No need to abandon hope here, for all those who enter will be guided through Dante's Divina Commedia ("The Divine Comedy") in a score by Thomas Ades fitting of the epic tale. Ades' success as an opera composer translates well to the ballet form, as the writing is full of the drama and scale associated with that genre, reminiscent of the ballets of Stravinsky. Ades' ballet exists in several versions concurrently, co-commissioned by the Royal Ballet and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. The Dante Project is the name of the fully realized ballet, while Dante, as heard here, is the complete concert score. Inferno, also co-commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for concert performances, received its concert and staged debuts in 2019; The Dante Project premiered at the Royal Opera House in 2021 (and is available on video from Opus Arte); and Dante, in its full concert version, is taken from its debut performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel in 2022. It will be unsurprising to those with any general knowledge of Dante Alighieri's Divina Commedia that Inferno ("Hell") takes up a significant amount of the whole (the entire first disc and roughly half of the overall playing time). The importance and weight of the first cantica of the Divina Commedia is profound, and Ades provides some thrilling moments as the orchestra surmounts the depths of despair and suffering, though he does include a good amount of wit and humor (listen to "The Thieves" movement for an example). Of course, listeners don't want to forget the rest of Dante's journey through Purgatorio ("Purgatory") on his way to salvation in Paradiso ("Paradise"). The pre-recorded voices featured in Purgatorio are Khazan Gabriel A. Shrem, whose invocation to morning prayer ushers Dante into this second cantica. He is later joined by the congregation of the Great Ades Synagogue in Jerusalem as this section takes on a distinct Middle Eastern soundscape. The final cantica, Paradiso, is presented on a single track to maintain the energy and drive to the culminating triumph. The Los Angeles Master Chorale joins the orchestra near the end of the work as an off-stage ethereal choir. This recording is nothing short of remarkable, and there is only one thing that could fittingly be said of Dudamel and Ades: They are stars. ~ Keith Finke