Into the Fire (Live at Wigmore Hall)

Joyce DiDonato is one of classical music’s great communicators and this recital, recorded live in the intimate surroundings of London’s Wigmore Hall, finds her in top form. Joined by the Brentano String Quartet, she gives us a ravishing selection of Richard Strauss songs, a French group (Debussy’s gorgeous Chansons de Bilitis), and, as a centrepiece, Jake Heggie’s cycle based on the life of French sculptor Camille Claudel, a work written for DiDonato. She brings Claudel—institutionalized for schizophrenia, though many doubted the diagnosis—vividly and powerfully to life. Strauss’ “Morgen!’” is a delicious encore alongside “Silent Night.”