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. |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Barbara Hendricks - Mozart Opera and Conceret Arias Barbara Hendricks (soprano) / English Chamber Orchestra, Ion Marin [ EMI Classics / CD - released 12/Dec/1998 ] Recorded at Air Studios, London, March 1997 |
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 **** |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Complete Opera recorded in 1961) Remastered CDs plus Blu-ray audio Birgit Nilsson, Fritz Uhl, Regina Resnik / Wiener Philharmoniker / Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Records CD + Blu-ray audio / 4 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Jul/2019 ] "Working with Georg Solti in the studio, as well as on stage, was extremely rewarding for me … I treasure our collaboration as one of the most stimulating in my whole career" (Birgit Nilsson) |
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,... |
BORODIN / VERDI / MUSSORGSKY / GLUCK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Boris Christoff: Opera Arias Boris Christoff (bass) with Ana Alexieva (mezzo) / Various orchestras & conductors [ EMI Studio / CD - released 14/Oct/1988 ] "...should on no account be missed by lovers of great singing." (MusicWeb Nov 2007) |
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: Don Carlo (complete opera with libretto recorded in 1966) Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Tebaldi, Nicolai Ghiaurav, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House / Sir Georg Solti [ Decca / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/1988 ] "A five-Act version of Verdi's opera, in the standard Italian translation, conducted with energy and boasting superior soloists. Carlo Bergonzi is especially fine in the title role." BBC Music Magazine, January 2009 **** |
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 |
SCOTT JOPLIN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Joplin: Treemonisha (Complete opera) Carmen Baltrop, Betty Allen, Curtis Rayam, Willard White / Original Cast Orchestra & Chorus / Gunther Schuller [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 1/Jul/1976 ] 'Performance and recording are first class' - Penguin Guide |
AGOSTINO STEFFANI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Steffani: Mission (Blu-ray) Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo-soprano) / I Barocchisti, Diego Fasolis, with Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor) [ Decca Classics Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 6/Dec/2012 ] "Bartoli's programming instincts are immaculate in terms of musical and emotional variety; she is compelling in pearly arioso and slow numbers, less so in bravura ones." Sunday Times, 14th October 2012 |
BELLINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bellini: La Sonnambula (complete opera in hard cover with full libretto) Cecilia Bartoli, Juan-Diego Florez, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo / Orchestra La Scintilla / Alessandro De Marchi [ Decca Music Group / 2 CD - released 5/Nov/2008 ] "In this recording, thanks to the soloists and conductor, it manages to come over as I suspect Bellini and Romani intended, as a mini-drama with a happy ending. I have enjoyed the performance immensely and will return to it. (MusicWeb) |
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... |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart W.A.- Don Giovanni (Highlights) Cesare Siepi, Leontyne Price, Birgit Nilsson, Fernando Corena / Vienna Philharmonic, Erich Leinsdorf [ Decca Opera Gala / CD - released 5/Jul/2000 ] "Siepi and Corena as man and master make a very fine pair...such easy authority and perfect enunciation...Leontyne Price is splendid as Elvira and Birgt Nilsson is thrillingly dramatic." Gramophone |
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... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI / LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN / J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Sacred Music [4 DVDs Special Price] Christian Elsner, Rene Pape, Midori Suzuki, Robin Blaze, Ruth Ziesak / Dresden State Opera, Musicale Fiorentino, Bach Collegium Japan, etc [ DV1 / Ovation Entertainment / 4 DVD Box Set - released 16/Sep/2010 ] The great sacred works Masses, oratorios and requiems are among the most moving and sublime creations of classical music. They provide solace and can lift you in ways that mere words can never achieve. |