Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice / Janet Baker et al., London Philharmonic Orchestra

British mezzo-soprano, Dame Janet Baker, chose to retire from the operatic stage singing the title role in Sir Peter Hall's acclaimed production of Orfeo ed Euridice. This 1982 recording from Glyndebourne, where Dame Janet appropriately began her professional career, proved a suitable crowning glory to the career of one of the great singing actresses of our age. Dame Janet's realisation of Orfeo, the grieving musician from Greek mythology, who follows his beloved wife Euridice to the depths of Hades in an attempt to bring her back from the dead, is totally convincing “… a quite staggering performance …” (MusicWeb International)