[ Erato / Warner Classics / 52 CD Box Set ]
Release Date: Friday 26 February 2021
This item is only available to us via Special Import.
Natalie Dessay is a dazzling opera singer. She is also an actress of intensity and magnetism, whether in tragedy or comedy. Her charisma, captured on the stages of the world's great opera houses and in the recording studio, illuminates the complete operas and recitals of arias and scenes in this collection. From Mozart's furious Queen of the Night to Debussy's enigmatic Mélisande … Offenbach's robotic Olympia to Strauss's flirtatious Zerbinetta and Delibes' devoted Lakmé … Handel's mercurial Cleopatra to Donizetti's boisterous Marie and desperate Lucia… Thomas's fragile Ophélie to Massenet's capricious Manon and Verdi's passionate, tragic Violetta … Natalie Dessay proves irresistible in repertoire that spans four centuries and a wealth of musical and dramatic possibilities.
NATALIE DESSAY: THE OPERA SINGER comprises 33 CDs and 19 DVDs, demonstrating Dessay's achievement as a singing actress both in purely vocal terms and as a bête de scene ('stage animal').
That box represents the COMPLETE COLLECTION OF OPERA RECORDINGS she did in audio and video.
CDs
• 12 complete operas, ranging from the Baroque era to the 20th century:
Bellini: La sonnambula; Delibes: Lakmé; Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor and Lucie de Lammermoor (French version of the opera, prepared by the composer for Paris); Handel: Alcina; Monteverdi: Orfeo; Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, Mitridate; Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann; Orphée aux enfers; Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos; Stravinsky: Le Rossignol;
• Seven recital discs covering Handel, Mozart, Strauss and a variety of French and Italian repertoire.
DVDs
• 12 complete operas, again ranging from the Baroque era to the 20th century, recorded at some of the world's major opera houses and festivals:
'Rapture, passion, languor - the artists, and Dessay in particular - weave a magic web that illuminates Bellini's peculiar genius. Musicality, dramatic delivery and brilliance of technique combine to generate an emotional depth out of material often considered clichéd. With his robust top range, Melfi has electric exchanges with the heroine, while Dessay's performance is simply jaw-dropping.' BBC Music Magazine Award Finalist 2008: Opera [La Sonnambula]
"Dessay… is such a natural clown, and it is wonderful to behold the way she used little bits of the coloratura to illustrate comic points. Bruno Campanella conducts the Royal Opera forces with a delicate understanding of all the requirements of Donizetti's often exquisite instrumental detail" GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD FINALIST 2008 [Le Fille du regiment]
"Violetta's aria at the end of Act I of La traviata demands the impossible. A lyric voice for 'Ah forse è lui' and then weight and depth and cascading coloratura in 'Sempre libera'. Natalie Dessay has it all… The Mad Scenes from I puritani and Lucia di Lammermoor are just as impressive" BBC Music Five Stars [Italian Opera Arias]
"Both the 'earthly' leads are superb: Natalie Dessay's secure, clear coloratura is well employed as the nagging wife...and one feels sorry for her hapless husband, Orphee, amiably characterized by Yann Beuron...From the opening bars, Minkowski's approach is apparent in the sparkling, crystal-clear textures, and he propels the opera along at a tremendous pace and with a bouncing rhythmic bite" Penguin Guide [Orphee aux enfers]
"A stupendous showcase for Dessay's chameleon qualities, there are few better examples of vocal dexterity allied to dramatic commitment." Gramophone [Mozart Heroines]
CD 1: Airs d'Operas Francais
CD 2: Mozart Heroines
CD 3: French Opera Arias
CD 4: Richard Strauss: 'Amor'
CD 5: Italian Opera Arias
CD 6: Handel 'Cleopatra', arias from 'Giulio Casare'
CD 7: 6 Opera Arias
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, K620
Reinhard Hagen, Natalie Dessay (soprano), Rosa Mannion, Hans Peter Blochwitz (tenor), Anton Scharinger, Linda Kitchen, Steven Cole, Les Arts Florissants (early music ensemble)
William Christie
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Roberto Alagna (tenor), José van Dam (baritone), Natalie Dessay (soprano), Sumi Jo (soprano), Leontina Vaduva, Opéra National de Lyon (opera company)
Kent Nagano
Delibes: Lakmé
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Gregory Kunde (tenor), José van Dam (baritone), Delphine Haidan, Franck Leguérinel, Patricia Petibon (soprano)
Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse
Michel Plasson
Offenbach: Orphée aux Enfers
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Laurent Naouri (baritone), Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Yann Beuron (tenor), Ewa Podles (contralto), Patricia Petibon (soprano), Véronique Gens (soprano), Opéra National de Lyon (opera company)
Marc Minkowski
Stravinsky: The Nightingale
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Marie McLaughlin (soprano), Violeta Urmana (soprano), Vsevolod Grivnov, Laurent Naouri (baritone), Opéra national de Paris (opera company)
James Conlon
Mozart: Mitridate, rè di Ponto, K87
Giuseppe Sabbatini, Natalie Dessay (soprano), Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo-soprano), Brian Asawa (counter-tenor), Sandrine Piau (soprano), Juan Diego Flórez (tenor), Les Talens Lyriques (early music ensemble), Christopher Hogwood (early keyboard instruments)
Handel: Alcina
Renée Fleming (soprano), Susan Graham (mezzo-soprano), Natalie Dessay (soprano), Les Arts Florissants (early music ensemble)
William Christie
Strauss, R: Ariadne auf Naxos
Deborah Voigt (soprano), Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano), Natalie Dessay (soprano), Ben Heppner (tenor)
Staatskapelle Dresden
Giuseppe Sinopoli
Donizetti: Lucie de Lammermoor
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Roberto Alagna (tenor), Ludovic Tézier (baritone), Opéra National de Lyon (opera company)
Evelino Pidò
Monteverdi: L'Orfeo
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Ian Bostridge (tenor), Patrizia Ciofi (soprano), Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano), Sonia Prina (contralto), Le Concert d'Astrée (early music ensemble)
Emmanuelle Haïm
Bellini: La Sonnambula
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Carlo Colombara (bass), Francesco Meli (tenor), Sara Mingardo (contralto), Opéra National de Lyon (opera company)
Evelino Pidò
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
Vladislav Sulimsky, Natalie Dessay (soprano), Piotr Beczala (tenor), Dmitry Voropaev
Mariinsky (Kirov) Orchestra
Valéry Gergiev
DVDs:
Strauss, R: Arabella
DVD performance
Donald McIntyre (bass), Helga Dernesch (soprano), Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano), Marie McLaughlin (soprano), Natalie Dessay (soprano), Metropolitan Opera (opera company)
Christian Thielemann
Offenbach: Orphée aux Enfers
DVD performance
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Laurent Naouri (baritone), Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Yann Beuron (tenor), Opéra National de Lyon (opera company)
Marc Minkowski
Strauss, R: Ariadne auf Naxos
DVD performance
Deborah Voigt (soprano), Natalie Dessay (soprano), Susanne Mentzer (mezzo-soprano), Richard Margison (tenor), Metropolitan Opera (opera company)
James Levine
Thomas, Ambroise: Hamlet
DVD performance
Simon Keenlyside (baritone), Béatrice Uria-Monzon (mezzo-soprano), Natalie Dessay (soprano)
Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Bertrand de Billy
Stravinsky: The Nightingale
DVD performance
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Hugo Simcic, Marie McLaughlin (soprano), Violeta Urmana (soprano), Opéra national de Paris (opera company), Christian Chaudet (director)
James Conlon
Massenet: Manon
DVD performance
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Rolando Villazón (tenor), Manuel Lanza, Samuel Ramey (bass), Francisco Vas
Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Victor Pablo Pérez
Donizetti: La Fille du Régiment
DVD performance
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Juan Diego Flórez (tenor), Felicity Palmer (mezzo-soprano), Royal Opera House Covent Garden (opera company)
Bruno Campanella
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
DVD performance
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Stéphane Degout (baritone), Laurent Naouri (baritone), Phillip Ens (bass), Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto)
Arnold Schoenberg Chor, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien
Bertrand de Billy
Bellini: La Sonnambula
DVD performance
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Juan Diego Flórez (tenor), Michele Pertusi (bass-baritone), Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano), Metropolitan Opera (opera company)
Evelino Pidò
Verdi: La Traviata
DVD performance
Natalie Dessay (soprano), Ludovic Tézier (baritone), Charles Castronovo (tenor), Adelina Scarabelli, Jean-François Sivadier (director)
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, London Symphony Orchestra
Louis Langrée
Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto
DVD performance
Lawrence Zazzo (counter-tenor), Natalie Dessay (soprano), Isabel Leonard (mezzo-soprano), Le Concert d'Astrée (early music ensemble)
Emmanuelle Haïm
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann
DVD performance
Michael Spyres (tenor), Kathleen Kim, Natalie Dessay (soprano), Tatiana Pavlovskaya, Laurent Naouri (baritone)
Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Stéphane Denève