CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Puccini: Tosca (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Victor de Sabata, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

by: Giacomo Puccini, Victor De Sabata, Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala

Release Date August 19, 1997
This is much more than the best opera recording ever: it is the true expression of perfection.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Puccini: Tosca (1953) with Callas, di Stefano, Gobbi, cond. by de Sabata

from: EMI Classics

Release Date December 02, 2003
NOTE: While all my remarks are valid for this CD incarnation, the remastering is generally regarded as poor. Instead, I strongly recommend the original 1997 Callas Edition of this same recording, still in print and easily available here on Amazon. The Callas Edition has better, more natural sound AND it has the libretto/notes described in the official Amazon review above (which incorrectly attributes them to this budget edition).

This was originally posted in my music review blog. Check my profile if you are interested.

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Music critics have long been fond of drolly referring to Tosca as a "shabby little shocker" and then misattributing the comment to George Bernard Shaw. No small wonder, then, that this Tosca ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

The Very Best of Franco Corelli

from: EMI Classics

Release Date April 22, 2003
I bought this CD as a birthday present for my father and haven't actually heard the content myself. But because I ordered it, Amazon have prompted me to write a review. Certainly the feedback I'm getting is excellent and my Dad has derived hours of listening pleasure from it.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Verdi: Rigoletto (Complete Opera); Maria Callas; Tito Gobbi; Giuseppe di Stefano

by: Giuseppe di Stefano, Nicola Zaccaria, Adriana Lazzarini, Giuse Gerbino, Tullio Serafin, Chorus & Orchestra of the La Scala Theatre - Milan

Release Date August 19, 1997
It is an old recording, however to listen to Di Stefano and Gobbi is worth it.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Rossini: The Barber Of Seville with Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi, Alceo Galliera, Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus

by: Gioachino Rossini, Alceo Galliera, Maria Callas, Luigi Alva, Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Gabriella Carturan, Tito Gobbi, Fritz Ollendorf, Mario Carlin

Release Date August 19, 1997
Maria Callas does not perform strongly on this album. That is too bad because she has many wonderful recordings. The included libretto was quite good and very easy to use.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Maria Callas 100 Best Classics

from: EMI Classics

Release Date January 16, 2007
Let's face it. Callas is amazing. She's the best there ever was or ever will be. Bar none. This CD complies some of the most famous soprano arias from all of music ALL SUNG BY MARIA CALLAS. Maria Callas is awesome. And I mean that in the old fashioned way, not the way people today use it. Her singing is truly awe inspiring. She is the best for every style of opera there ever was. She never sang Wagnerian opera and, honestly, her vocal style is not at all suited to it but I'm sure she would still be the best at it. EVER. She will never be paralleled. EVER. And for $14 how can you afford not to buy this CD? This is the best investment you will ever make. IT'S FREAKING MARIA CALLAS!!!

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

100 Best Opera Classics

from: Angel Records

Release Date August 29, 2006
What can one say but "Bravo!" to EMI's 6-CD box set "100 BEST OPERA CLASSICS." The title says it all.

This is the perfect collection for both the committed opera follower or the mildly interested or newbie. Or for anyone who wants to know what the fuss over opera is all about. This music is guaranteed to tell you -- to delight and inform at the same time.

All the major classics are here --"Voi che sapete" from Mozart's FIGARO, "Un bel di vedremo" from Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY, "Vesti la giubba" from Leoncavallo's PAGLIACCI ... and that is listing only three of the 20 tracks on disc one. Plenty more where that comes from, and all of it worthwhile. You get a fine sampling of great moments from Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Gluck, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Falstaff / Verdi, Gobbi · Schwarzkopf · Moffo · Karajan

by: Giuseppe Verdi, Herbert von Karajan, Tito Gobbi, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Nan Merriman, Anna Moffo, Rolando Panerai, Fedora Barbieri, Tomaso Spataro, Nicola Zaccaria, Luigi Alva

Release Date September 21, 1999
Now that this is available in the lower-priced brown-wrapped version (shades of an old LP or even 78 sleeve), expect no less in this superb recording. The only sacrifice is the lack of a libretto -- but that's available from EMI at its website. And at this incredibly low price of about $14 (same as the Gobbi-Callas TOSCA) everything that counts is still there -- in spades.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Aria: A Passion for Opera

from: EMI Classics

Release Date February 15, 1994
This is a limited number of arias of the possible repetoir of opera. It is, however, a magnificent collection. It is worth all the time to listen.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

The Very Best of Giuseppe di Stefano

from: EMI Classics

Release Date September 02, 2003
Giuseppe DiStefano was a fine tenor in his time. He began his operatic career just after World War II and persevered until the very early 1970s. Included in his career was a partnership with Maria Callas in a number of operas. This CD has 40 different cuts, many of them representing the singer in his prime.

Let's consider some examples of his craft.

"Recondita armonia": This well-known aria from "Tosca" is sung well. DiStefano's rich, strong voice works nicely here.

"Nessun dorma": A different kind of aria, from Puccini's "Turandot." This calls for some subtle singing, and DiStefano does well here. His voice has a consistently lustrous tone from middle to higher notes.

"La donna e mobile": He sings this well, but it seems a bit flat. ... Read More: