CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Unsung Musicals - The Ultimate Collection

from: Varese Sarabande

Release Date June 05, 2001
Songs from 1987's "Smile" make this well worth the price. The previously unreleased material from the late, great Howard Ashman deserves to have it's moment in the spotlight.

Also, there's Judy Kuhn's beautiful performance on "Starfish", Christine Baranski's vampy turn on "Sherry".

Finally, there's" New Words" from "One, Two, Three, Four, Five". This show has been restaged, by small theatre groups, under the title "History Loves Company". "New Words" is by far the best number of this show and Liz Callaway's voice fills with love as she sings this lullaby.

For a consummate musical theatre fan who's heard it all, this disc is a refreshing look at what has been lost over the years.

CD-Charts Position 2
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The Skeleton Key

by: Edward Shearmur

Release Date August 02, 2005
Dark, stormy listening to take you to the marshlands of New Orleans - at times, clearly a soundtrack, but with tracks from the likes of Robert Johnson and the hoodoo beats of Iko Iko, you'll suddenly feel an inkling for Gumbo like a true bayou-dwelling Creole.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Schuman: The Mighty Casey/A Question Of Taste

from: Delos Records

Release Date May 03, 1994
This is a good recording of two one-act operas by William Schuman. The Mighty Casey is probably the more known, popular one, but I believe this is the only complete recording available. A Question of Taste may not be as exciting, but it has a lot of moments that makes you gasp.

Juilliard Opera Theatre seems to be doing a fine job in this live recording - soloists are solid across the board, and the orchestra sounds very promising and is responding well to Maestro Gerald's baton. Only the weak link that made me lessen one star from my rating would be the chorus in The Mighty Casey - the diction is not uniform and sound muggy often. Since this is sung in English, it stands out more for English speakers like us. This problem is probably ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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Gluck - Armide / Delunsch, Workman, Naouri, Podles, Beuron, Polegato, Kozená, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Minkowski

by: Christoph Willibald Gluck, Mireille Delunsch, Charles Workman, Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Ewa Podles, Laurent Naouri, Françoise Masset, Nicole Heaston, Yann Beuron, Vincent Le Texier, Brett Polegato, Valérie Gabail, Magdalena Kozená, Thierry Grégoire, Jean-Christophe Hurtaud, Sandrine Rondot, Eric Vignau, Marcos Loureiro de Sa, Myriam Sosson, Claire Delgado-Boge

Release Date November 16, 1999
It seems to be the general consensus that Armide, while quite good, is not Gluck's strongest work. While that could be true, it certainly is my favorite opera by that composer, and it is extraordinarily performed here. When I bought this, I had was not overly familiar with Gluck's works, having heard 'Paride ed Elena', which is a masterpiece in itself, and is perhaps the most "French" of all of Gluck's Italian operas, as well as the somewhat uninspired recording of 'Iphigénie en Tauride' done by Boston Baroque and Pearlmann. I was also, at that time, unfamiliar with the operas of Lully, Rameau, and even Handel. This, however, inspired me to look into those composers, and now, I would say, after hearing other works by Gluck, that this is the closest ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

The Bass [ Three LP Vinyl Records in Boxed Set ]

by: Various Jazz Bassists

Release Date
It seems to be the general consensus that Armide, while quite good, is not Gluck's strongest work. While that could be true, it certainly is my favorite opera by that composer, and it is extraordinarily performed here. When I bought this, I had was not overly familiar with Gluck's works, having heard 'Paride ed Elena', which is a masterpiece in itself, and is perhaps the most "French" of all of Gluck's Italian operas, as well as the somewhat uninspired recording of 'Iphigénie en Tauride' done by Boston Baroque and Pearlmann. I was also, at that time, unfamiliar with the operas of Lully, Rameau, and even Handel. This, however, inspired me to look into those composers, and now, I would say, after hearing other works by Gluck, that this is the closest ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Mozart: Il sogno di scipione

from: Naive

Release Date March 13, 2001
It seems to be the general consensus that Armide, while quite good, is not Gluck's strongest work. While that could be true, it certainly is my favorite opera by that composer, and it is extraordinarily performed here. When I bought this, I had was not overly familiar with Gluck's works, having heard 'Paride ed Elena', which is a masterpiece in itself, and is perhaps the most "French" of all of Gluck's Italian operas, as well as the somewhat uninspired recording of 'Iphigénie en Tauride' done by Boston Baroque and Pearlmann. I was also, at that time, unfamiliar with the operas of Lully, Rameau, and even Handel. This, however, inspired me to look into those composers, and now, I would say, after hearing other works by Gluck, that this is the closest ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Rossini - Armida / Gasdia · Merritt · Matteuzzi · Ford · F. Furlanetto · Workman · I Solisti Veneti · Scimone

by: Gioachino Rossini, Claudio Scimone, Cecilia Gasdia, William Matteuzzi, I Solisti Veneti, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Chris Merritt, Bruce Ford, Charles Workman

Release Date November 16, 1999
The role of Armida, sung by Gasdia, is gargled the whole time! The Fleming and even the Callas (Live, 1952) are clearly superior. Gasdia lacks depth in her singing -- and has no sense of 'bel canto' and no sense of the musical line. They should rename 'bel canto' -- 'bel can't' -- just for her. Don't waist $20 buying this...buy the Fleming or the Callas -- both recordings are far superior -- with brilliant singing and real operatic drama.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Mozart: Il sogno di scipione

from: Astree

Release Date December 28, 2000
The role of Armida, sung by Gasdia, is gargled the whole time! The Fleming and even the Callas (Live, 1952) are clearly superior. Gasdia lacks depth in her singing -- and has no sense of 'bel canto' and no sense of the musical line. They should rename 'bel canto' -- 'bel can't' -- just for her. Don't waist $20 buying this...buy the Fleming or the Callas -- both recordings are far superior -- with brilliant singing and real operatic drama.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Arthur Sullivan Sesquicentenial

from: Symposium

Release Date October 24, 1994
The role of Armida, sung by Gasdia, is gargled the whole time! The Fleming and even the Callas (Live, 1952) are clearly superior. Gasdia lacks depth in her singing -- and has no sense of 'bel canto' and no sense of the musical line. They should rename 'bel canto' -- 'bel can't' -- just for her. Don't waist $20 buying this...buy the Fleming or the Callas -- both recordings are far superior -- with brilliant singing and real operatic drama.