Opéra Magazine's favourite recordings this autumn

 

The September/October 2026 issue of France’s Opéra Magazine was waiting for me in a pile of unopened post when I got back from my summer break at the end of October. Then the November/December issue was delivered this week. So here are their top picks, in the recording review section, for the four months.

Their ‘pick-of-the-bunch’ for September/October, with one of their top ‘Diamond’ awards, was Harmonia Mundi’s Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, A Tribute, with the Freiburger Barockorchester and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra both conducted by Nicholas McGegan. Nearly all the arias are by Händel, the exceptions being one by Purcell and another by Bach. ‘Warmth of timbre, nobility of phrasing and an almost physical intensity of expression make up her artistry, focused entirely on revealing the human passions.’

Then, for November/December, they chose two new Palazzetto Bru Zane releases and gave a 'Diamond' to each.

Hérold’s Zampa has Julien Henric (‘at once terrifying and dangerously seductive’) Hélène Carpentier (‘exquisite’), Cyrille Dubois (‘the most disciplined performer’), Héloïse Mas, François Rougier, Pierre Derhet, Lukas Mayr and the Munich Radio Orchestra under Erike Nielsen.

Cyrille Dubois (‘elegant, nuanced, never mawkish’) also stars in Délibes’ Jean de Nivelle, with (‘radiant’) Mélissa Petit, Marie-Andrée Bouchard-Lesieur, Tassis Christoyannis and more, and the Hungarian National Choir and Philharmonic Orchestra under Vashegyi.