CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

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
Average Rating:

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

by: Howard Shore, Annie Lennox

Release Date November 25, 2003
Okay, I was already determined to love this album when I found out that Renee Fleming stars in three of it's pieces. But Howard Shore truly does provide a gorgeous presentation of his musical talents. Keeping in mind that this is a movie track, and therefore, there is a lot of "incidental" music in this album. It's not always riveting without the action of the movie to complete the story. But that is a challenge every composer of film music faces.

Flemming is flawless, providing a straight-tone (no vibrato), eerie, airy sound in her performances to emphasize the other-worldly influence of this music. One wonders how authentic her "elfin" would be, but since her vocals are nearly indistinguishable from the orchestra, the accent ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
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'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 4
Average Rating:

Four Last Songs

by: Renee Fleming, Strauss, Mnpo, Thielemann

Release Date September 16, 2008
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 5
Average Rating:

Four Last Songs

by: Renee Fleming, Strauss, Mnpo, Thielemann

Release Date September 16, 2008
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 6
Average Rating:

Massenet - Thaïs / Fleming, Hampson, Sabbatini, Shkosa, Vidal, Devellereau, Cals, Yves Abel

by: Jules Massenet, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Yves Abel, Giuseppe Sabbatini, Elisabeth Vidal, Marie Devellereau, Enkelejda Shkosa, Stefano Palatchi

Release Date August 22, 2000
I bought the CDs on Thais after hearing it in Paris in April 2007.
I think Renee Fleming is incomparable.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Rapture: Opera's Most Heavenly Moments

from: Deutsche Grammophon

Release Date October 08, 2002
I have more experience with other genres of music, but am interested in basically all kinds. I have been collecting CDs for nearly 2 decades but had no Opera in my collection. I did a little research and arrived at a conclusion. If I wanted the most and best Opera music for my money, I had to get this title, which is a double album, and "The Most Famous Opera Duets". Well, the latter was a steal with a list price under four dollars, and the former was a truly good compilation of many uplifting, diverse, impactful, and pleasant pieces. I am satisfied with my purchases and have filled the gap in my music collection. I can't see Opera getting better than this and the other title I mentioned. Enjoy!

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Immortal Beloved / Sir Georg Solti (film 1994)

by: Ludwig van Beethoven, Georg Solti, Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Murray Perahia, Emanuel Ax, Pamela Frank, Thomas Frost, Gidon Kremer, Vinson Cole, London Symphony Orchestra, London Voices

Release Date December 06, 1994
This is a repurchase of a collection of Beethoven music from the movie "Immortal Beloved." I actually wore out the cassette tape of this music. It is a wonderful collection and I was very happy to find it and receive it so quickly.
Thank you for your help.
J.H.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Renee Fleming - The Beautiful Voice ~ Gounod, Lehar, Orff, Puccini, Rachmaninov, Strauss

from: London/Decca

Release Date February 10, 1998
Once again Renee Fleming presents glorious collaborations in a compelling performance. The overall conception is one of beauty and unequivocal direction of line. Fleming begins with "Louise: Depuis le Jour." The spacious long phrases are profoundly evocative and the vocal timbre is crafted with glowing, long-breathed generosity. My most cherished performance is "Songs My Mother Taught Me",(A favorite of Joan Sutherland's) from the Gypsy Melodies Op.55, No.4. It is delighting in sweet textural clarity and brimming over with an infectious sense of inner purpose. Followed by "Martha: Last Rose of Summer," and "Doretta's Dream Song", Fleming sings with such a level of imagination which is rare enough, but once heard it never leaves you. "Carmina Burana: ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Essential Verdi

from: Decca

Release Date February 13, 2001
I don't know opera.

Last summer we had an incredible 20th anniversary trip to Italy. As a side trip from Venice, we planned a night in Verona. Neither my wife or I had been to an opera.

Is this how its supposed to be...

...an incredible star filled night with a three quarter moon, the largest stage and outdoor theatrical production on the planet, all taking place in a roman colleseum (arena) built in 180 a.d., an incredible colorful set and production with a full symphony orchestra and voices that don't come easy. Aida.

Now I know what all the hpye is as you opera fans sure are lucky to have such a beautiful setting for all your productions.

Okay, we got spoiled. But I also found myself ... Read More: