Janacek: The Excursions of Mr Broucek (Vol 2)

Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra bring Janáček's rarely staged operatic diptych to life in this live Barbican recording — a work that took him nearly a decade and seven librettists to complete. Mr Brouček, a beer-and-sausage-loving Prague landlord, is swept from his own century first to a satirical lunar utopia of preening aesthetes, then to the heroic Hussite Prague of the 15th century. Peter Hoare leads a cast including Aleš Briscein, Lucy Crowe, and Gyula Orendt, with Tenebrae under Nigel Short joining the LSO for a score Janáček packed with comic invention, orchestral colour, and — in its "15th Century" excursion — a surge of national pride tied to Czech independence. Sir Simon Rattle, conductor London Symphony Orchestra Peter Hoare - tenor Aleš Briscein - tenor Lucy Crowe - soprano Gyula Orendt - baritone Lukáš Zeman - baritone Doubravka Novotná - soprano Hannah Hipp - mezzo-soprano Arttu Kataja - baritone Stephan Rügamer - tenor Linard Vrielink - tenor Tenebrae, Nigel Short - chorus director