Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex / Gardiner, Lso

Jennifer Johnston (mezzo-soprano), Stuart Skelton (tenor), Gidon Saks (bass-baritone), Fanny Ardant (narrator), Monteverdi Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner

Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex, Apollon musagète

On this his first release for LSO Live, Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts the LSO, the Monteverdi Choir and a mix of international and home-grown soloists including Jennifer Johnston and Stuart Skelton in a recording featuring Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex and Apollon musagète. French actress Fanny Ardant, who has appeared in more than fifty motion pictures, takes the role of narrator. The rich string harmonies and textures in the ballet score of Apollon musagète are pleasantly mesmerizing, expressive and calmly indulgent. In contrast, the dramatic and hauntingly compelling opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex is composed of an assemblage of monumental and powerful sounds, such as playful woodwinds, robust brass and agile strings, with magnificent vocals from the choir and soloists.

Price: $18.98