CD-Charts Position 1
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Meyerbeer - Le Prophète / Horne, Gedda, M. Rinaldi

by: Giacomo Meyerbeer, Henry Lewis, Marilyn Horne, Nicolai Gedda, Alfredo Giacomotti, Robert Amis el Hage, Boris Carmeli, Margherita Rinaldi

Release Date May 23, 2000
I came to this recording long after buying the studio recording, which Horne, MacCracken, Scotto, and Jerome Hines, released by Columbia. I thought it would be wonderful to experience this vast opera in live performance. I am sure it would be. This recording is not complete, and it doesn't give a very good representation of the work. The sound quality is simply horrible, I mean horrible. Meyerbeer may not have been Wagner in his orchestrations, but he was very meticulous about what he wanted (often writing the changes in various colors of ink to test them out in performance), and we as listeners are simply robbed of that experience. I much prefer Gedda in the Role of Jean to MacCracken (who is not a favorite singer of mine to begin with), even ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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Stravinsky: Ballets; Stage Works; Orchestral Works

from: Decca

Release Date May 14, 2002
Renard alone makes this set worthwhile. No other recorded performance (including Stravinsky's own) brings out the humor and basic "enjoyability" of this piece.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Penderecki - Symphony No. 7 'Seven Gates of Jerusalem'

from: Naxos

Release Date October 31, 2006
Penderecki has very quickly become my favorite composer. The first work I heard of his was his "Symphony No. 3". This symphony, though having a little bit a different texture, still holds the dark quality in sound that is so characteristic of Penderecki. What adds to the dark sound is the added choral part. This piece also has a text to be sung by a choir.

This CD has made it into my Top 10!

CD-Charts Position 4
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Franz Schreker: Die Gezeichneten

from: Orfeo D'or

Release Date March 25, 2003
Penderecki has very quickly become my favorite composer. The first work I heard of his was his "Symphony No. 3". This symphony, though having a little bit a different texture, still holds the dark quality in sound that is so characteristic of Penderecki. What adds to the dark sound is the added choral part. This piece also has a text to be sung by a choir.

This CD has made it into my Top 10!

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Berlioz: Les troyens (Abridged)

from: Opera D'oro

Release Date May 06, 2003
... and it is abridged, though what's cut appears to be mainly instrumental music. As the album claims, the important passages for voice are here, and the arc of the narrative is maintained.

I have the first Davis recording on lps -- in fine condition and in manual sequence -- and I wanted a different set on CD. After reading a number of reviews, I had reservations about Davis' new recording, as well as the one from Montreal on Decca.

The cast of this Opera d'Oro issue promises much, and the recording delivers. This is easily the best sounding OD set I've yet encountered. I don't know if it is stereo or binaural, but voices come through beautifully, including the choruses, and there is supurb balance between voice and orchestra ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Utrenya (Jutrznia)

by: Krzysztof Penderecki

Release Date January 01, 1989
Same as Krzysztof Penderecki, Volume Two: Jutrznia / Utrenya. See under this other entry to know why this belongs to the essentials of 20th Century music, although the 1973 recording by Andrzej Markowski does leave some room for improvement, both sonically and interpretively.

CD-Charts Position 7
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Bizet: Carmen

from: Gala

Release Date June 06, 2000
I am thoroughly impressed with the quality and price of this version of Carmen, my favorite opera. For the price of one CD (I bought it when it was still only [price]), one gets three CDs including a quality live recording of this opera as well as a good number of "Bonus Tracks" performed by Gedda. The sound quality is far better than I'd expected given the price and the fact that it was recorded in 1954. There is no static or anything distracting on this recording (except perhaps for the inevitable occasional coughing of an audience member, which one must expect in a live performance). Both the conducting and the singing are great, as all the singers are very capable of their roles: Simionato's Carmen is both beautiful and nasty, Gedda's Jose is jealous ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Bach: Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243; Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (Actus tragicus), BWV 106

from: Fonit Cetra Records

Release Date March 11, 1997
I am thoroughly impressed with the quality and price of this version of Carmen, my favorite opera. For the price of one CD (I bought it when it was still only [price]), one gets three CDs including a quality live recording of this opera as well as a good number of "Bonus Tracks" performed by Gedda. The sound quality is far better than I'd expected given the price and the fact that it was recorded in 1954. There is no static or anything distracting on this recording (except perhaps for the inevitable occasional coughing of an audience member, which one must expect in a live performance). Both the conducting and the singing are great, as all the singers are very capable of their roles: Simionato's Carmen is both beautiful and nasty, Gedda's Jose is jealous ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Meyerbeer: Le Prophète

from: Foyer

Release Date September 02, 1993
Eventhough this box set recording of Meyerbeer's Le Prophete is not commercially available on Amazon.com yet, I have heard the recording already through Viva La Voce, an internet station that broadcasts full-length operas. This recording stars the American mezzo soprano diva Marilyn Horne, tenor James McCracken, soprano Renata Scotto, baritone Jerome Hines, tenor Christian Du Plessis and is conducted by Henry Lewis. With a run of 3 hours, 21 minutes, it's quite an overwhelming experience. This type of singing has never been revived, though often great arias from Meyerbeer's operas have made it into recording as part of aria collections. Prophete was Meyerbeer's greatest work, and represente the pinnacle of grand opera presented at the Paris Opera in the mid ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Donizetti: L'Elisir d'amore

from: Myto Records Italy

Release Date September 15, 1999
Eventhough this box set recording of Meyerbeer's Le Prophete is not commercially available on Amazon.com yet, I have heard the recording already through Viva La Voce, an internet station that broadcasts full-length operas. This recording stars the American mezzo soprano diva Marilyn Horne, tenor James McCracken, soprano Renata Scotto, baritone Jerome Hines, tenor Christian Du Plessis and is conducted by Henry Lewis. With a run of 3 hours, 21 minutes, it's quite an overwhelming experience. This type of singing has never been revived, though often great arias from Meyerbeer's operas have made it into recording as part of aria collections. Prophete was Meyerbeer's greatest work, and represente the pinnacle of grand opera presented at the Paris Opera in the mid ... Read More: