Raff - Benedetto Marcello

[Mark Thomas]

Yes, Alan, it should be "lyric opera". It is indeed a rewarding work, and one which I think shows us Raff at his most natural; by the time he composed Benedetto Marcello he had pretty much given up hope of any of his operas being performed and so was writing just for himself.

[Alan Howe]

You have it right in your notes!

[Mark Thomas]

True, true. I 'd forgotten that I'd written that.

[adriano]

My copy (ordered at Amazon) arrive today. They are CDRs...

[Alan Howe]

I was wondering about that. Mine played OK, though.

[TerraEpon]

CDRs are pretty much a given with Sterling releases now (and have been since they started being distributed by Nimbus)

[adriano]

So I was quite lucky to have my two last CDs (Jaques-Dalcroze and Scherber) being issued as authentic CDs :-)

[Mark Thomas]

The topic of Sterling (and other companies) issuing recordings on CDRs has already been discussed exhaustively in this thread. Please don't reopen it here.

[Mark Thomas]

It's good to see that both the music and the performance merit a resounding thumbs up from Jonathan Woolf at Music Web International.

[Alan Howe]

Quite right too.

[Mark Thomas]

For those with German, here's a review at Opera Lounge. As author of the booklet notes, I must say that a lot of the background information in Ingrid Wanja's piece has a very familiar ring to it! 

[Mark Thomas]

Another glowing review - in German again, but Google Translate yields a fair approximation.

[John Boyer]

This review by Ralph Locke originally appeared in American Record Guide and can be read here at Opera Today:  https://operatoday.com/2020/12/joachim-raff-benedetto-marcello/

[Mark Thomas]

What a thoughtful, open minded and accurate review. It's a pleasure to read. Thank you, John.

[Alan Howe]

Yes - thanks, John. If only all music journalism were as well-informed, generous and open-minded as this. It was a joy to read.