Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen, Sinfonietta

Sir Simon Rattle has credited Janáček’s *The Cunning Little Vixen* as the work that made him want to conduct opera, and his love of this enchanting piece shines through every bar. He’s recorded the work before (in English), but this time around he has the magnificent LSO as his band, and their playing is simply sensational—as it is in the febrile, energized performance of the *Sinfonietta*. With Lucy Crowe as a mischievous Vixen and Gerald Finley, in top form, as the Forester, the cast is near-perfect and exquisitely characterized. Rattle’s control of the score is terrific—a truly magnificent achievement.