CD-Charts Position 81

Verdi - La Traviata / Maria Callas · di Stefano · Bastianini · Giulini

CD-Charts > Music > Voices
by: Giuseppe Verdi, Carlo Maria Giulini, Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Ettore Bastianini, Silvio Maionica, Luisa Mandelli, Franco Ricciardi, Arturo LaPorta, Giuseppe Zampieri, Silvana Zanolli, Antonio Zerbini

Release Date January 18, 1991

CD-Charts Position 82
Average Rating:

Verdi - Aida / Freni · Carreras · Baltsa · Cappuccilli · Raimondi · van Dam · Ricciarelli · Moser · Wiener Phil. · Karajan

CD-Charts > Music > Voices
by: Giuseppe Verdi, Herbert von Karajan, Mirella Freni, José Carreras, Wiener Philharmoniker, Chor der Wiener Staatoper, Agnes Baltsa, Piero Cappuccilli, Ruggero Raimondi, José van Dam, Katia Ricciarelli, Thomas Moser

Release Date October 25, 1990
I think this a a really interesting recording. Aida so often gets recorded by big sopranos (early Callas, Price, Milanov, Tebaldi) and big heavyweight tenors (del Monaco, Baum, Vickers) and these wonderful artists bring something special to their respective parts no doubt. Yet, I don't think Aida will every really be defined as an opera that requires massive voices. It does require some balance, insight and, I think lyricism otherwise it just sounds a bit loud and one-dimensional. Now, all the singers I listed above are guilty of this of course, and even then they often brought some moments of high drama and excitement to compensate, but we do need a bit of balance and light relief. So here Freni, Carreras and Baltsa offer us something ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 83
Average Rating:

To Music: Isobel Baillie and Kathleen Ferrier Sing Arias & Duets (1941-46)

CD-Charts > Music > Voices
from: Apr UK

Release Date March 18, 1997
I think this a a really interesting recording. Aida so often gets recorded by big sopranos (early Callas, Price, Milanov, Tebaldi) and big heavyweight tenors (del Monaco, Baum, Vickers) and these wonderful artists bring something special to their respective parts no doubt. Yet, I don't think Aida will every really be defined as an opera that requires massive voices. It does require some balance, insight and, I think lyricism otherwise it just sounds a bit loud and one-dimensional. Now, all the singers I listed above are guilty of this of course, and even then they often brought some moments of high drama and excitement to compensate, but we do need a bit of balance and light relief. So here Freni, Carreras and Baltsa offer us something ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 84
Average Rating:

Puccini: Madama Butterfly

CD-Charts > Music > Voices
from: Pearl

Release Date September 16, 1997
I must qualify this review in that I listened to this performance on an EMI CD so the sound may be somewhat different due to differnces in CD Remastering.

The performance is unique because of Dal Monte's attempt to sound both "girlish" and "asian". She was at the end of her career when she made the recording. She sounded shrill at times, but it was a very interesting interpretation from a unique artist. Gigli was Gigli... Great! The "Sharpless" was O.K as was the orchestra, chorus and conducting. The recording was about what you would expect from a pre-war recording originally issued on 78 RPM records.

If you enjoy great voices from the so called "golden age", this might be woth a ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 85
Average Rating:

Danny Boy Collection

CD-Charts > Music > Voices

Release Date
I must qualify this review in that I listened to this performance on an EMI CD so the sound may be somewhat different due to differnces in CD Remastering.

The performance is unique because of Dal Monte's attempt to sound both "girlish" and "asian". She was at the end of her career when she made the recording. She sounded shrill at times, but it was a very interesting interpretation from a unique artist. Gigli was Gigli... Great! The "Sharpless" was O.K as was the orchestra, chorus and conducting. The recording was about what you would expect from a pre-war recording originally issued on 78 RPM records.

If you enjoy great voices from the so called "golden age", this might be woth a ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 86
Average Rating:

Stories of Love

CD-Charts > Music > Voices
by: John McDermott

Release Date October 13, 2003
Yes, this is different from John McDermott's usual celtic/folk sound (which I love) but it showcases his fantastic ability to span all genres. "Stories of Love" is a clear gift of quality orchestation supporting Mr. McDermott's soft/lilting voice. You can sense he really enjoyed singing these songs. Of course I've always been a fan of Antonio Carlos Jobim and the many Jobim songs are done beautifully. Love to just play this cd in the background while I'm working. Great gentle music.

CD-Charts Position 87
Average Rating:

Lucrezia Bori: The Victor Recordings (1914-25)

CD-Charts > Music > Voices
from: Romophone

Release Date September 01, 1995
This is an exemplary issue, part one of the two part complete Victor recordings of Lucrezia Bori from Romophone. Sadly this issue is now out of print, but it's a standout, and anyone who likes Bori should find a way to acquire it through Amazon's used listings.

The set includes 46 chronological recordings spanning the years 1914 through 1925, the last four sport Victor's electric designation, and must be among the earliest electric recordings. There are eleven from 1914 and six more from 1915; following an extended hiatus while Bori recovered from a serious vocal condition the recordings begin again in 1921. In the following years Bori would return regularly to the studios, making on average half-a-dozen new recordings each year.

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CD-Charts Position 88
Average Rating:

Mahler: Symphony No.8 / Sir Colin Davis

CD-Charts > Music > Voices
by: Gustav Mahler, Sir Colin Davis, Alessandra Marc, Sharon Sweet, Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz, Vesselina Kasarova, Ning Liang, Ben Heppner, Sergei Leiferkus, René Pape, Tölzner Knabenchor, Berlin Radio Symphony Chorus

Release Date March 11, 1997

Davis gives very unique & epic account of 8th with much emphasis on solo parts (or simply microphones were too close?). It is too operatic in conception to my taste to be first recommendation, but solists sing their heart out in most moving way and the expansive climax has earth-shattering effect. Overall, it is like a long voyage towords the final apotheosis rather than a single transformation.

CD-Charts Position 89
Average Rating:

Janácek: Káta Kabanová

CD-Charts > Music > Voices
from: Decca

Release Date September 13, 1989
If you have never heard a Janacek opera, Kat'a Kabanova will be unlike any you've experienced. Moreover, if you believed until now that Richard Strauss and Puccini have a monopoly on the expression of intense passion in Twentieth Century opera, Janacek will surely change your opinion. With the possible exception of the final 10 minutes of Janacek's 'The Makropulos Case,' Kat'a Kabanova features the most passionate music Janacek ever wrote. But this is not to say that his is the 'lush-romantic' musical passion to which fans of Nineteenth Century opera are accustommed (e.g., Massenet's music). Janacek's is the expression in music of intense, sometimes even painful, longing (one Janacek scholar refers to his music as the ultimate in 'musical expressionism') ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 90
Average Rating:

Anne Sofie von Otter - La Bonne Chanson

CD-Charts > Music > Voices
by: Maurice Ravel, Ernest Chausson, Frank Martin, Maurice Delage, Camille Saint-Saens, Francis Poulenc, Gabriel Fauré, Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg

Release Date October 15, 1996
'La Bonne Chanson' by mezzosoprano Anne Sophie Von Otter is the kind of album I really enjoy from today's great female classic vocalists. Next to interpretations of Kurt Weill's German works, the French art song is by far my favorite. It sounds less stilted than the English chamber song and far less heavy than the German Lieder from Shubert and his compatriots. It is neck and neck in my mind with good interpretations of Italian love songs.

I was fortunate to be able to compare this album with the Dawn Upshaw effort, 'The Girl With Orange Lips', on which she performs Ravel's 'Trois Poemes de Stephane Mallarme', which also open Von Otter's disk. I have to say that on these pieces, the two artists sound virtually identical, although Von Otter has just the ... Read More: