|
ALFREDO CATALANI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Catalani: La Wally (complete opera recorded in 1960 with libretto) Renata Tebaldi, Giacinto Prandelli, Dimitri Lopatto, Jolanda Gardino / Orchestra Sinfonica Di Roma Della RAI, Arturo Basile [ Hommage / 2 CD Box Set - released 16/Jan/1979 ] Recorded Rome 1960 |
|
FRANCESCO CILEA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur (complete opera recorded in 1962) Renata Tebaldi, Mario del Monaco, Giulietta Simionato, Giulio Fioravanti / Orchestra & Coro dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Roma, Franco Capuana [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/1991 ] Cilea's opera is based on a popular play which was itself based on the real life story of Adriana Lecouvreur - the great actress of early 18th Century Paris - and her relationship with the aristocratic soldier Maurizio, Count of Saxony. |
|
ALFREDO CATALANI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Catalani: La Wally (Complete opera with libretto, recorded in 1968) Renata Tebaldi, Mario del Monaco, Piero Cappuccilli, Justino Diaz / Coro Lirico di Torino & Orchestre national de l'Opera de Monte-Carlo / Cleva [ Decca / London / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2007 ] "Tebaldi in the title role who "...gives one of her most tenederly affecting performances on record, a glorious example of her singing late in her career...her poise and control of line...provide a model for any generation...the recording is superb." |
|
FREDERICK DELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Delius: A Village Romeo and Juliet (complete opera recorded in 1971) Robert Tear, Elizabeth Harwood, John Shirley-Quirk, Benjamin Luxon / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, John Alldis Choir, Meredith Davies [ EMI / 2 CD - released 1/Feb/2002 ] "Elizabeth Harwood and Robert Tear are both excellent as Vreli and Sali, winningly characterful and clearly focused...[Shirley-Quirk] is firm and forthright with an apt hint of the sinister" Penguin Guide, 2010 edition *** |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte (complete opera recorded in 2002 at the Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin) Dorothea Roschmann, Katharina Kammerloher, Hanno Muller-Brachmann, Werner Gura / Daniel Barenboim (cond) [ TDK/Euroarts DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Nov/2008 ] "It is very well performed. All the singers are on good form, and work well together in this most ensemble-based of Mozart operas. The picture quality and sound quality are both excellent, and there are loads of index points." (MusicWeb) |
|
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Aida (Complete opera) Ruggero Raimondi, Elena Obraztsova, Katia Ricciarelli, Placido Domingo, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala / Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon Opera House / 2 CD - released 1/Jul/2005 ] 'None is better or more thoroughly and thoughtfully conducted - and in Verdi, that is of the essence.' Gramophone |
|
EMIL NIKOLAUS von REZNICEK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Reznicek: Ritter Blaubart [Knight Bluebeard] (complete opera recorded in 2002) David Pittman-Jennings, Arutjun Kotchinian, Robert Wörle, Celina Lindsley / Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Michail Jurowski [ CPO / 2 CD - released 2/Jun/2003 ] "..the musical result is impressive, and the performance here under Michail Jurowski utterly convincing. All the soloists are more than equal to the task, some of it as demanding as anything Wagner ever made of his singers." MusicWeb |
|
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Tannhauser (complete opera recorded in 2012) Robert Dean Smith, Nina Stemme, Marina Prudenskaya, Christian Gerhaher / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin & Rundfunkchor Berlin, Marek Janowski [ Pentatone SACD / 3 Hybrid SACD - released 14/Jan/2013 ] This is the 6th instalment of PentaTone's successful Wagner Edition. It is the first time in the recording history that a label records all major Wagner opera's with the same orchestra, choir and conductor. This makes the PentaTone Wagner Edition a... |
|
ARRIGO BOITO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Boito: Mefistofele (Complete opera recorded in 1995) Samuel Ramey, Vincenzo La Scola, Michele Crider / Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Alla Scala, Milano, Riccardo Muti [ RCA Victor Red Seal / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Aug/1996 ] "Ramey was already a splendid Mefistofele...but here he is even more in command of the role, and has the advantage of Muti's masterly conducting. Crider is an affecting Margherita and La Scola a mellifluous Faust." Peformance & Sound: 5 (out of 5) |
|
FRANZ LEHAR
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Lehar: The Merry Widow (complete operetta recorded in English in 2001) San Francisco Opera / Yvonne Kenny, Bo Skovhus, Angelika Kirchschlager, Gregory Turay / Erich Kunzel (cond) [ BBC / Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Apr/2010 ] '…this is about as lavish a production of Franz Lehár's adorable operetta as you are ever likely to see…soprano Yvonne Kenny is perfectly cast in the title role.' Classic FM Magazine |
|
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: 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. At mid-price the Muti represents very good value and the performance is in |
|
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Macbeth (Complete Opera with libretto) Shirley Verrett, Piero Cappuccilli, Placido Domingo / Milan La Scala Chorus; Milan La Scala Orchestra / Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon Originals / 2 CD Box Set - released 5/May/2000 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1801-1850) - "scrupulously prepared, executed and recorded." (Gramophone) |
|
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Parsifal (the complete opera recorded in 1981) Bayreuth Festival / Siegfried Jerusalem / Eva Randova / Bernd Weikl / Horst Stein (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 DVD - released 26/Feb/2009 ] "A production and performance that showed the festival at its finest" (The New York Times) |
|
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: The Magic Flute (highlights from the complete opera) Siegfried Jerusalem, Lucia Popp, Wolfgang Brendel, Roland Bracht, Edita Gruberova / Bayerischen Rundfunks, Bernard Haitink [ EMI Classics Encore / CD - released 1/Jul/2001 ] "Haitink directs a rich and spacious account of Zauberflote, superbly recorded in spectacularly wide-ranging digital sound... a presentation that has been carefully thought through." (Penguin Guide 3 Stars) |
|
VINCENCO BELLINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bellini: Beatrice Di Tenda (complete opera with libretto) Edita Gruberova, Vesselina Kasarova, Igor Morosow / ORF Symphony Orchestra, Pinchas Steinberg [ Nightingale / 2 CD Box Set - released 28/Jun/2004 ] "Gruberova is a more involved singer than Sutherland, a brilliant technician and a musician of considerable finesse" BBC Music (comparing versions) |
|
HECTOR BERLIOZ
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Berlioz: Damnation De Faust, Le (Complete) Susan Graham, Thomas Moser, Josa van Dam, Choeurs de l Opara de Lyon / Lyon Opera / Kent Nagano [ Erato / 2 CD Box Set - released 6/Jun/2000 ] Magical performance of this major Berlioz work! |
|
JULES MASSENET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Massenet: Thais (complete opera recorded in 2004) Teatri La Fenice / Eva Mei (soprano), Michele Perusi (bass-baritone), William Joyner (tenor) & Christophe Fel (bass) / Marcello Viotti (cond) [ Dynamic DVD / DVD - released 28/Oct/2004 ] Venice's prestigious Teatro La Fenice's production of this enthralling opera, full of captivating music and dramatic development. The title role, in this excellent production, is sung by an Eva Mei in great vocal form, who gives an interpretation... |
|
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: La Cenerentola (complete opera.recorded in 1981) Teatro alla Scala / Frederica von Stade, Margherita Guglielmi, Laura Zannini, Francisco Araiza, Claudio Desderi, Paolo Montarsolo / Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon / Unitel DVD / DVD - released 8/Nov/2005 ] Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's staging of this classic fairy tale, originally created for the San Francisco Opera in 1969, has been one of the most successful opera stagings of the 20th century |