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:

Italian Opera Arias [Includes DVD]

from: Virgin Classics

Release Date February 05, 2008
A must have! That's all one has to say about this! Well done Natalie. We move with you...a true actor-singer synthesis who is also very precise musically and correct in technique! Brava!

CD-Charts Position 3
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 4
Average Rating:

Viva Villazón (incl. bonus DVD)

from: Angel Records

Release Date September 18, 2007
Rolando Villazon is a contemporary tenor. This CD (with an accompanying DVD of a live Prague concert) provides a sense of his craft. As such, listeners will find this a representative introduction to his work. In short, he compares favorably with his contemporaries.

A few examples from the CD. . . .

"Che Gelida Manina" from "La Boheme" is one of my favorite tenor pieces. Once upon a time, when I remembered the words, I'd sing this while driving along (a terrifying thought, I concede). Villazon shows us a smooth and attractive voice. He tends to steer clear of mannerisms (those catches and cries that distress me so much) for the most part (with some exceptions). It does seem that he "scooped" a note early on (if I properly understand ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Diva

from: EMI Classics

Release Date March 09, 2004
Excellent singing, but the aria selection should have been more appropriate to her voice. Particularly the french arias were boring and didn't show off her talent.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

La Sonnambula

from: Virgin Classics

Release Date September 25, 2007
I have heard very few La Sonnanbula's but I love the way Dessay sings those beautiful melodies. The sound is quite good.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Rolando Villazon - Gounod · Massenet Arias

by: Rolando Villazon, Natalie Dessay, Evelino Pido

Release Date January 25, 2005
The first time I heard Rolando was in the Bellas Artes theater in Mexico City many years ago, in the opera l'elisir d'amore, he wasn't famous at that time. I remember he had to sing "una furtiva lagrima" twice because people liked it so much that they won't let him continue until he sang it again... Since then, Mr Villazon has become one of the best, making a statement that mexican tenors are among the best of the world. This recording is great.... his french is not perfect... but overall this CD is beautiful, he sounds great. If you buy this cd I would recommend to get the Italian Opera arias CD (which is wonderful) so you can have a very nice collection of italian and french operas with one of the greatest singers of our time.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

The #1 Tenor Album

from: Decca

Release Date July 10, 2001
This CD shows the highest performances made ever by number one artists.Obliged to have home

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Angela Gheorghiu - Casta Diva / Pido

from: EMI Classics

Release Date August 14, 2001
When I first listened to this CD, I was rather surprised, much like I was when I first listened to Renee Fleming's Bel Canto CD. I always thought that Gheorghiu was just a dramatic/spinto soprano...it never occured to me that she was anything close to a coloratura...although I think all classical singers should have velocity, even if they rarely call on it. She does surprisingly well with all the melismas...not like sills, sutherland, dessay or gruberova, but she stills manages them quite nicely. I also never knew she had an altissimo range...of course I know that the soprano voice doesn't stop automatically at High C, but you just never think about sopranos such as gheorghiu having D's and E-flats. She weathers her acuti (extreme high notes) well...she sometimes sounds like she doesn't know what to ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Donizetti - Lucie de Lammermoor / Dessay, Alagna, Tézier, Laho, Cavallier, Saelens, Pido (Opéra de Lyon)

from: Virgin Classics (EMI Records)

Release Date December 23, 2002
I don't care a fig which came first, the French or the Italian version of the greatest of Donizetti's operas. The question here is whether or not this recording merits a place in your collection. As the first recording of the French version, it has enough appeal to most admirers of Donizetti's operas. I will agree that the absence of "regnava nel silenzio" is regrettable, since the substitution aria is far less distinctive (although Dessay sings it beautifully). I also hate that Alisa is missing from the French version, for two reasons. First, it eliminates part of the appeal of Lucia's first aria- Alisa's singing in the opening aria in Italian adds dramatic weight. Also, it leave Lucia by herself to fend off the male characters.

As far as the recording itself, I think that Dessay is ... Read More: