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SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Coleridge-Taylor: Hiawatha (complete opera with libretto) Helen Field, Arthur Davies, Bryn Terfel / Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Kenneth Alwyn [ Argo / 2 CD Box Set - released 5/Nov/2007 ] "The performance is both spirited and sensitive...Bryn Terfel is splendid in his dramatic strength and sharpness of focus" Gramophone |
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WALTER BRAUNFELS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Braunfels: Die Vogel [The Birds] (complete opera ) Hellen Kwon, Endrik Wottrich, Michael Kraus, Marita Posselt, Wolfgang Holzmair, Matthias Görne / Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Lothar Zagrosek [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 16/Feb/2011 ] "Zagrosek's reading and the performances by his cast and orchestra are gripping and more than do justice to this wonderful score. Wottrich and Kraus are impressive in the male leads." ClassicalNet |
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ALBERT LORTZING
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Lortzing: Der Wildschütz (complete opera recorded in 1963 with librettio) Hermann Prey, Anneliese Rothenberger, Fritz Wunderlich / Chorus and Orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera, Munich / Robert Heger [ EMI Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Jul/1997 ] "I would enthusiastically recommend Der Wildschütz and Fritz Wunderlich, especially, as an ideal introduction to Albert Lortzing." Fanfare |
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GEORGES BIZET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bizet: Les Pecheurs des Perles [The Pearl Fishers] (Complete Opera recorded in 1963) Ileana Cotrubas, Alain Vanzo, Guillermo Sarabia, Roger Soyer / Choeur & Orchestre du Theatre National de 'Opera de Paris / Georges Pretre [ EMI Classics For Pleasure / 2 CD - released 10/Feb/1990 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die - "The well-recorded CfP set is valuable principally because it has Cotrubas at her best, a most appealing Leila and worth the bargain price of the discs on her own account." (Gramophone) |
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HECTOR BERLIOZ
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Berlioz: Beatrice et Benedict (Complete opera) Janet Baker, Robert Tear, Christiane Eda-Pierre, Thomas Allen, Helen Watts, London Symphony Orchestra. Sir Colin Davis [ Philips / 2 CD - released 5/May/2005 ] Dame Janet Baker and Robert Tear lead an outstanding cast in this classic recording of Berlioz' operatic setting of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, under the baton of the distinguished Berlioz conductor Sir Colin Davis. |
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RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Siegfried (complete opera recorded in Valencia, 2007) Jennifer Wilson, Lance Ryan, Peter Seiffert, Gerhard Siegel, Juha Uusitalo / Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Zubin Mehta [ C Major DVD / 2 DVD - released 16/Feb/2011 ] "Quite a spectacle, brilliantly sung." The Sunday Times "It looks like a landmark Ring cycle, it is outstanding." BBC Music Magazine |
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RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Gotterdammerung [Complete opera recorded in Valencia, 2008) Jennifer Wilson, Lance Ryan, Ralf Lukaso / Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Zubin Mehta [ C Major DVD / 2 DVD - released 16/Feb/2011 ] "Quite a spectacle, brilliantly sung." The Sunday Times "It looks like a landmark Ring cycle, it is outstanding." BBC Music Magazine |
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GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia [The Barber of Seville] (Complete Opera recorded in 1992) Jerry Hadley, Bruno Praticò, Susanne Mentzer, Thomas Hampson, Samuel Ramey / Orchestra della Toscana, Gianluigi Gelmetti [ EMI Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/1993 ] "..an absolutely complete text (the recent critical edition by Alberto Zedda is used) shorn of the accretions of nearly 200 years, and singers of the calibre of Thomas Hampson and Samuel Ramey." Classical-Music |
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RICHARD STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss, (R.): Ariadne auf Naxos (Complete opera recorded in 1988) Jessye Norman, Julia Varady, Edita Gruberova / Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Kurt Masur [ Philips / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/May/1989 ] "Jessye Norman's is a commanding, noble, deeply felt performance, ranging extraordinarily wide; she provides the perfectfocus for a cast as near ideal as anyone could assemble today." (Penguin Guide) |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: La Traviata (Complete Opera) : live from Paris Josa Cura, Eteri Gvazava, Rolando Panerai / Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI/ Zubin Mehta [ Teldec / 2 CD - released 7/Jul/2000 ] "..the performances of a cast of singers chosen as much for dramatic as for musical appropriateness has resulted in a performance on disc that is thoroughly convincing." BBC Music |
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RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Der Fliegende Hollander [The Flying Dutchman] (complete opera recorded in 1953) Josef Metternich, Annelies Kupper, Wolfgang Windgassen, Josef Greindl / RIAS Kammerchor & RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester, Ferenc Fricsay [ Australian Deutsche Grammophon Eloquence / 2 CD - released 10/Aug/2015 ] "By a fair margin [this set] remains my favourite, with Fricsay at his most electrifying and the team of men quite unbeatable." (Gramophone) |
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GEORGES BIZET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bizet: Carmen (complete opera with full libretto) Julia Migenes Johnson, Placido Domingo, Ruggiero Raimondi, Faith Esham / National Orchestra of France, Lorin Maazel [ Erato / CD - released 1/May/1984 ] "Carmen is sung here by Julia Migenes Johnson. Her Habanera is wonderfully shapely and sexy, in a quite light flirty manner. In Act 4 she and Placido Domingo (as Don José) give us a wonderfully dramatic climax to the opera." (MusicWeb) |
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CHARLES GOUNOD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gounod: Faust (complete opera with full libretto recorded in 1986) Kiri te Kanawa, Francisco Araiza, Evgeny Nesterenko, Andreas Schmidt / Symphonie-Orchester & Chor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Colin Davis [ Philips / 3 CD Box Set - released 28/Aug/2014 ] "Let me say at the outset that this is the most satisfying performance of Gounod's favourite opera yet to appear in the LP/CD era...In the lyrical music Araiza manages a real pianissimo not found in his rival's assumptions." Gramophone |
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SERGEI PROKOFIEV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Prokofiev: Betrothal in a Monastery (complete opera) Kirov Opera & Ballet / Anna Netrebko, Larissa Diadkova, Nikolai Gassiev, Aleksander Gergalov / Valery Gergiev (conductor) [ Philips DVD / DVD - released 5/Jan/2006 ] 'The lively Kirov production.is a delight. What is most remarkable is the overall quality and consistency of the cast. Anna Netrebko was splendid as Louisa, singing with limpid, agile tone.' New York Times |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: La Traviata (complete opera recorded in 1977 with libretto) Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Carlos Kleiber (conductor), Ileana CotrubaČ™ (soprano), Placido Domingo (tenor) etc... [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 21/Nov/1985 ] Recorded in 1977 NOTE: Slightly damaged outer cardboard cover |
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BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: Peter Grimes (complete opera with libretto) Philip Langridge, Janice Watson, Alan Opies, Anne Collins / Opera London, City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox [ Chandos / 2 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1997 ] "The casting of Philip Langridge in the title-role is central to the set's success. As on stage, he is unrivalled at conveying the character's moutning hysteria, and the result is chilling. Janice Watson makes a most touching Ellen Orford." Penguin |
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GIAN CARLO MENOTTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors (Complete opera) Lora Haywood, John Dobson, Donald Maxwell, with James Rainbird as Amahl. Royal Opera House Covent Garden. David Syrus [ That's Entertainment / CD - released 1/Mar/2004 ] "Recorded under the supervision of the composer himself, this is a fresh and highly dramatic performance, very well sung and marked by atmospheric digital sound of striking realism." *** Three Stars Penguin Stereo Guide |
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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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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... |