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:

La Boheme

by: Puccini, De Los Angeles, Bjorling, Beecham

Release Date April 09, 2002
In a recent BBC3 "CD Review" broadcast, Alexandra Wilson made a gallant attempt to achieve the impossible task of choosing amongst forty or so recordings of "La Boheme" - and while I agreed with her ultimate choice of the Beecham recording with Bjorling, Merrill and De Los Angeles, I have rather more regard for the discarded Karajan recording simply because Pavarotti's voice, in its prime, as she herself put it, "runs through the recording like a golden seam". The rest of the cast is wonderful, too, although Karajan's love for the score is manifested in a rather deliberately "beautiful" approach and thereby slightly undercuts the drama. I cannot be without either recording of this eternally youthful and moving opera, and although Freni was captured ... Read More:

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:

The "Pearl Fishers" Duet

from: RCA

Release Date October 25, 1990
To enjoy the artistry of great tenors, I really prefer collections of arias only. If I want scenes, I want the entire opera, to which I listen while following a libretto, since my exposure to opera has been primarily audio rather than visual. So, I would not have purchased this cd for myself. But I received it as a gift for becoming a member of the local PBS station.
I am glad I have it; and I give it a 5 star rating.
Bjoerling's is, of course, the voice that stands out (or is that my favoritism showing?). The duets with Robert Merrill, especially "The Pearl Fishers" and "La Boheme," marvelously portray the compatibility of the two voices. The remaining selections illustrate Bjoerling's ability to project himself into the character he is ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Verdi: Requiem

from: Decca

Release Date November 14, 1995
Fritz Reiner's 1959 recording of the Verdi Requiem can be summarized: slow tempos, great singing, and really bizarre sound engineering.

At 97 minutes, this is one of the slowest Verdi Requiems on disc. By comparison, the Georg Solti-Leontyne Price CD is 81'32". From the CDs I've heard, only Sergiu Celibidache's 102" performance is slower.

Reiner opens with probably the slowest Introitus-Kyrie ever heard: 12'18" (Solti-Price 8'31"). But as in the Celibidache performance, the slow tempo really works. The solo entrances in the Kyrie are just magnificent. The choral work is awesome.

The other significantly slower movement is the Offertorio: 12'17" (Solti-Price 9'55"). This is even slower than Celidibache! But like the Introitus ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Very Best of

by: Jussi Bjorling

Release Date April 22, 2003
Me encanta las Arias y las canciones ,exelente voz y disertacion ,perfecto para los amantes de una de las voces mas bellas de opera Jussi Bjorling.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Jussi Björling Rediscovered

by: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Umberto Giordano, Georges Bizet, Jules Massenet, Edvard Grieg, Jean Sibelius, Carl Leopold Sjoberg, Pietro Mascagni, Francesco Paolo Tosti, Giacomo Puccini, Stephen Foster, Jussi Bjorling, Frederick Schauwecker

Release Date September 09, 2003
I discovered Jussi about 15 years ago and have never tired of his voice. I already had a CD with a Carnegie Hall recital. I'd hope to hear it in its entirety.

I am always amazed at the nuanced emotions in his voice. His "Flower Song" from Carmen is tender and masculine and absolutely melting. Who would want Escamillo after hearing Don Jose sing THAT!??!! And I love the heartiness he projects as a storyteller in "The Trout." His "L'Alba separa dalla luce l'ombra" is a delightful tribute to Caruso.

The biggest surprise was a song that I normally can't stand; "Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair". After hearing many Irish tenors slaughter it, I was ready to just skip over it. Instead, I found myself with tears runnig down my cheeks.

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CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Puccini: Turandot [Hybrid SACD]

from: RCA

Release Date September 05, 2006
One can hardly believe there is still a debate! - "Nussun Dorma" may have become Pavarotti's singature tune (and he does sing it magnificently), but Sutherland is all wrong in the title role, and with Leinsdorf achieving near Wagnerian power and passion delivered in great SACD stereo, this recording takes the cake.

Let there be no doubt: this is the recording to buy. - Go get it!

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Verdi: Aida

by: Boris Christoff, Bruna Rizzoli, Fedora Barbieri, Leonard Warren, Mario Carlin, Plinio Clabassi

Release Date October 25, 1990
Not to sound like a detractor, but the best Aida studio recording and stage performance was that of Leontyne Price in the title role. The 1970 RCA Red Seal recording is the all-time greatest recording of Aida. Still, this is the finest studio recording of Aida for its time in the 1950's, at a time when Maria Callas was the reigning prima donna assoluta. Callas, however, never made Aida her signature role as say her Normas, Toscas and Medeas and sang it too little times to be noticed. There is a studio recording of it dating to a time when she was still a young star. However, Zinka Milanov possessed the right vocal equipment for Aida, with stunning pianissimi that perhaps even influenced Montserrat Caballe. Her voice is colorful enough so that in more dramatic scenes she can make it rougher and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Icon (5 CDs)

by: Jussi Bjorling

Release Date October 28, 2008
Not to sound like a detractor, but the best Aida studio recording and stage performance was that of Leontyne Price in the title role. The 1970 RCA Red Seal recording is the all-time greatest recording of Aida. Still, this is the finest studio recording of Aida for its time in the 1950's, at a time when Maria Callas was the reigning prima donna assoluta. Callas, however, never made Aida her signature role as say her Normas, Toscas and Medeas and sang it too little times to be noticed. There is a studio recording of it dating to a time when she was still a young star. However, Zinka Milanov possessed the right vocal equipment for Aida, with stunning pianissimi that perhaps even influenced Montserrat Caballe. Her voice is colorful enough so that in more dramatic scenes she can make it rougher and ... Read More: