Janáček
“With fine digital recording adding to the glory of the highly distinctive instrumentation, the Decca version of Janácek’s last opera outshines even the earlier recordings in Mackerras’s series. By rights, this piece – based on Dostoevsky – should be intolerably depressing in operatic form, but in effect, as this magnificent performance amply demonstrates , the mosaic of sharp response, with sudden hysterical joy punctuating even the darkest, most bitter emotions, is consistently uplifting… the cast is superb, with a range of important Czech singers giving sharply characterized vignettes.” The Penguin Guide