The Guardian Top 10 Classical Albums of 2020

Nominee in Opera Category

Chosen by Times critics as one of the best Classical albums of 2020

“…The cast throughout is first-rate, headed by Stuart Skelton in the title role… This is a deluxe production and a 134-page booklet contains many photos and the complete libretto. The Chandos engineers have provided a rich, detailed and perfectly balanced audio picture clearly separating the choruses and soloists. . A major release!”

“… Edward Gardner helms the Bergen Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, amongst other choruses. From the outset of this record, we perceive laser-precise execution, resulting in a thoroughly energetic and inspired interpretation of this opera. Every last note of the score has been carefully considered by every musician involved… Orchestral solos rival those of the singers themselves, with brilliant colours and edgy textures erupting from both choral and orchestral ensembles. Gardner still manages to surprise and provoke us, prompted by the nature of the libretto itself. Skelton is the consummate Grimes, a role that has shaped his career in many ways. Canadian soprano Erin Wall is characteristically stunning in her performance of Ellen Orford, poignant and wistful…”

“…We have waited decades for a performance this good and are likely to wait just as long for its equal in the future.”

Recommended

“... Certainly, this recorded performance has a dramatic frisson such as one would get from live recordings and good, though not exaggerated, use is made of spatial effects…Chandos have cast this recording from strength, with a stellar list of primarily British singers. If I were to comment on all the significant performances this review would be excessively long. In any case, it’s fair to say that there isn’t a weak link in the cast…Gardner’s main chorus is presented in a realistic concert-hall balance behind the orchestra – though the singers can be heard very clearly indeed… Gardner’s choirs sing magnificently for him and with great dramatic commitment; their contribution is a significant plus point for this recording. The playing of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is stunning… Edward Gardner conducts marvellously. I feel that he paces the drama to perfection; his long experience as an opera conductor is well to the fore here. He has proved in several previous recordings made in Bergen that he’s adept at handling large, complex musical ensembles and he shows that ability in spades here. Above all, he maintains the dramatic tension throughout. I felt drawn into this performance right from the start of the Prologue and thereafter Gardner and his colleagues held me in their grip. I’ve been impressed with a number of Gardner’s previous recordings but I venture to suggest that this is his finest recording achievement to date…Engineer Jonathan Cooper, working with colleagues from the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, has produced vivid sound that has all the impact you could wish for. There’s a splendid front-to-back perspective and also a satisfying depth to the sound. As usual, Chandos are very thorough in their documentation. There’s a very good essay about the opera by Mervyn Cooke, a useful synopsis and the full libretto… Peter Grimes is a great opera and a landmark in British music. This enthralling recording is fully worthy of the work’s stature and a significant addition to its discography.”

“…Stuart Skelton mines the role of George Crabbe’s holy-fool fisherman with unerring breadth and imagination; and Edward Gardner is in total command of the drama’s progress of human frailty and cruelty and of its passages of elemental grandeur… He [Skelton] has a formidable match in Erin Wall’s Ellen Orford … Listen to Ellen’s confrontation with Grimes in Act Two to catch the Straussian warmth and scale of her artistry… The other singers are mainly a best-of-British, luxury line-up of Britten stylists. Roderick Williams is particularly fine as the old salt Balstrode who sees the point of Grimes but is powerless to help. Susan Bickley and Catherine Wyn-Rogers give incisive focus to no-nonsense Auntie and a corrosive Mrs Sedley, and the rest of the Borough mafia is vividly portrayed. Gardner’s handling of detail and the bigger picture is marvellous, and the Bergen Philharmonic is on electrifying form… the chorus’s cries of “Peter Grimes!” are thrilling, then scaling down to ghostly sonic remnants. It only adds to the excitement of this unmissable release.”  ****½

Recording of the Month

“… This performance captures the best of Gardner, combining his decades of experience as a man of the theatre with the warmth and intimacy that comes from working with his own Bergen Orchestra. He understands Britten’s score as well as any conductor alive today, and there is a thrilling directness to his performance that brings the piece to vivid life. The big set pieces of the interludes are each beautifully crafted, none more so than “Sunday Morning”, which sparkles as brightly as the sunlight on the beach, but he manages each of the transitions superbly, too… The singing is uniformly excellent, too. This opera has to be a company effort to succeed, and every element works… I can’t help but wonder if he [Skelton] will go down as the role’s ideal interpreter. Chandos’ recording is of demonstration quality… this is the finest recording of this opera we’ve had since Hickox. The more I think about it, it may in fact be the finest yet.”

CD of the Month

“… after singing the title role for years, Stuart Skelton has it down to a fine art. Likewise Edward Gardner’s conducting. Add the fact that this studio recording is based on semi-staged performances in Bergen and London with the same forces, and the sense that the piece is in everyone’s bones is palpable… He builds the ensembles clearly, ensuring that they never descend into simply a wall of sound, and allows everything time to breath in the more introspective moments. The choruses are thrilling not just in full voice, but in the even richness of their combined tone. The cast is incredibly well-meshed… Skelton’s tenor is perhaps a touch large for the role … and obviously he has no problems letting rip. But one of his main strengths is the beauty of tone he commands, so he never rants. He can also hone things down to a soft yet still supported thread that doesn’t descend into crooning – he has a remarkable legato, so his ‘Now the Great Bear and Pleiades’ is voiced on one quiet thread. Neither does he overdo the mad scene. His Grimes is a simple man who is unable to cope and is increasingly bewildered, a moving portrayal. One final point: the diction throughout is very good indeed. Not over-enunciated but generally wonderfully clear.” *****

“… All of the parts here are sung with great vividness (though not, perhaps, displacing their predecessors), but in one respect the set is a clear winner: the perfectly attuned conducting by Edward Gardner is captured in phenomenally wide-ranging Chandos sound. A new generation who will grow to know the piece with this performance will find that they are in the best of hands.”

“… An outstanding recording quality, made in Grieghallen, Bergen, Norway, with a spacious yet detailed sound picture. This is a case where one doesn’t need visuals, the audio alone creates the imagery of the opera stage. The changing distances at which the soloists and chorus are captured aid the dramatic and operatic experience. The singers move across panoramically while the orchestra remains in-place, demonstrating the care and attention Chandos engineers have taken to project the narrative. The cast, chorus, orchestra, and conductor share a cohesive vision here. Together they highlight the tragedies and ambiguities of the plot, which are powerfully convincing and intensely engaging, sometimes terrifying. A must-have recording for any Britten or opera aficionado.”

“Britten’s opera sounds huge and thrilling in a nuanced recording with sparkling interplay between singers and orchestra – it’s rarely sounded better.” *****