CD-Charts Position 1
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Essential Mozart: 32 Of His Greatest Masterpieces

from: Decca

Release Date March 13, 2001
You get Mozart's best works in 2 CD. The sound is flawless to the common ear. Get it! if you love Mozart

CD-Charts Position 2
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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'm new to opera, but this CD has really beautiful music. I use it in my CD clock radio (Timex, that I purchased here also) to go to sleep to.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Mozart - Requiem / Augér, Bartoli, Cole, Pape, Wiener Phil., Solti

from: Decca

Release Date March 10, 1992
To my great surprise, in the last two decades of his life Solti turned into a marvelous Mozart interpreter. His '80's Figaro, and '90's Magic Flute and Cosi fan Tutte are among my favorite versions, Sir Georg's sometimes abrasive nervous energy (and scholarly use of reduced orchestral forces) makes for fantastically dramatic, anti-romantic readings. This requiem, recorded on the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death in St Stephen's cathedral in Vienna benefits from an awesome reverberant acoustic, a quartet of fabluous operatic singers (and let's face it, this is an opera manque, religiose, not religious, "the sickly sweets of operatic sin" as Stravinsky called it, and a good thing too I say). Excerpts of the actual Mass ceremony are interspersed, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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Cecilia Bartoli - If You Love Me (Se tu m'ami ), 18th-Century Italian Songs

by: Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Caldara, Antonio Lotti, Antonio Cesti, Giovanni Paisiello, Anonymous, Benedetto Marcello, Giuseppe Giordani, Giulio Caccini, Alessandro Parisotti, Pietro Francesco Cavalli, Antonio Vivaldi, Giacomo Carissimi, Cecilia Bartoli, György Fischer

Release Date October 13, 1992
Cecilia Bartoli may not be the finest mezzo-soprano extant but few would doubt her exceptional artistry and professionalism. In "Se tu m'ami", she transforms simple, even primitive, melodies into beautiful, dare I say, rapturous arias, in the finest bel canto tradition. I now understand why Paisiello was a favourite of Buonaparte and why I should now acknowledge Vivaldi for his considerable versatility and creativity. The disc now occupies a top shelf in my CD rack. Bravissimo Cecilia.

CD-Charts Position 5
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Cecilia Bartoli - Maria

from: Decca

Release Date October 10, 2006
I should start out saying I generally do not like to listen to female singers five minutes (I have always loved Baritones). There is only one singer that is the exception and that is Cecilia.

I certainly feel that there are enough different songs on here that there is something for everyone. There are slow flowing songs like "Se Un Mio Desir" and fast paced songs such as "Ah! Non" to name a few. Cecilia's voice is distinctive and a pleasure to listen to.

--Sarah

CD-Charts Position 6
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Mozart - Idomeneo / Domingo, Bartoli, Grant Murphy, Vaness, Hampson, Terfel, Lopardo, MET, Levine

from: Deutsche Grammophon

Release Date October 22, 1996
This opera is a beautiful composition by Mozart! All the performers do a fabulous job in this! I happen to be a big Placido Domingo fan and think he did a great job in this performance!
I will be seeing this Opera in about 5 months where the character Idamante is being played by Alice Coote (who's a wonderful British mezzo-soprano)! :)

CD-Charts Position 7
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Pavarotti: Greatest Hits

from: Decca

Release Date September 30, 1997
I love this music. Great for long drives when stations fade in and out. Pavarotti's best!!!

CD-Charts Position 8
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William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

by: Simon Boswell, Renée Fleming, Marcello Giordani, Cecilia Bartoli, Luciano Pavarotti, Roberto Alagna

Release Date April 20, 1999
This is and elegant peice of artwork! The music adds a feeling of love, magic, and beauty. This is one of the best classical/Soudtrack CD I have ever heard. I would highly recommend this!

CD-Charts Position 9
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Rossini - La Cenerentola / Bartoli, Dara, Matteuzzi, Corbelli, Pertusi, Chailly

by: Gioachino Rossini, Riccardo Chailly, Cecilia Bartoli, William Matteuzzi, Michele Pertusi, Gloria Banditelli

Release Date October 12, 1993
Even though this is probably the most famous and easiest-to-find "Cenerentola" recording, it was one of the later ones I heard. I'm glad I finally did get around to hearing it, though. Apart from a few flaws, it completely lives up to its great reputation.

Cecilia Bartoli proves why she's the most famous Cenerentola of today. Her rich and warm yet youthful mezzo and effortless coloratura are perfect for the role; she's probably just the kind of singer Rossini had in mind. On the same level are Alessandro Corbelli's rich voiced, exuberant Dandini and Michele Pertusi's magnificent Alidoro. Enzo Dara may be slightly past his vocal prime as Don Magnifico, but his bass is still resonant and agile and he makes the most of the role. As for William Matteuzzi's Don Ramiro, at first I didn't like ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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Cecilia Bartoli - An Italian Songbook (Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini)

from: Decca

Release Date September 16, 1997
To be honest I am not an admirer of Bartoli's voice and art. However her interpretation of these 'Composizioni da Camera' is excellent, very sensitive, in style and with deep emotion and feeling. It's the BEST performance I have ever heard of these songs.