RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Leoncavallo: I Pagliacci (Complete Opera with full libretto) Barbara Frittoli, Jose Cura, Carlos Alvarez, Simon Keenlyside / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly [ Decca / CD - released 10/Mar/2000 ] 'The recording is rich, spacious and brilliant with glorious orchestral playing, making one marvel at the beauty and subtlety of Leoncavallo's orchestration.' A Key Recording, from The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs. (I Pagliacci) |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro [The Marriage of Figaro] (complete opera directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Recorded in 1976) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Mirella Freni, Hermann Prey, Maria Ewing / Vienna Philharmonic / Karl Bohm [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 2/Jun/2005 ] "a visual treat, but having some solos delivered as interior monologues is distracting" Gramophone |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: Patience (Complete opera with full dialogue) D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with John Reed; Kenneth Sandford; Mary Sansom, Philip Potter / New Symphony Orchestra of London / Isidore Godfrey [ Decca Records / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/1989 ] "Great diction. You get to hang onto every word....Donald Adams as Colonel Calverley is dynamic and John Reed excels as Reginald." Mel@marbecks |
ALFRED SCHNITTKE
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schnittke: Historia von D. Johann Fausten (complete opera) Eberhard Lorenz, Arno Raunig, Hanna Schwarz, Eberhard Büchner / Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra & Opera Chorus, Gerd Albrecht [ RCA Victor Red Seal / 2 CD Box Set - released 3/Nov/1996 ] "The Faust Cantata serves now as the third of the three acts..The performance is strong, and the recorded sound is close-up and detailed." ClassicalMusic |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Falstaff (complete opera recorded in 2009) Glyndebourne Opera / Christopher Purves / Tassis Christoyannis / Dina Kuznetsova / Jennifer Holloway / Vladmir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Apr/2010 ] "This Falstaff is immensely enjoyable and amongst the best that I have watched. I strongly recommend it whether you admire Verdi's last work or not..an amiable, pleasing production with an exceptionally fine cast" Recording of the Month MusicWeb Nov... |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Le Nozze Di Figaro [The Marriage Of Figaro] (Complete Opera recorded in 1994) Glyndebourne Opera / Gerald Finley, Alison Hagley, Renee Fleming / Bernard Haitink (conductor) [ Warner Music Vision DVD / DVD - released 10/Sep/2009 ] "Pure magic….Bernard Haitink conducted the LPO in an eloquent performance, beautifully played…….One listened, as Haitink, Hagley, and Finley lifted a loving, carefully prepared performance to greatness" Opera Magazine |
ALBERT LORTZING
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Lortzing: Der Wildschütz (complete opera recorded in 1963 with librettio) Hermann Prey, Anneliese Rothenberger, Fritz Wunderlich / Chorus and Orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera, Munich / Robert Heger [ EMI Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Jul/1997 ] "I would enthusiastically recommend Der Wildschütz and Fritz Wunderlich, especially, as an ideal introduction to Albert Lortzing." Fanfare |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Donizetti: Lucia Di Lammermoor (Highlights from the complete 1972 recording)) Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge [ Decca Opera Gala / CD - released 24/Oct/1992 ] "Though some of the girlish freshness of voice which marked the 1961 recording had disappeared by the 1971 set, Sutherland's detailed understanding was intensified. Power is there as well as delicacy, and the rest of the cast is first-rate." Penguin |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor (Complete Opera with libretto) Joan Sutherland, Renato Cioni, Robert Merrill / Santa Cecilia, Roma / John Pritchard [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Jun/1989 ] "There remains something special about this early Lucia" Gramophone |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Macbeth (complete opera recorded in 2008) Metropolitan Opera / Zeljko Lucic, Maria Guleghina, John Relyea, Dimitri Pittas / James Levine (Cond) [ Warner Classics DVD / 2 DVD - released 29/Sep/2008 ] "An auspicious issue in first rate sound and vision further enhanced by an excellent "behind the scenes" documentary featuring the mainstays of this memorable January 2008 night at the MET." (ClassicalNet) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Il Trovatore (complete opera recorded in 1988) Metropolitan Opera / Luciano Pavarotti, Éva Marton, Dolora Zajick, Sherrill Milnes / James Levine (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 30/May/2008 ] "The best justification for buying this issue is to see and hear Pavarotti nearer to his vocal peak in a role which his strong lyric voice and clear diction is ideally suited" (MusicWeb) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Aida (Complete opera recorded in 1980) Mirella Freni, Josa Carreras, Agnes Baltsa, Piero Cappuccilli / Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan [ EMI / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Jul/1988 ] There are numerous opera which give the chance to the producer for spectacular scenery but some actually demand it - one of these, without doubt, is AIDA. |
FRANZ LEHAR
Lehar: The Merry Widow (complete operetta recorded in 1988) Opera Australia / Joan Sutherland, Ron Stevens, Ann-Maree McDonald / Richard Bonynge (cond) [ ABC Universal DVD / DVD - released 1/Mar/2011 ] The sparkling story concerns a national crisis in the picture-postcard country of Pontevedro, as the recently-widowed Hanna Glawari appears to be in danger of marrying a foreigner. |
FRIEDRICH SMETANA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Smetana: The Bartered Bride (complete opera recorded in German in 1962) Pilar Lorengar, Gottlob Frick, Fritz Wunderlich / Bamberger Symphoniker / Rudolf Kempe [ EMI Classics Electrola Collection / 2 CD - released 24/Aug/2011 ] Smetana's masterpiece with Fritz Wunderlich: Among the German-language recordings, experts agree that this is the best: Fritz Wunderlich at the height of his powers, Pilar Lorengar in what is "perhaps her best recording" (Jürgen Kesting). |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Otello (complete opera recorded in 1986) Placido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli, Justino Diaz / Milan La Scala Chorus & Orchestra / Lorin Maazel [ EMI / 2 CD Box Set - released 18/Aug/1986 ] "I have no hesitation in making this set my first choice in this ever-potent opera" - Gramophone |
FREDERICK DELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Delius: Fennimore and Gerda (complete opera) Robert Tear (tenor) Brian Rayner Cook (baritone), Hedwig Rummel (Mezzo Soprano) Elisabeth Söderström (Sop) / Danish national radio symphony, Meredith [ EMI Classics / CD - released 12/May/1997 ] "Throughout his career, (Meredith Davies) championed the cause of Frederick Delius, and his most celebrated association with Benjamin Britten came in May 1962, when he directed the premiere of Britten's War Requiem" Guardian |
BERTHOLD GOLDSCHMIDT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Goldschmidt: Beatrice Cenci (complete opera with libretto) Roberta Alexander, Stefan Stoll, Simon Estes, Della Jones / Berlin Radio Chorus, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Lothar Zagrosek [ Sony Classical / 2 CD Box Set - released 7/Feb/1995 ] "The cast is a strong one, dominated by the burnished tone of Roberta Alexander in the title role of the abused daughter. Della Jones as her stepmother Lucrezia is equally fine" BBC Music |
JULES MASSENET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Massenet: Manon (complete opera with libretto) Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Jose van Dam, Gilles Ragon / Chorus & Orchestra of the Theatre Royal of the Monnaie, Brussels, Antonio PappanoPappan [ EMI Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 8/Mar/2000 ] "Major praise must go to Angela Gheorghiu. Not only does she draw a portrait of the irresistible, impetuous, selfish, luscious Manon from the very beginning, but she's totally in control of her vocal resources as well." ClassicsToday |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: La Traviata (Complete opera recorded in 1994) Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Frank Lopardo, Angela Gheorghiu, Leo Nucci / Sir Georg Solti (cond) [ Decca Classics DVD / DVD - released 1/Jan/2017 ] "The singing is glorious, and this is one of the DVDs that should be the cornerstone in any collection. A superb stage spectacle." Penguin Guide Rosette Winner |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Tosca (complete opera recorded in 2000) Teatro alla Scala / Maria Guleghina, Salvatore Licitra, Leo Nucci / Riccardo Muti (cond) [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 23/Jun/2011 ] "As Tosca, Maria Guleghina is in fine voice, and Muti supports her at every turn. Her great Act Two lament 'Vissi d'arte' is beautifully shaped, with phrases carefully structured so as not to peak too soon." MusicWeb |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Barber of Seville, The [Il barbiere di Siviglia] complete studio recording of the opera recorded in 1972 Teresa Berganza, Luigi Alva, Hermann Prey, Enzo Dara / Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 21/Jun/2005 ] In the 1970s, the era from which this production emanates, the director Jean Pierre Ponnelle was reaching the height of his powers. In his 1972 production at Milan's La Scala, Ponnelle designed a realistic set that still feels fresh. |
IVAR HALLSTROM
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Hallstrom: Duke Magnus & the Mermaid (complete opera) Lars Johansson, Robin Svanvik, Marco Stella, Jonas Olofsson, Emelie Sigelius, Ingela Bohlin, Eva Marklund / Vadstena Academy Choir, Niklas Willen [ Marco Polo / 2 CD Box Set - released 17/Feb/2003 ] Although he learnt the piano, Hallström was self-taught as a composer. He studied law in Uppsala and in 1853 was appointed librarian to Prince Oscar which assisted him in advancing his career as a composer. His operas in collaboration with the... |
RUGGIERO LEONCAVALLO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Pagliacci (Complete opera) (Recorded 1953) SPECIAL PRICE! Victoria de los Angeles, Jussi Bjorling, Leonard Warren, Robert Merrill / The Columbus Boy Choir. The Robert Shaw Chorale. Renato Cellini [ EMI Historical / CD - released 20/Nov/2003 ] 'the most enjoyable performance of Pagliacci we have ever heard' (The Record Guide) |
CHARLES GOUNOD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gounod: Faust (complete opera directed by Ken Russell in 1985) Vienna State Opera / Gabriela Benackova, Francisco Araiza, Ruggero Raimondi / Erich Binder (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 23/Jun/2006 ] Gounod's crowning achievement Faust, first staged in 1859 at the Lyric Theatre in Paris, is a conflict of good and evil, love and hate. |
FRANCESCA CACCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Caccini: La liberazione di Ruggerio dall'isola di Alcina (complete opera) Allabastrina, La Pifarescha / Elena Sartori (harpsichord/direction) [ Glossa / CD - released 13/Jan/2016 ] With this production of Francesca Caccini's 'La liberazione di Ruggerio dall'isola di Alcina', directed by Elena Sartori, an important stepping-stone in the development of 17th-century opera receives a superb new recording from Glossa. For much of... |
ARRIGO BOITO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Boito: Mefistofele (Complete opera recorded in 1995 with Libretto) Ambrosian Opera Chorus / London Symphony Orchestra / Norman Treigle (bass), Placido Domingo (tenor), Montserrat Caballe (soprano) etc... [ EMI / 2 CD - released 1/Aug/1987 ] Inspired by the Faust legend, Arrigo Boito's Mefistofele is an imaginative work which is also faithful to Goethe's original conception. |
BELA BARTOK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bluebeard's Castle (complete opera) Anne Sofie von Otter, John Tomlinson / Berliner Philharmoniker, Bernard Haitink [ EMI Classics / CD - released 1/Apr/1996 ] Originally recorded in February 1996 |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito (complete opera with libretto) Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Sylvia McNair, Julia Varady, Anne Sofie von Otter / The English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon Archiv / 2 CD Box Set - released 9/Jun/2011 ] With starring roles from Ann Sophie Von Otter, Sylvia McNair, the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir all under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner. |
ALBERT LORTZING
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Lortzing: Der Wildschutz (complete opera) Hermann Prey, Anneliese Rothenberger, Fritz Wunderlich /Bayerischen Staatsoper Munchen, Robert Heger [ EMI Classics The Opera Series / 2 CD Box Set - released 14/Jan/2007 ] Original 1964 recording |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Tannhauser (complete opera recorded live in 2019) (Blu-ray) Bayreuth Festival / Stephen Gould, Lise Davidsen, Elena Zhidkova, Markus Eiche / Valery Gergiev (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 15/May/2020 ] "In his Bayreuth debut, Valery Gergiev conducts with such verve that at multiple turns it was like hearing the score anew." Limelight. |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Lohengrin (complete opera filmed in 1993) Bayreuther Festspiele / Paul Frey, Cheryl Studer, Gabriele Schnau / Peter Schneider(cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 DVD - released 20/Sep/2008 ] G - "Film director Herzog (Fitzcarraldo) creates an atmospheric staging amid glaciers and stone circles. Schneider conducts effectively; Studer, Schnaut and Wlaschiha impress." BBC Music Magazine, May 2008 **** |
RUGGIERO LEONCAVALLO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Leoncavallo: Pagliacci (Complete opera with libretto) Carlo Bergonzi, Joan Carlyle, Giuseppe Taddei, Ugo Benelli / Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala. Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon The Originals / CD - released 12/Oct/2004 ] "..long-breathed, expansible tempi and the minimum of exaggeration. Karajan's choice of soloists was clearly aimed to help that...rarely if ever on record has the La Scala Orchestra played with such beautiful feeling for tone-colour." - Penguin Guide |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Il Trovatore (Complete Opera with libretto) Carlo Maria Giulini (conductor), Placido Domingo (tenor), Rosalind Plowright (soprano), Brigitte Fassbaender (mezzo-soprano) etc... [ Deusche Grammophon / 3 CD - released 20/Sep/1984 ] Il trovatore ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El trovador (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's most successful... |
RICHARD STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss, (R.): Der Rosenkavalier (the complete opera recorded in 1994) Felicity Lott, Anne Sofie Von Otter, Barbara Bonney, Kurt Moll / Carlos Kleiber (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 16/Aug/2004 ] "Lightly Handled, well-played Strauss. Strongly recommended." -Gramophone June 2001 |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: La Cenerentola [Cinderella] (complete opera with full libretto recorded in 1992) Cecilia Bartoli, William Matteuzzi, Enzo Dara, Alessandro Corbelli / Orchestra & Chorus of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Riccardo Chailly [ Decca DVD / DVD - released 28/Aug/2014 ] "All eyes and ears, inevitably, are on Bartoli, and she doesn't disappoint...The singing itself is ravishing. At the same time, the performance makes dramatic sense...Decca provide a superb Alidoro, an alluring Clorinda, inventive and elaborate... |
JULES MASSENET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Massenet: Hérodiade (complete opera with libretto) Cheryl Studer, Jose van Dam, Nadine Denize, Thomas Hampson/ Choeur et Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, MIchel Plasson [ EMI Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2018 ] During the Belle Époque, Jules Massenet rose to become France's leading composer of opera, as notable for his acute dramatic sense as for the refined sensuality of his music. NOTE: Outer cover has some very minor wear |
BELA BARTOK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bartok: Duke Bluebeard's Castle (Complete Opera) Christa Ludwig, Walter Berry / London Symphony Orchestra, Istavan Kertesz [ Decca The Classic Sound / CD - released 1/Nov/2002 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - "In 1965 Kertesz set new standards in his version of Bluebeard's Castle with Christa Ludwig and Walter Berry, not only in the playing of the LSO at its peak, in the firm... |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Die Walkure (complete opera recorded in 1992) Daniel Barenboim / Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele / Harry Kupfer / Poul Elming / Nadine Secunde / Matthias Holle / etc. [ Warner Music Vision / Unitel DVD / 2 DVD - released 28/Oct/2005 ] "In many ways this is now the best bet for anyone wanting a DVD version of Die Walkure." (International Record Review) |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Complete Opera) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kirsten Flagstad, Ludwig Suthaus, Philhar. Furtwangler [ EMI Great Recordings of the Century / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Aug/2001 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1851-1900) "a uniquely compelling performance" Penguin Stereo Guide |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto (complete opera) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Wolfgang Schene, Julia Hamari, Peter Schreier, Tatiana Troyanos / Munchener Bach-Orchester, Karl Richter [ Deutsche Grammophon Opera House / 4 CD - released 1/Dec/2006 ] 'Tatiana Troyanos copes marvellously well with Cleopatra's essentially soprano part' (Gramophone) |