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PUCCINI / VERDI / GIORDANO / TCHAIKOVSKY / BIZET / GOUNOD / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Your Hundred best Opera Tunes 1 (features 'Nessun dorma') Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne, Mirella Freni, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi, Kiri te Kanawa, Nicolai Ghiaurov, etc [ Decca / CD - released 9/Jan/1991 ] Your Hundred Best Opera Tunes Features fifteen tracks of popular arias which we all know and love |
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W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Zaide K344 (Complete opera) Lynne Dawson, Hans Peter Blochwitz,Olaf Bär, Herbert Lippert / The Academy of Ancient Music; Paul Goodwin-director [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 24/Jun/2004 ] Mozart began this masterpiece in 1780 for the new Viennese Singspiel company, but at their insistence on a comedy he switched to writing Idomeneo, and Zaide remained unfinished. |
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ANTONIO VIVALDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vivaldi: Opera and Oratorio arias Magdalena Kozena (mezzo soprano) / Venice Baroque Orchestra, Andrea Marcon [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 18/Jun/2009 ] "Magdalena Kozená has almost become the Barack Obama of mezzo-sopranos. With that mesmerising voice, that magnetic personality, everybody wants a piece of her." The Times, 5th June 2009 *** |
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VERDI / DONIZETTI / BELLINI / DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Marcelo Alvarez - Bel Canto Marcelo Alvarez (tenor) / Orchestra of Welsh National Opera, Carlo Rizzi [ Sony Classical / CD - released 17/Sep/1998 ] Álvarez travels widely, performing with top singers in major opera houses and concert halls around the world. Since the beginning of his career in 1994, he has maintained an active touring schedule and debuted in 34 roles. |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Manon Lescaut (Complete Opera with libretto) Maria Guleghina, José Cura, Lucio Gallo / Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Riccardo Muti [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD Box Set - released 10/Oct/2000 ] "Maria Guleghina turns in a Manon with range, capturing both the delicate side of the singing role and the more gripping and grim moments, especially in the last act. She has a powerful voice when she wants to project it, but she can also deliver... |
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GILBERT AND SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: Ruddigore (complete operetta - original version) Marilyn Hill Smith, Gordon Sandison, Joan Davies, Alexandra Hann / Chorus and Orchestra of the New Sadler's Wells Opera / Simon Phipps [ Jay Productions / 2 CD - released 1/Jan/2001 ] The New Sadler's Wells Opera was formed in the mid-eighties, filling the void (or so it was thought) that was left by the closure of the original D'Oyly Carte. It has even been suggested that the Powers that Be pushed the old Company gently into the... |
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ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schoenberg - Kaiserwalzer and Other Transcriptions (Reger, Strauss, Sioly & others) Markus Schafe (tenor) / Soloists of the Opera National de Lyon [ Erato Elatus / CD - released 7/Jun/2003 ] Recorded at the Opéra National de Lyon from 20-22 April 1994 |
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JACQUES OFFENBACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Offenbach: Orpheus In The Underworld (operetta in English) Mary Hegarty, David Fieldsend, Jill Pert, Richard Suart, Rosemarie Arthars, D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, John Owen Edwards [ Sony music / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Jan/1994 ] ".. the whole production has a real lived-in feel and, in Mary Hegarty's flighty Eurydice, a nymphet - sorry, nymph - virtually to die for. " BBC Music |
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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 |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera (complete opera recorded in 1991) Metropolitan Opera / Luciano Pavarotti, Leo Nucci, April Millo, Florence Quivar / James Levine (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 30/May/2008 ] "The best justification for buying this issue is to see and hear Pavarotti nearer to his vocal peak in a role which his strong lyric voice and clear diction is ideally suited" (MusicWeb) |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Aida (Complete opera recorded in 1980) Mirella Freni, Josa Carreras, Agnes Baltsa, Piero Cappuccilli / Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan [ EMI / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Jul/1988 ] There are numerous opera which give the chance to the producer for spectacular scenery but some actually demand it - one of these, without doubt, is AIDA. |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart Concert Arias Natalie Dessay (soprano) / Orchestre de l'Opera de Lyon, Theodor Gulschbauer [ Erato Classics Premium / CD - released 20/Mar/2010 ] Recorded when she was barely 30 this is one of Natalie Dessay's greatest ever recordings, comprising 8 of Mozart's concert arias for high soprano (up to G above high C!). |
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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 |
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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) |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Handel Giulio Cesare in Egitto (complete opera recorded in 1994) Opera Australia & Ballet / Yvonne Kenny, Graham Pushee, Rosemary Gunn, Elizabeth Campbell / Richard Hickox (cond) [ EuroArts Opera Australia DVD / 2 DVD - released 22/Jan/2021 ] A daringly inventive rendition of Handel's operatic masterpiece 'Giulio Cesare', performed live at the Sydney Opera House in 1994 by the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra conducted by Richard Hickox, and starring Yvonne Kenny and Graham Pushee. |
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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) |
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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. |