RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Tannhauser (Complete Opera recorded in 1983) Metropolitan Opera / Richard Cassilly, Eva Marton, Tatiana Troyanos / James Levine [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 13/Oct/2002 ] The Metropolitan Opera sings deeply passionate Wagner in this 1991 production on a spare but darkly atmospheric stage. |
PYTOR TCHAIKOVSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin (complete opera recorded in 2007) BLU-RAY Metropolitan Opera / Sergej Aleksashkin, Renee Fleming, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Ramon Vargas / Valery Gergiev (cond) [ Decca Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Mar/2009 ] This is a star-led performance of one of the most popular romantic operas with the unrivalled pairing of Fleming and Hvorostovsky as the doomed lovers. |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
MARBECK COLLECTABLE: Berlioz: Les Troyens (complete opera recorded in 1983) The Metropolitan Opera / Tatiana Troyanos, Jessye Norman, Placido Domingo / James Levine (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 28/Jun/2007 ] "Domingo's clarion (though stretched) Aeneas and Norman's passionate Cassandra are most memorable. Troyanos does not match Gardiner's Susan Graham, but Levine is admirably epic and provides the traditional finale." BBC Music |
GIOCOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Highlights) Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Christa Ludwig / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan [ Decca Records / CD - released 1/Jan/1990 ] Highlights from this most loved Opera. *** Three Stars. Penguin Stereo Guide |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tosca (Complete Opera recorded in 1976) Monserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, Ingvar Wixell, Samuel Ramey / Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Colin Davis [ Philips Duo / 2 CD - released 4/Sep/1993 ] The great Caballé at the height of her career sings with her protégé Carreras, his voice still vibrant with the golden glow of youth. The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, is led by Sir Colin Davis. |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Turandot (Highlights from the opera) Montserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, Mirella Freni, Alain Lombard [ EMI Redline / CD - released 29/Jun/1978 ] "From the verystart Caballe conveys an element of mystery while Freni underlines the dramatic rather than the lyrical side of Liu's role." (Penguin Guide) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Aida (Highlights from the opera) Montserrat Caballe, Placido Domingo, Fiorenza Cosottto, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Piero Cappuccilli, Luigi Roni / Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Muti [ EMI Classics Red Line / CD - released 1/Jul/1998 ] "Caballe's portrait of the heroine is superb, full of detailed insight into teh character and with countless examples of superlative singing." Penguin Guide |
DELIBES / RAVEL / MILHAUD / OFFENBACH / GOUNOD / SAUGUET / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Natalie Dessay - Airs d'operas Francais [French Opera Arias] Natalie Dessay (soprano) / Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Patrick Fourniller [ EMI Classics / CD - released 12/Jan/1996 ] "Dessay revels in Olympia's amusing aria known as the 'Doll Song', delivered with assurance and freedom; Dessay's striking coloratura makes an impression" MusicWeb |
IGOR STRAVINSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Stravinsky: Le Rossignol / Oedipus Rex (Complete Operas recorded 1999 & 1993) Natalie Dessay, Anthony Rolfe-Johnson, Marjana Lipovsek / l'Opéra National de Paris, James Conlon / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Franz Welser-Most [ EMI The Opera Series / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2010 ] "A fine recording of Stravinsky's colourful ballet, The Nightingale, with Natalie Dessay perfect in the title-role." (Gramophone) |
DONIZETTI / GOUNOD / PUCCINI / BISHOP / TOSTI / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Nellie Melba: Opera Arias & Songs Nellie Melba (soprano) [ EMI Classics / CD - released 2/Feb/1988 ] Nellie Melba was Australia's first international superstar, her voice and charisma captivating audiences. |
MIKHAIL IVANOVICH GLINKA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Glinka: Ivan Susanin [A Life for the Tsar] (complete opera recorded in 1986) Nicola Ghiuselev, Elena Stoyanova, Hristina Angelakova / Sofia National Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Ivan Marinov [ Brilliant Classics Opera Collection / 3 CD Box Set - released 11/Sep/2011 ] "In the title role we hear one of the foremost basses of the second half of the 20th century, Nicola Ghiuselev. ...he gives a rounded and deeply moving portrait of the folk hero Ivan Susanin." MusicWeb |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: La Flute enchantee [The Magic Flute] (Complete Opera recorded in 1964) Nicolai Gedda, Gundula Janowitz, Walter Berry, Lucia Popp / Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer [ EMI Classics La voix de son maitre / CD - released 23/Sep/1999 ] "I have never heard The Magic Flute sound so magical and the complete ease and seeming rightness of this performance is a wonder. The cast, chorus and orchestra are inspired under Klemperer, whom I here salute as a real genius" (Gramophone) |
GILBERT & SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance (complete operetta recorded in 2006) Opera Australia / Anthony Warlow, David Hobson, John Bolton Wood, Taryn Fiebig, Suzanne Johnston / Andrew Greene (cond) [ ABC DVD / DVD - released 3/May/2007 ] "If G&S is your thing, you'll love every moment of this joyful production" - The Australian |
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty Op 66 (complete ballet) The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mark Ermler [ Conifer / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/1990 ] "The orchestra respond idiomatically to Tchaikovsky dance music and with obvious familiarity and love. Ermler has a natural feeling for springing rhythms and moulding rubato persuasively." (Gramophone) |
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Op 71 (complete ballet) [with Arensky: Variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky] The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mark Ermler [ Conifer / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/1989 ] "The orchestra respond idiomatically to Tchaikovsky dance music and with obvious familiarity and love. Ermler has a natural feeling for springing rhythms and moulding rubato persuasively." (Gramophone) |
ADOLPHE ADAM
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Adam: Giselle [complete ballet] Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge [ Decca / 2 CD - released 19/Apr/2012 ] "Richard Bonynge's performance on Decca restores Adam's original and is a bit more strongly characterised, while the Decca sound has a slightly sharper and brighter profile." (Three Stars penguin Guide) |
KURT WEILL
Weill: The Threepenny Opera Tom Hollander, Sharon Small, Tara Hugo / Original Cast Donmar [London] [ Jay / CD - released 24/Nov/2003 ] On December 8 1994, the new production of Weill's and Brecht's 'The Threepenny Opera' opened at the Donmar Warehouse in London to critical acclaim. Jeremy Sams' new translation sets the work in London in the near future. |
CARL MARIA von WEBER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Weber: Der Freischutz (complete opera with libretto) Hermann Prey, Elisabeth Grummer, Lisa Otto, Rudolf Schock / Berlin Philharmonic, Joseph Keilberth [ EMI Studio / 2 CD - released 6/Mar/1989 ] "All soloists in this effort shine like the stars. Particularly the lovely (as always) Elisabeth Grummer...my God this lady was wonderful, and is, I am sure, greatly missed by all the great German opera houses today." (review) |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: Curlew River Peter Pears, John Shirley-Quirk, Harold Blackburn, Bryan Drake, English Opera Group, Benjamin Britten [ Decca Records / CD - released 2/Jan/1989 ] "Curlew River - A Parable for Church Performance (Op. 71) is an English music drama, with music by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by William Plomer. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: Tthe Burning Fiery Furnace Peter Pears, John Shirley-Quirk, Robert Tear, Stafford Dean / English Opera Group, Benjamin Britten [ Decca / London / CD - released 18/Nov/1990 ] This recording remains unique and carries that special authority only the composer himself can bring to his recordings. |