By Ellen Nordstrom Baer

2010 Naxos Recording Label. Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny's most successful opera comique, "Le Deserteur", (1769) set to Sedaine's libretto, is an exceptionally produced Baroque gem thanks to a recent collaboration between the renowned Naxos Studio in conjunction with the Opera Lafayette Orchestra. The Opera Lafayette Orchestra, known for its excellence and for its commitment to reproducing Baroque operas, is a major contributor to this satisfyingly tasteful and beautifully performed three Act comic opera, and makes this musical endeavor one very much worth sharing.

By Ellen Nordstrom Baer

Osias Wilenski's collaboration with Navona Records of La Venganza de Carmen ("The Revenge of Carmen", 2008) is an impressive musical exploration and endeavour which makes one consider and contemplate the life of Carmen, had she lived, or perhaps had we learned more about her life in the hereafter. In an opening statement, Wilenski would have us witness and describes Carmen's "pilgrimage over humanity" through the encounters with three very different historical and notorious literary figures. They are: 'Don Juan, the impotent, Rudolph Valentino, the homosexual, and Oedipus, the incestuous.' Given that this spoken introduction may conjure a host of thoughts and expectations, surprisingly, the voice of Wilenski's Carmen does not. Wilenski's choice of voice for his Carmen steers us away from any former notion or seductive story line we may have expected from Bizet's musical heroine. It is anything but!

Book review by Phyllis Nordstrom

Thomas Larson: “The Saddest Music Ever Written: The Story of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings” ISBN-10: 160598115X   ISBN-13: 978-1605981154
Pegasus Books, New York, 2010

How She Danced: String Quartets of Elena Ruehr. Elena Ruehr: String Quartets Nos. 1, 3 & 4. The Cypress Quartet. Cypress Performing Arts Association, ©2010, 75:03, $20.