CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

The #1 Opera Album

by: Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Léo Delibes, Georges Bizet, Umberto Giordano, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Wagner, Gioachino Rossini, Alfredo Catalani, Jacques Offenbach, Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Charles Gounod, Gaetano Donizetti, Pietro Mascagni, Antonin Dvorak, Richard Bonynge, Herbert von Karajan, Alberto Erede, Lamberto Gardelli, Giuseppe Patane, John Mauceri, Zubin Mehta, Charles Dutoit, Gyorgy Fischer, Riccardo Chailly, Istvan Kertesz, Leone Magiera, Evelino Pido, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Luciano Pavarotti, Jussi Bjorling, Renata Tebaldi

Release Date February 27, 2001
I heard this CD on a PBS pledge drive (it was a premium) and found myself loving every cut on it! I was in my car and just wanted to keep on driving and listening. This is by far my most-played CD - I've had to make it a weekend only listen to prevent getting burned out on it. HIGHLY recommend it. Even if you are unfamiliar with some of the pieces, you will quickly learn to love them. . . . I must end this review - I'm off to listen to the "flower duet" for the 100th time. . .

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Nessun Dorma ~ 20 Great Tenor Arias / Pavarotti, Carreras, Domingo, Bergonzi, Aragall, Björling, Di Stefano, Kollo, Corelli, Del Monaco...

from: Decca

Release Date June 09, 1998
What beautiful music. I'm new to opera, but the tracks on this CD are awesome. My only complaint is that Nessun Dorma is the last tract...so I start out there first.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

The Ultimate Puccini Collection

by: Giacomo Puccini, Herbert von Karajan, Riccardo Chailly, Stephen Barlow, Tullio Serafin, Lorin Maazel, Sir Edward Downes, Giuseppe Patane, Zubin Mehta, Alberto Erede, John Mauceri, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Kiri Te Kanawa, John Alldis Choir, Luciano Pavarotti, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bologna Community Theater Orchestra, Ettore Bastianini, Carlo Bergonzi, Renato Cesari, Fernando Corena, Cesare Siepi, Renata Tebaldi, Gianna D'Angelo, Saint Cecilia Academy Orchestra, Franco Corelli, Alfredo Mariotti, Regine Crespin, Royal Opera House Orchestra Covent Garden, London Symphony Orchestra, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra, Rome Opera House Orchestra, Pilar Lorengar, Berlin Philharmonic Brass Ensemble, Mirella Freni, Rolando Panerai, Jussi Bjorling, Leontyne Price, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Release Date June 09, 1998
"Quando m'en vo" is not omitted from this CD; it is just called "Musetta's waltz song." It is the same aria.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Puccini - The Great Opera Collection

from: Decca

Release Date March 11, 2008
Let me say that these Puccini operas are beautifully performed by Renata Tebaldi who I always believed had a beautiful voice with the sole of a true musician. I should always acknowledge that I don;t at all feel that way about Maria Callas who sings flat and sharp and wobbles. Terrible singer and judging from clips I've seen of her stage work, also a melodramatic over-the-top actress. My main criticism of this set (and I have the same criticism for made opera boxed sets, these days) is that it was not designed for easy transfer to I-Tunes and Ipod. Is it really brain surgery to consistently name the disc in any one opera. For instance how able calling them Tosca Disc 1 and Tosca Disc 2, instead of Tosca Disc 1 and Puccini Tosca Disc 2 or some ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Essential Verdi

from: Decca

Release Date February 13, 2001
I don't know opera.

Last summer we had an incredible 20th anniversary trip to Italy. As a side trip from Venice, we planned a night in Verona. Neither my wife or I had been to an opera.

Is this how its supposed to be...

...an incredible star filled night with a three quarter moon, the largest stage and outdoor theatrical production on the planet, all taking place in a roman colleseum (arena) built in 180 a.d., an incredible colorful set and production with a full symphony orchestra and voices that don't come easy. Aida.

Now I know what all the hpye is as you opera fans sure are lucky to have such a beautiful setting for all your productions.

Okay, we got spoiled. But I also found myself ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

The Greatest Opera Show on Earth

from: Polygram Records

Release Date September 16, 1997
I just bought my second copy of this excellent CD because I literally wore the first one out. No matter how I feel before I play this music, I feel joy whenever I listen to it. Highly recommended to beginners and the more experienced opera listeners as well.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Classical Destinations: An Armchair Guide to Classical Music

from: Angel Records

Release Date August 14, 2007

This 2 disc set contains audio selections from the popular
TV series, new appearing on PBS Digital Channel 3 (Create TV).
The series opens with an original violin concert piece composed
by Paul Terracini, played by Niki Vasilakis. It is a haunting theme.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Essential Puccini

from: Decca

Release Date August 14, 2001
This compilation is a great introduction to puccini's music, It has all of puccini's most popular numbers and
the singers are some of the greatest opera stars of the
20th century. Just look at the names: Pavarotti, te kanawa Freni,caballe, Tebaldi,Corelli, Sutherland ,bergonzi,ludwig...
Leona mitchel isn't as famous as the rest but she sings her two arias beautifully.
Pavarotti's "nessun dorma" is the best!
highly recommended for opera lovers.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

The Very Best of Giuseppe di Stefano

from: EMI Classics

Release Date September 02, 2003
For the most part this recording is fair. The Neapolitan songs are very well done and some of the arias from French opera were very nice. The big disappointment is Nessun Dorma from Turandot. In this aria Di Stefano is horribly flat on the penultimate high note that for many makes this aria so exciting. It would have been best if the producers could have found another aria for the collection.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

The Best of Tebaldi

from: Decca

Release Date October 12, 2004
I bought this compilation on a London LP back in the seventies. I listened to it until I wore it out. They wisely began the disc with probably the best recording she ever made, that of Si, mi chiamano Mimi, from La Boheme. The singing on that cut is so ravishing and inspired. All the other cuts are almost as good, except for the one from La fanciulla del West; there she was past her prime, but it's a great aria. Instead, they should have included her recording of O Patria Mia from AIDA. Tebaldi had something that even the great Caballe has never completely matched, and this CD really does represent her best work.