
The Europadisc Review
Offenbach - Les Divas d’Offenbach
Herve Niquet, Veronique Gens (soprano), Choeur et Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire
£11.95
Based in an historic Venetian palazzo, the Palazzeto Bru Zane – Centre de musique française is dedicated to the rediscovery and dissemination of French 19th-century music. They are particularly known for the sumptuous opera sets issued on their own label, which has just been named 2025 Label of the Year by Gramophone magazine. But they also contribute research to recordings on other imprints, and have forged a particularly fruitful partnership with Alpha Classics. The latest product of this collaboration is ‘Les Divas d’Offenbach’, a disc which... read more
Based in an historic Venetian palazzo, the Palazzeto Bru Zane – Centre de musique française is dedicated to the rediscovery and dissemination of French 19th-century music. They are particularly known ... read more
Offenbach - Les Divas d’Offenbach

Herve Niquet, Veronique Gens (soprano), Choeur et Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire
The Spin Doctor Europadisc's Weekly Column

Tercentenary Focus: Alessandro Scarlatti 15th October 2025
15th October 2025
Although his music is these days far less well-known than that of his son, Domenico, Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725) is a figure of considerable importance in the development of Italian Baroque music. The tercentenary of his death – which falls on 22 October – affords the opportunity to explore his life and output in greater depth. Older reference books routinely credited him as ‘founder of the Neapolitan School’ of opera, but in recent decades that assessment has been challenged. Although he did indeed spend much of his career working in the Kingdom of Naples, he spent significant periods in Rome (where he began his musical life, and to which he subsequently returned) and Venice; and although he produced numerous operatic works in Naples, the extent to which they can be described as distinctively ‘Neapolitan’ is debatable.
Alessandro Scarlatti was born into a musical... read more