GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Madama Butterfly (complete opera with full libretto) Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Christa Ludwig, Robert Kerns / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus, Herbert von Karajan [ Decca / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2019 ] "Freni is an enchanting Butterfly, constantly growing in stature...Pavarotti is an intensely imaginative Pinkerton" Penguin Guide |
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL & FRIENDS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mr Handel's Dinner: Music for the Handel opera intermissions Maurice Steger (recorder) and Ensemble La Cetra [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 26/Apr/2019 ] "Steger is brilliant when the music is lively. Into his fleetness he mixes zest, charm and impish humour, making you wonder how such artfulness, at such speed and with such nutty dexterity, is humanly possible." BBC Music |
NICOLA PORPORA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Porpora: Opera Arias Max Emanuel Cencic (countertenor) / Armonia Atenea, George Petrou [ Decca Records / CD - released 15/Aug/2018 ] "Porpora's gift for characterisation pales beside Handel's, but his vocal fireworks bring modest delight, especially when backed by the bustling musicians of George Petrou's Armonia Atenea" The Times |
BIZET / BERLIOZ / DEBUSSY / MUSSORGSKY / RAVEL / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Andre Cluytens Boris Christoff (bass) / National Opera of Sofia / Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, Orchestre du Théâtre National de l'Opéra, André [ EMI Classics / 2 CD - released 25/Feb/2018 ] Great Conductors of the 20th Century is a joint venture between the production and licensing expertise of IMG Artists and the international marketing and distribution clout of EMI. Sixty volumes were planned with hopes for even more. Unfortunately,... |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen (recorded live in 1957) Hans Hotter, Birgit Nilsson, Otakar Kraus, Wolfgang Wingassen, Peter Klein / Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Rudolf Kempe [ Testament / 13 CD Box Set - released 20/Feb/2018 ] "The glory here is Birgit Nilsson's gleaming Brünnhilde, already 39 years old, but sounding youthful, touching and tireless. The set is a reminder of the strengths of the company at this period, with Joan Sutherland leading the Rhinemaidens." Sunday |
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 |
VERDI / SAINT-SAENS / PUCCINI / GIORDANO / OFFENBACH / DVORAK / MOZART / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Best Opera Album in the World...Ever! Roberto Alagna, Mirella freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Mady Mesple, Placido Domingo, Thomas Hampson, Nicolai Gedda, Victoria de los Angeles, etc [ EMI Classics / 2 CD - released 13/Oct/2016 ] This CD set presents an extensive opera sampler of mostly arias, with some famous choruses as well, such as Va, Pensiero from Verdi's Nabucco. |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (complete opera with libretto) Piero Cappuccilli, Mirella Freni, José van Dam, Nicolai Ghiaurov / La Scala Chorus & Orchestra, Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon Originals / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Jul/2016 ] "one of the most beautiful Verdi sets ever made. The playing of the orchestra is brilliantly incisive as well as refined, so that the drama is underlined by extra sharpness of focus..with electrifying choral singing as well." (Penguin Guide) |
GRAUN / HANDEL / PERTI / PORPORA / ORLANDINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Agrippina Opera Arias Ann Hallenberg (mezzo) / Il Pomo d'Oro, Riccardo Minasi [ Deutsche Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/Mar/2016 ] "there's an equally dazzling vengeance aria by Orlandini, in which Riccardo Minasi's orchestra, Il Pomo d'Oro, really lets fly. Hallenberg is as convincing in these as she is in the more reflective numbers...very classily done" (The Guardian) |
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... |
PUCCINI / BIZET / VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Maria Callas at Covent Garden: London 1962 & 1964 Maria Callas (soprano) / Orchestra & Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden [ EMI Classics DVD / DVD - released 20/Nov/2015 ] These are the only professional video recordings of Callas in performance on stage. The DVD contains footage of Callas performing arias in concert. Even without staging and costumes, she demonstrates her mesmerising stage presence. |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Turandot (Complete Opera with complete libretto) Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballe, Nicolai Ghiaurov / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta [ Decca Records / 2 CD Box Set - released 17/Feb/2015 ] "Sutherland gives an intensely appealing interpretation, while Pavarotti gives a performance equally imaginative. Mehta directs a gloriously rich and dramatic performance. Still the best-sounding Turandot on CD." Penguin Guide |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Turandot (highlights) Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballe, Nicolai Ghiaurov / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta [ Decca Opera Gala / CD - released 17/Feb/2015 ] "Sutherland gives an intensely appealing interpretation, while Pavarotti gives a performance equally imaginative. Mehta directs a gloriously rich and dramatic performance. Still the best-sounding Turandot on CD." Penguin Guide |
RICHARD STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Ariadne auf Naxos (complete opera recorded 1986 with libretto) Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnes Baltsa, Kathleen Battle, Gary Lakes, Hermann Prey / Wiener Philharmoniker, James Levine [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD Box Set - released 30/Oct/2014 ] "For its debut on CD, Ariadne auf Naxos receives a bright, clear DG recording, ... Much of this can be credited to James Levine's acute sense of tempo throughout" Gramophone |
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 / 2 CD Box Set - 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." Gramophone |
CHARLES GOUNOD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gounod: Faust (complete opera with full libretto recorded in 1986) Kiri te Kanawa, Francisco Araiza, Evgeny Nesterenko, Andreas Schmidt / Symphonie-Orchester & Chor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Colin Davis [ Philips / 3 CD Box Set - released 28/Aug/2014 ] "Let me say at the outset that this is the most satisfying performance of Gounod's favourite opera yet to appear in the LP/CD era...In the lyrical music Araiza manages a real pianissimo not found in his rival's assumptions." Gramophone |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: Princess Ida Ambrosian Opera Chorus with Frank Gorshin, Nan Christie, Laurence Dale, Anne Collins & others [ BBC / Umbrella DVD / DVD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] Music by the London Symphony Orchestra, the Ambrosian Opera Chorus and a host of stars including Frank Gorshin, Bernard Dickerson, Anne Collins and Claire Powell. 114 minutes. For more than 100 years the operas of Gilbert & Sullivan have played to... |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: The Yeomen of the Guard Ambrosian Opera Chorus with Joel Grey, elizabeth Gale, Claire Powell, Alfred Marks, David Hillman & Elizabeth Bainbridge & others [ BBC / Umbrella DVD / DVD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] For more than 100 years the operas of Gilbert & Sullivan have played to packed audiences around the world. These two names have become synonymous with classic light opera - music that is timeless and tuneful lyrics that are witty, scathing and memorable. |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: Trial By Jury & Cox and Box Ambrosian Opera Chorus with Kate Flowers, Frankie Howard, Ryland Davies, Russell Smythe, Thomas Lawlor & others [ BBC / Umbrella DVD / DVD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] Music by the London Symphony Orchestra, the Ambrosian Opera Chorus and a host of stars including Alexander Oliver, Thomas Hemsley, Anne Collins and Kate Flowers. 112 minutes. |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: Patience & The Sorcerer [2 DVDs] Ambrosian Opera Chorus with Sandra Dugdale, Donald Adams, Derek Hammond-Stroud, John Fryatt, Clive Revill, David Kernan & Nana Christie [ BBC / Umbrella DVD / DVD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] For more than 100 years the operas of Gilbert & Sullivan have played to packed audiences around the world. These two names have become synonymous with classic light opera - music that is timeless and tuneful lyrics that are witty, scathing and memorable. |