CD-Charts Position 161
Average Rating:

Albinoni - 12 Concertos, op. 9 / Manze, de Bruine, AAM, Hogwood

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: Decca

Release Date October 12, 1999
I find this to be a very good performance--were I able I'd give it 4 and a half stars. Those who like a good, tasteful period performance should be quite satisfied. That said, this reviewer often prefers a bit of extra verve, without going overboard as some young groups do these days. Rachel Barton's La Stravaganza is the finest example in this regard. This disc, however, does not have that added punch. Another reviewer attributes this to Albinoni himself, but that is absurd. It seems rather that Hogwood & Co. were going for a solid, 'historically accurate' performance where the composer 'speaks for himself.' They approach this ideal as well as one arguably can, but at the same time perhaps so does Barton.

The accoustic ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 162
Average Rating:

Kiri Te Kanawa Sings Verdi and Puccini Arias

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: Sony

Release Date October 18, 2005
The original CD release of this collection of Verdi & Puccini arias was a major disappointment. On the CBS label, the sound levels were extremely low, and the depth of the sound field extremely limited. Recorded at a time when Te Kanawa's voice was at it's most glorious, and popularised by the use of two of the Puccini arias in the Merchant Ivory film "Room with a View" (Chi il bel sogno di Doretta (La Rondine) & O mio babbino caro (Gianni Schicchi))the CD release was a major disappointment. Sony have thankfully righted this wrong, and with the use of their proprietory Direct Stream Digital (DSD) remastering, the result is a massive improvement. In addition, as the original CD was a bit on the short side, they have included 5 welcome bonus ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 163
Average Rating:

Great Operatic Duets

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: RCA

Release Date August 09, 1991
I remember when this album was first released on vinyl disc so many years ago. Caballe and Verrett had sung and recorded together quite a few times, and there was definately a wonderful chemistry between them. Of the many duets here, I particularly remember "Mira Norma" and the "Barcarolle" as utterly haunting. It is rare for singers to have such a "magical" quality in performance, and RCA wisely captured them in their prime in some of the most wonderful duets of the operatic genre.
As an interesting sideline, your readers might like to know that Caballe and Verrett were engaged to sing Norma at the Paris Opera probably around the time of this recording. Because of a Chorus Union Strike with the Paris Opera Chorus, a performance was cancelled ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 164
Average Rating:

The Ultimate Aria Collection ~ A Passion for Opera

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
by: Georges Bizet, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Gaetano Donizetti, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Gioachino Rossini, Gustave Charpentier, Leo Delibes, Vincenzo Bellini, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Pietro Mascagni, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Francesco Cilea, Edouard Lalo, Camille Saint-Saens, Arrigo Boito, George Frideric Handel, Alfredo Catalani, Amilcare Ponchielli, Charles Gounod, Jules Massenet, Ambroise Thomas, Fritz Wunderlich, Rome Opera Theater Orchestra & Chorus, Maria Callas, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala, Wiener Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris, Carlo Maria Giulini, Tullio Serafin, Sir Charles Mackerras, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Riccardo Muti, Leone Magiera

Release Date August 11, 1998
Probely this is a good buy for someone who is gest getting into the world of OPERA.Still a very good purchaes with fimiluar songs.

CD-Charts Position 165
Average Rating:

Kiri Te Kanawa - Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne, Villa-Lobos: Bachianas brasileiras

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
by: Marie-Joseph Canteloube, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Jeffrey Tate, Kiri Te Kanawa, English Chamber Orchestra, Instrumental Ensemble

Release Date November 14, 1995
Kiri Te Kanawa gives a warm performance of these French folk songs from the Auvergne section of France. The songs are beautiful and the performance is superb.

CD-Charts Position 166
Average Rating:

Pavarotti & Friends 2

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: Decca

Release Date June 06, 1995
Pavarotti & Friends 2
and
The Pavarotti & Friends Collection: The Complete Concerts, 1992-2000 (Purchased on 03/21/2
I am perfectly satisfied with these articles, and i am rating it as 5 stars. thanks for the very good service from this seller

CD-Charts Position 167
Average Rating:

The "Pearl Fishers" Duet

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
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 portraying.
If ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 168
Average Rating:

Charlotte Church

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: Sony

Release Date November 16, 1999
Charlotte church is truely a remarkable success in the press,for her wonderful voice as a child of 12-14 years old, I give her credit and i would love to meet this girl one day, i think the world of her, it would be wonderful if she could sing those songs when she was a child, because she has got such a beautiful voice, which I think is just amazing,i think the reason why she doesnt like this new pope is becayse she had religion shoved down her throat and she prberly had a gutful of religion,but she still sys that she is quite religious,if she deicdes to go back and doing opera that would be really wonderful because people would rcongise her once again, I wish the press would back off and stop all this harsh critism because when you come to think of it she is a true star in the making, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 169
Average Rating:

The Very Best of Alfredo Kraus

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: EMI Classics

Release Date April 26, 2005
I do not have formal schooling in music but I do know a great voice when I hear it..what a wonderful voice. Great recording.

CD-Charts Position 170
Average Rating:

Cecilia Bartoli - The Vivaldi Album / Il Giardino Armonico

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
by: Antonio Vivaldi, Giovanni Antonini, Cecilia Bartoli, Il Giardino Armonico

Release Date October 26, 1999
Cecilia Bartoli possesses a unique combination of beauty of voice, vocal technique, and musical knowledge. Although sometimes her intensity may strike a newer listener as "over-the-top", I found it very much in character for each and every piece that she sings. It is not often that a singer puts as much of herself into the character she is portraying as Ms Bartoli does. One reviewer mentions her "aspirations" on some rapid passages. In my experience, this is a style and method appropriate for many Italian composers. Ms Bartoli doesn't use this style when singing Mozart or Haydn, for example.
In this album Cecilia treats us to works of Vivaldi that are seldom performed. And the supporting orchestral ensemble, Il Giardino Armonico, performing on authentic period instruments, simply could not be improved ... Read More: