A deft portrait of puccini’s leading men

shouting forever into the receiver Anne Denholm (harp), Louise McMonagle (cello), Jonathan Morton (violin) et al NMC NMC D285 61:56 mins Tackling social themes and reckoning with history is part of wh

Kafka Fragments Susan Narucki (soprano), Curtis Macomber (violin) Avie AV2760 54:30 mins In the July issue we praised pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s inspired performance of György Kurtág’s Játékok mi

Works by RR Bennett, Holst, Tavener, Cecilia McDowall, Francis Pott, Caroline Shaw et al Tenebrae/Nigel Short Signum Classics SIGCD880 80:45 mins Nigel Short’s experience as a King’s Singer has rubbed

Platée Mathias Vidal, Zachary Wilder (tenor), Marie Lys (soprano) et al; La Chapelle Harmonique/ Valentin Tournet Versailles CVS153 137:47 mins (2CD) Imagine a Monty Python sendup of tragédie lyrique

Works by Dobrinka Tabakova, Shirley J Thompson et al Black Oak Ensemble Cédille CDR90000237 69:59 mins Black Oak Ensemble is a string trio on a mission. The ensemble is hungry to expand the repertoire

A Chekhovian opera from Colin Matthews and William Boyd