Warriner, Paul Williamson, Tristan Zaba

Recitals and Collections

AANMI Ensemble, Tines, Aucoin – Transcendent
Alkemie – love to my liking
Allison Angelo – Moon Loves its Light
Benjamin Appl – Forbidden Fruit
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gardner, Skelton, Rice – Verklärte Nacht
Jamie Barton et al – An AIDS Quilt Songbook
Maureen Batt et al – Lady of the Lake
Isabel Bayrakdarian – Mother of Light
Isabel Bayrakdarian – The Other Cleopatra
Piotr Beczala – Vincerò
Julie Boulianne – Alma Oppressa
Brooklyn Art Song Society – New Voices
Canadian Art Song Project – Known to Dreamers
Cantus – Yggdrasil
Mary Carewe – Serious Cabaret
Eliza Carthy – Rivers and Railways
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge – Remembrance
Layla Clare – Songbird
Sasha Cooke – how do I find you?
The Crossing – Born
The Crossing – Rising w/ The Crossing
The Crossing – The Tower and the Garden
The Crossing – Words Adorned
Emily D’Angelo – enargeia
DeMayo, Buckler, Dreznin – Kamp! – Songs and Satire from Theresienstadt
Joyce DiDonato – In War and Peace
Tyler Duncan – A Left Coast
Hilario Durán and his Latin Jazz Big Band – Cry Me A River
Joyce El Khoury – Écho
Leslie Fagan – Thread of Winter
Renée Fleming – Distant Light
India Gailey – Problematica
Elīna Garanča – Live from Salzburg
Elīna Garanča – Revive
Aida Garifullina – Aida Garifullina
Karina Gauvin – Divine Karina
Karina Gauvin etc – Nuits blanches
Alison Grant – Peripheral Visions
Christina Haldane – …let me explain
Christina Haldane – tu me voyais
Barbara Hannigan/Emerson Quartet – Infinite Voyage
Virginia Hatfield et al – Christmas at Casa Diva
Melinda Hughes – Weimar and Bach
Magdalena Kožená – Folk Songs
Marianne Lambert – Mélodies Passagères
Matthew Lipman – Ascent
Will Liverman – Show Me The Way
Felicity Lott – Favourite English Songs
Federico De Michelis – Mi País
Erin Morley – Rose in Bloom
Brian Mulligan – Alburnum
Newspeak – sweet light crude
Nordic Affect – Clockworking and H e (a) r
Jessye Norman – The Unreleased Masters
Daniel Okulitch – The New American Art Song
Anne Sofie von Otter et al – Terezín/Theresienstadt
Stéphanie d’Oustrac and La Poème Harmonique – Mon amant de Saint-Jean
Hera Hyesang Park – Breathe
Payadora Tango Ensemble – Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango
Adrianne Pieczonka – Adrianne Pieczonka sings Strauss and Wagner
Christoph Prégardien – Schumann and Wagner
Christina Petrowska Quilico – Games of the Night Wind
Ana Maria Ruimonte and lan Lewine – Sephardic Treasures
Jennifer Rivera – Innocence/Experience
Xavier Sabata – I Dilettanti
Carolyn Sampson, Rod Williams, Joseph Middleton – Sounds and Sweet Airs
Andreas Scholl – Invocazioni Mariane
Nadia Sirota – Baroque
Ekaterina Siurina – Where is My Beloved
Timothy Stoddard – Tarot
Michael Taylor – To Die, to Sleep
Bryn Terfel – Sea Songs
Bryn Terfel – The Vagabond
Bryn Terfel – The Verbier Recital
Leslie Ting – What Brings You In
Christopher Whitley – Describe Yourself
Lawrence Wiliford – O Gladsome Light
yMusic – Ecstatic Science
Gillian Zammit, Frank Camilleri and Britt Arend – Cantilena

A note on my listening habits with a bit of audiophile geekery thrown in…

I’m blown away by the video and sound quality of the latest Blu-ray (video) and SACD (audio) releases.  Whether one listens in stereo or surround sound there is some amazing stuff.  Best, unlike the vinyl era, one doesn’t need to spend a fortune to get good gear.  Although high end speakers don’t, and likely won’t ever, come cheap.

My front end is a Sony disk player that I picked up on sale a few years ago.  It will play pretty much anything I throw at it; SACD, 4K Blu-ray and just about any file format off a USB drive or from a UPnP server (much used by me until Apple made it almost impossible with a Mac).  It feeds a Sony 7.2 channel receiver that cranks out as much power as one can reasonably use in a condo.  The speaker set up is a 6.1 array of Bowers and Wilkins speakers (the luxury bit) but since I share my space with someone who doesn’t necessarily want to share my music all the time I use headphones more often than not.  I’ve experimented with lots of types; earbuds, closed backs, open backs, RF wireless, Bluetooth and wired and I have concluded that for best quality over the ear wired phones are the way to go.  I’m using Sennheiser HD598SRs at the moment and they are superb for classical music. I’ve found that when using the phones with digital files there’s little or no difference between using the Sony player or playing from my Macbook.

In terms of format for audio, SACD is the way to go if it’s available.  Failing that 24bit 48kHz (or higher) recordings on CD or FLAC are pretty close.  Standard res CD and FLAC definitely come third.  As far as video formats go, there is so little opera available n 4K that it doesn’t really figure in my calculations.  Blu-ray is vastly superior to DVD though.  FWIW I haven’t bothered to upgrade the TV that the disk player feeds to 4K.  With the lack of available opera content it seems a bit silly.