Fans of Stuart Skelton have undoubtedly been holding out for the Australian tenor to finally commit his Peter Grimes to CD, which must number among the greatest portrayals of all time. With this recording from Chandos, you get his thrilling take on the role, plus top-notch performances from the very fine cast and orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic, under Edward Gardner.

Gardner and Skelton have worked on Grimes together in the past, and this recording was laid down in the studio between concert performances in Bergen and London after a pair of concerts two years earlier featuring the same team. That rapport and refinement translates into an extraordinary account that gets to the heart of this music drama about a misunderstood fisherman driven...