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Displaying records 21 through 30 of 1383 |
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![Puccini - La Bohème / Freni, Pavarotti, Harwood, Berlin Phil., Karajan [Highlights] under The Classical Store](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51594J5GN1L.jpg) |
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Price: $16.98
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Sale: $12.03
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Manufacturer: Decca
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Description: These excerpts were taken from the recording that has established itself as the standard by which all others should be measured. Herbert von Karajan's orchestra is no less than perfect, as much a virtuosic performer as the singers, evoking each moment's unique mood. Can there be any doubt that Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni were born to sing Puccini? Their sweet, creamy voices splendidly blend, creating a complete aural portrait of the bohemians' souls. Elizabeth Harwood is a wonderfully high-strung Musetta, with the vocal talent to support her many moods. After hearing these highlights, you won't be able to resist the whole set, which is the greatest recording ever of the world's most beloved opera. --Barbara Eisner Bayer
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Price: $11.98
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Sale: $6.99
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Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
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Description: Yes, here it is folks--that irritatingly catchy chorus you first heard in the film Excalibur, or as the background music to the HBO Boxing Specials, and in zillions of other places. What it's not is the music from The Omen, which it clearly inspired. All pieces of music that feature choruses chanting in Latin are not the same (in fact, Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms is much closer to The Omen than this). Orff actually wrote a lot more music, but here's a case where his reputation as a "one work" composer really is justified, for nothing else comes close in musical or popular appeal. This performance was authorized by the composer himself, and that's recommendation enough. --David Hurwitz
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Price: $32.98
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Sale: $21.97
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Manufacturer: EMI Classics
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Description: Little can be added to what's been written about this landmark recording, except that Walter Legge's 1953 mono production yields nothing to modern Tosca recordings for vivacity and theatrical impact--especially Maria Callas's. The miraculous Victor de Sabata conjures up a vibrant, inspiring orchestral canvas that enables Callas and her stellar cohorts to work their magic. Tito Gobbi and Callas spur each other on to heights in which the characters take over from the singers in the listener's mind. Giuseppe Di Stefano is on his best behavior, and in fresher voice than on his fine Leontyne Price-Herbert von Karajan remake. On this set, EMI includes texts, translations, and notes that discuss this recording in the context of Callas's mercurial career. --Jed Distler
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Price: $16.98
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Sale: $11.84
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Manufacturer: Decca
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Description: Ordinarily, it pays to be wary of collections such as these, which often promise a lot but deliver a mishmash of disconnected excerpts. This disc, however, is something of an exception: you really do get just about all of Puccini's best arias, which is possible, because he didn't write so many operas that choosing the best moments becomes a matter of the producer's personal taste. Also, Puccini's operas are so popular that every major label has excellent complete recordings of all of them, so in making this compilation it was possible to cast from strength: all the singers here are fine. In fact, the only proviso that needs to be made before you rush out and add this disc to your collection is that it's wrong to assume that all of Puccini's best tunes lie in his arias. The opening 10 minutes of any one of his operas will tell you that's not true. So by all means enjoy this disc--then start sampling the operas complete. --David Hurwitz
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Price: $9.98
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Sale: $6.05
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Manufacturer: RCA
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Price: $11.98
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Sale: $7.27
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Manufacturer: RCA
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Description: RCA's 1963 highlights disc brought the stars of the early-1950s revival of the work, Leontyne Price and William Warfield, together again. By this time, however, Price was well advanced on her meteoric rise to operatic stardom and Warfield was gaining renown as a recitalist. Both are glorious here and Price's shimmering "Summertime" is worth the price of the disc. A plus is the spirited Sportin' Life of John W. Bubbles, who created the role in the original 1935 production; an old-time vaudevillian, he wrings fun and irony from his all-too-short excerpts. Henderson conducts with vigor and RCA's "High Performance" sound, when heard on a good system, is remarkable. --Dan Davis
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Price: $23.98
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Sale: $16.12
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Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
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Description: This is the record that started the Hildegard craze back in 1982--and you need only listen to Emma Kirkby glide and soar through Columba aspexit (the opening hymn) to understand why. Gothic Voices performs the music very simply, either alternating soloists and unison choir over a drone or using a single unaccompanied voice. The singers render Hildegard's extravagant poetic imagery and melody not with the rhythmically fluid, ecstatic approach favored by Sequentia, but with equalist rhythm and a calm, meditative quality. Gothic Voices' straightforward approach is less likely to send you into a rapturous trance than is Sequentia's, but in the hands of such fine singers as Kirkby, Margaret Philpot, and Emily van Evera, Hildegard's extraordinary texts and melodies are captivating--and clear enough to linger in the memory as melodies rather than just sensations. This record is still Hyperion's bestselling title by far--try it and find out why. --Matthew Westphal
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Price: $33.98
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Sale: $24.74
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Manufacturer: Decca
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Description: This opera, about an orphan girl who is adopted by a whole regiment of Napoleon's army (meaning that anyone who wants to marry her must get the regiment's consent) combines sparkling comedy with spectacular vocal writing--not only for the soprano but for the tenor who, in one legendary passage, must produce nine high Cs in quick succession. Pavarotti's performance in this production, fairly early in his career, ranks with his Nemorino in L'Elisir d'amore, among the best of his recording career. Sutherland finds the role of Marie congenial, in terms of characterization as well as vocally, and the conducting is generally acceptable if not spectacularly good. --Joe McLellan
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Price: $7.98
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Sale: $3.59
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Manufacturer: Decca
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Price: $50.98
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Sale: $35.99
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Manufacturer: Decca
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Description: This was Joan Sutherland's second recording of Lucia, made with an all-star cast in prime vocal condition, and it is a must for those who believe that bel canto opera should live up to its descriptive title: "beautiful singing." In the 10 years since her first Lucia recording, she had settled more comfortably into the character and become even more expert in the music. Her costars are among the greatest singers of our time, a point that is particularly important in the ensemble singing. Maria Callas is more dramatic, and her Lucia is a must for Callas fans, but this set is a joyful celebration of the glory of the human voice. In purely musical terms it is the best-sung Lucia on record. --Joe McLellan
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Displaying records 21 through 30 of 1383
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