MOZART / VERDI / LEONCAVALLO / ROSSINI / PUCCINI / TRADITIONAL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tito Gobbi in Opera And Song Tito Gobbi (baritone) [ Testament / CD ] Tito Gobbi made his operatic debut in Gubbio in 1935 as Count Rodolfo in Bellini's La sonnambula and quickly appeared in Italy's major opera houses. By the time he retired in 1979 he had acquired a repertoire of almost 100 operatic roles. |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Gianni Schicchi (complete) (recorded 1958) / Scenes from Verdi's Don Carlo & Simon Boccanegra (recorded 1954 & 1957) Tito Gobbi (baritone) / Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma / Gabriele Santini (with Victoria de los Angeles) [ EMI Great Artists of the Century / CD - released 6/Apr/2004 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - "Gobbi had one of those hauntingly individual voices that leave their imprint on phrases and arias: very much the male counterpart of Maria Callas." |
LEONCAVALLO / MOZART / DONIZETTI / CILEA / ROSSINI / PUCCINI / VERDI / WOLF-FERRARI / GIORDANO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tito Gobbi - Italian Opera Arias Tito Gobbi (baritone) with various orchestras and accompanists [ EMI Studio / CD - released 1/Oct/1989 ] Featuring various orchestras including Orchestra Del Teatro Alla Scala, Orchestra Del Teatro Dell'Opera Di Roma, Philharmonia Orchestra and The London Symphony Orchestra |
JULES MASSENET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Massenet: Don Quichotte (complete opera recorded in 1992) Jose van Dam, Teresa berganza, Alain Fondary, Isabelle Vernet / Toulouse Capital Orchestra & Chorus, Michel Plasson [ EMI Classics The Home of Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 18/Jan/2010 ] "Van Dam, Berganza and Fondary sing beautifully." BBC Music |
BEDRICH SMETANA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Smetana: Libuse (Festive Opera In 3 Acts) Eva Urbanová, Vratislav Kriz, Ludek Vele, Helena Kaupová / Prague National Theatre Chorus & Orchestra, Oliver Dohnanyi [ Supraphon / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2009 ] "The cast is splendid, reflecting that the extraordinary musical traditions of the Czech's (Europe's most musical nation?) are alive and well. The whole performance captures the sense of occasion." MusicWeb |
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: Il Trovatore (Complete opera) Veronica Villarroel; Elena Zaremba; Andrea Bocelli; Carlo Guelfi / Orchestra conducted by Steven Mercurio [ Decca Records / 2 CD - released 27/May/2004 ] "Lay misconceptions aside: this version of a popular favourite challenges the best" Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine Sept 2004 |
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) |
PIETRO MASCAGNI / RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mascagni/Leoncavallo: Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci (complete operas recorded in 1960/62 with libretto) Victoria de los Angeles, Lucine Amara, Franco Corelli, Tito Gobbi / Opera Roma, Gabriele Santini, Teatro alla Scala, Lovro von Matacic [ EMI Classics / 2 CD - released 1/Mar/1991 ] "With Met stalwart Lucine Amara a strong Nedda this is one of the most bloodcurdling recordings of this finale." Musicweb (on Pagliacci) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Don Carlos (complete unabridged version 1867, recorded in 2004) Vienna State Opera / Alastair Miles, Ramon Vargas, Bo Skovhus, Iano Tamar / Bertrand de Billy [ ArtHaus Musik DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Aug/2010 ] "A provocative, rewarding production." (beckmessersquill.com) |
BEDRICH SMETANA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Die Verkraufte Braut [The Bartered Bride] (complete opera recorded in 1982) Vienna State Opera / Lucia Popp / Siegfried Jerusalem / Karl Ridderbusch / Adam Fischer (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon / DVD - released 7/Aug/2007 ] Every bar bubbles with the spirit of the Bohemian countryside in Otto Schenk's picturesque 1982 production from Vienna, where Smetana's comic masterpiece, The Bartered Bride, first conquered the hearts of opera lovers with its lilting melodies,... |
GEORGES BIZET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bizet: Carmen (complete Franco Zeffirelli production recorded in 1978) Vienna State Opera / Placido Domingo, Elena Obraztsova, Isobel Buchanan, Yuri Mazurok, Isobel Buchanan / Carlos Kleiber (cond) [ Arthaus DVD / Blu-ray Disc - released 12/Jul/2004 ] The Vienna Carmen from 1978 is a sensational filmed document from the musical legacy of Carlos Kleiber: the meticulous conductor only ever conducted a highly selected repertoire, and among his very few audio and video recordings are only seven... |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: La Boheme (complete opera recorded in 2005) Zurich Opera / Cristina Gallardo-Domas, Elena Mosuc, Marcello Giordani, Cheyne Davidson / Franz Welser-Most (cond) [ EMI Classics / DVD - released 26/Mar/2007 ] The Belgian director of this production, Philippe Sireuil, was heavily inspired by Aki Kaurismäki's film version of Henri Murger's novel "Scènes de la vie de Bohème". |
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 |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The World of Wagner Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Vienna State Opera Chorus & Vienna Philharmonic, Sir Georg Solti, Birgit Nilsson (soprano) / [ Decca / CD - released 10/Nov/1993 ] A great beginners guide to the operas of Richard Wagner. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72 (Complete Opera recorded in 1970) Helga Dernesch, Jon Vickers, Zoltán Kéléman, Helen Donath / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan [ EMI Classics Opera / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Aug/1995 ] "Helga Dernesch as Leonare gives a glorious, thrilling peformance. The orchestral playing is superb." (Penguin Guide) |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte (complete opera with libretto) Kiri te Kanawa, Marie McLaughlin, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Thomas Hampson / Vienna Philharmonic,James Levine [ Deutsche Grammophon / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/May/1990 ] "Te Kanawa is in fine voice, a little looser and more mature-sounding than in her two previous assumptions of Fiordiligi but her soprano is bigger and her characterisation more assertive than before, making more of the text." MusicWeb |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Macbeth (complete opera recorded in 1976) Sherrill Milnes, Fiorenza Cossotto, José Carreras, Ruggero Raimondi / New Philharmonia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti [ EMI / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/May/1986 ] "There is no weakness among the set's principals. Cossotto remains just about the most idiomatic of Ladies on disc and encompasses the role with full tone and biting diction." (Gramophone) |
UMBERTO GIORDANO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Giordano: Andrea Chenier (complete opera) Renata Tebaldi, Mario del Monaco, Ettore Bastianini / Orchestra e cora dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Roma, Gianandrea Gavazzeni [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1990 ] Originally recorded 1957 |
ALBAN BERG
Berg: Lulu (Complete Opera recorded in 1979 with complete libretto) Teresa Stratas, Yvonne Minton, Robert Tear / Paris Opera Orchestra/Pierre Boulez [ Deutsche Grammaphon / 3 CD Box Set - released 16/Mar/2000 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) -- "This pioneering recording, the first to use Friedrich Cerha's realisation of Act 3, has not been bettered" (Gramophone) |