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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. |
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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) |
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ETIENNE-NICOLAS MEHUL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mehul: Stratonice (complete opera recorded in 1996) Patricia Petibon, Yann Beuron, Étienne Lescroart, Karl Daymond / Capella Coloniensis & Corona Coloniensis, William Christie [ Erato / Warner Classics The Opera Collection / CD - released 12/Oct/2009 ] "William Christie brings out all the nuances in Méhul's score; and the dialogue is admirably spoken and paced by all - obviously well produced and intelligently performed." Gramophone |
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ANDRE PREVIN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Previn: A Streetcar Named Desire (complete opera) Renee Fleming, Rodney Gulfry, Elizabeth Futral / San Francisco Opera, Andre Previn [ Deutsche Grammophon / 3 CD Box Set - released 21/Mar/1998 ] "The greater part of Previn's success has to do with his respect for, and understanding of, the music of Williams's text. Librettist Philip Littell has done an excellent job of adapting it, condensing it, mindful of how opera, by its very nature,... |
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FRIEDRICH SMETANA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Smetana: The Bartered Bride (Highlights recorded in German in 1962) Pilar Lorengar, Gottlob Frick, Fritz Wunderlich / Bamberger Symphoniker / Rudolf Kempe [ EMI Classics Electrola Collection / CD - released 24/Aug/1987 ] "There, as elsewhere, Pilar Lorengar is better than in any other recording I have heard. Her quick vibrato, which later in her career tended to widen and give a feeling of unsteadiness, is here beautifully controlled and she sings warmly." MusicWeb |
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VERDI / DONIZETTI / BIZET / BELLINI / ROSSINI / THOMAS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Opera Gala Placido Domingo, Thomas Hampson, Ruth Ann Swenson / Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra, Eugene Kohn [ EMI Classics / CD - released 1/Aug/1996 ] 'An opera gala with a difference. Instead of cherry-picking the usual highlights, it gives us arias and duets in the context of complete scenes, which affords the added novelty of the stars taking on supporting roles they would never usually sing' |
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PUCCINI / VERDI / MASCAGNI / MOZART / BOITO / HANDEL / GOUNOD / MEYERBEER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Placido Domingo: Opera Classics Placido Domingo, various orchestras and conductors [ EMI Classics / CD - released 20/Dec/1993 ] This CD brings together an unrivalled selection of the most popular tenor arias, performed by the popular Placido Domingo |
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RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: The Mastersingers Of Nuremberg (Complete opera in English) Norman Bailey, Derek Hammond-Stroud, Noel Mangin, Sadler's Wells Chorus & Orchestra, Reginald Goodall [ Chandos Opera in English / 4 CD Box Set - released 30/Jun/2008 ] "An ensemble singing an ensemble opera: that is perhaps the performance's greatest strength, but there are many moments when it rises far above that… Whether you were around or not, do listen to this supremely humane account of a supremely humane... |
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RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Parsifal (Complete Opera recorded in 1973) [4 CDs + Blu-ray audio] Rena Kollo, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christa Ludwig, Zoltan Kelemen, Gottlob Frick / Wiener Philharmoniker [Vienna Philharmonic], Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Records / 5 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Apr/2018 ] This recording of Parsifal was the first studio recording of the work. A stellar cast is assembled with René Kollo as Parsifal, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Amfortas and Christa Ludwig as Kundry. |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: La Boheme (Highlights from the opera) Renata Tebaldi, Carlo Bergonzi, Gianni d'Angelo / Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Tullio Serafin [ Decca Opera Gala / CD - released 28/May/1988 ] "it still sounds astonishingly vivid,with a very convincing theatrical atmosphere. Vocally the performance achieves a consistently high standard, with Tebaldi as Mim the most affecting." Penguin Guide |
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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 |
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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. |
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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." |
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VERDI / PUCCINI / ROSSINI / CILEA / REFICE / BOITO / MASCAGNI / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: La Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi (soprano), Orchestre National de l'Opera de Monte-Carlo, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, New Philharmonia Orchestr [ Decca / CD Box Set - released 10/Aug/2005 ] In May 1946, when Milan's venerable La Scala theatre reopened after World War II, conductor Arturo Toscanini selected Renata Tebaldi, then 24, to sing music by Rossini and Verdi... the voice of an angel - Toscanini's reported. |
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MOZART / DONIZETTI / LEHAR / DVORAK & OTHERS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Renee and Bryn - Under the Stars Renee Fleming, Bryn Terfel / The Orchestra of Welsh National Opera / Gareth Jones / Paul Gemignani [ Decca DVD / DVD - released 24/Mar/2003 ] Filmed 'live' in the magical mountains of Wales at Bryn Terfel's Faenol Festival, this exclusive 'Under The Stars' DVD is released to co-incide with the CD of the same title. |