The ROH storm Adès The Tempest

A captivating and rewarding performance of Adès' The Tempest recorded live at its 2007 Covent Garden revival

Composer:  Adès
Repertoire: The Tempest
Artists: Soloists, Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House/Thomas Adès
Rating:  4/5
Genre: Opera
Label: EMI Classics 695 2342

This is the world premiere recording of Adès’s 2004 opera, recorded live at its 2007 Covent Garden revival. Some may find it a heavy listen, but it’s worth persevering. This is an important work, magnificently sung by great artists and conducted with electric finesse by Adès himself. While discordant, the eerily atmospheric music is highly evocative of Shakespeare’s strange tale, and clever without rendering itself impenetrable to newcomers. All the soloists master their counterintuitive vocal lines, but Cyndia Sieden’s Ariel is quite extraordinary, delivering her unearthly lines with dramatic flair.