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RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Leoncavallo: I Pagliacci (Complete Opera with full libretto) Barbara Frittoli, Jose Cura, Carlos Alvarez, Simon Keenlyside / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly [ Decca / CD - released 10/Mar/2000 ] 'The recording is rich, spacious and brilliant with glorious orchestral playing, making one marvel at the beauty and subtlety of Leoncavallo's orchestration.' A Key Recording, from The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs. (I Pagliacci) |
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W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro [The Marriage of Figaro] (complete opera directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Recorded in 1976) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Mirella Freni, Hermann Prey, Maria Ewing / Vienna Philharmonic / Karl Bohm [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 2/Jun/2005 ] "a visual treat, but having some solos delivered as interior monologues is distracting" Gramophone |
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GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: Patience (Complete opera with full dialogue) D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with John Reed; Kenneth Sandford; Mary Sansom, Philip Potter / New Symphony Orchestra of London / Isidore Godfrey [ Decca Records / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/1989 ] "Great diction. You get to hang onto every word....Donald Adams as Colonel Calverley is dynamic and John Reed excels as Reginald." Mel@marbecks |
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ALFRED SCHNITTKE
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schnittke: Historia von D. Johann Fausten (complete opera) Eberhard Lorenz, Arno Raunig, Hanna Schwarz, Eberhard Büchner / Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra & Opera Chorus, Gerd Albrecht [ RCA Victor Red Seal / 2 CD Box Set - released 3/Nov/1996 ] "The Faust Cantata serves now as the third of the three acts..The performance is strong, and the recorded sound is close-up and detailed." ClassicalMusic |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Falstaff (complete opera recorded in 2009) Glyndebourne Opera / Christopher Purves / Tassis Christoyannis / Dina Kuznetsova / Jennifer Holloway / Vladmir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Apr/2010 ] "This Falstaff is immensely enjoyable and amongst the best that I have watched. I strongly recommend it whether you admire Verdi's last work or not..an amiable, pleasing production with an exceptionally fine cast" Recording of the Month MusicWeb Nov... |
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RICHARD STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss, (R.): Ariadne auf Naxos (Complete opera recorded in 1988) Metropolitan Opera / Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Tatiana Troyanos / James Levine (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon / DVD - released 29/Aug/2002 ] "This performance represents an above-average night at the Metropolitan in the late 1980s: three of its most popular stars, a generally distinguished cast, the house's musical director conducting its great orchestra in one of the works he does best." |
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GAETANO DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Donizetti: Lucia Di Lammermoor (Highlights from the complete 1972 recording)) Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge [ Decca Opera Gala / CD - released 24/Oct/1992 ] "Though some of the girlish freshness of voice which marked the 1961 recording had disappeared by the 1971 set, Sutherland's detailed understanding was intensified. Power is there as well as delicacy, and the rest of the cast is first-rate." Penguin |
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GAETANO DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor (Complete Opera with libretto) Joan Sutherland, Renato Cioni, Robert Merrill / Santa Cecilia, Roma / John Pritchard [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Jun/1989 ] "There remains something special about this early Lucia" Gramophone |
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RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (complete opera recorded in 1983) Bayreuth Festival / Rene Kollo, Matti Salminen, Johanna Meier, Hermann Becht / Daniel Barenboim (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon / Unitel DVD / 2 DVD - released 25/Jun/2007 ] Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's celebrated Bayreuth production is filmed on the Festspielhaus stage with six cameras and in digital sound to recreate the unique intensity of a live performance in studio quality. |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Macbeth (complete opera recorded in 2008) Metropolitan Opera / Zeljko Lucic, Maria Guleghina, John Relyea, Dimitri Pittas / James Levine (Cond) [ Warner Classics DVD / 2 DVD - released 29/Sep/2008 ] "An auspicious issue in first rate sound and vision further enhanced by an excellent "behind the scenes" documentary featuring the mainstays of this memorable January 2008 night at the MET." (ClassicalNet) |
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FRANZ LEHAR
Lehar: The Merry Widow (complete operetta recorded in 1988) Opera Australia / Joan Sutherland, Ron Stevens, Ann-Maree McDonald / Richard Bonynge (cond) [ ABC Universal DVD / DVD - released 1/Mar/2011 ] The sparkling story concerns a national crisis in the picture-postcard country of Pontevedro, as the recently-widowed Hanna Glawari appears to be in danger of marrying a foreigner. |
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FRIEDRICH SMETANA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Smetana: The Bartered Bride (complete opera recorded in German in 1962) Pilar Lorengar, Gottlob Frick, Fritz Wunderlich / Bamberger Symphoniker / Rudolf Kempe [ EMI Classics Electrola Collection / 2 CD - released 24/Aug/2011 ] Smetana's masterpiece with Fritz Wunderlich: Among the German-language recordings, experts agree that this is the best: Fritz Wunderlich at the height of his powers, Pilar Lorengar in what is "perhaps her best recording" (Jürgen Kesting). |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Otello (complete opera recorded in 1986) Placido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli, Justino Diaz / Milan La Scala Chorus & Orchestra / Lorin Maazel [ EMI / 2 CD Box Set - released 18/Aug/1986 ] "I have no hesitation in making this set my first choice in this ever-potent opera" - Gramophone |
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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 |
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BERTHOLD GOLDSCHMIDT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Goldschmidt: Beatrice Cenci (complete opera with libretto) Roberta Alexander, Stefan Stoll, Simon Estes, Della Jones / Berlin Radio Chorus, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Lothar Zagrosek [ Sony Classical / 2 CD Box Set - released 7/Feb/1995 ] "The cast is a strong one, dominated by the burnished tone of Roberta Alexander in the title role of the abused daughter. Della Jones as her stepmother Lucrezia is equally fine" BBC Music |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: La Traviata (Complete opera recorded in 1994) Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Frank Lopardo, Angela Gheorghiu, Leo Nucci / Sir Georg Solti (cond) [ Decca Classics DVD / DVD - released 1/Jan/2017 ] "The singing is glorious, and this is one of the DVDs that should be the cornerstone in any collection. A superb stage spectacle." Penguin Guide Rosette Winner |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Tosca (complete opera recorded in 2000) Teatro alla Scala / Maria Guleghina, Salvatore Licitra, Leo Nucci / Riccardo Muti (cond) [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 23/Jun/2011 ] "As Tosca, Maria Guleghina is in fine voice, and Muti supports her at every turn. Her great Act Two lament 'Vissi d'arte' is beautifully shaped, with phrases carefully structured so as not to peak too soon." MusicWeb |
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IVAR HALLSTROM
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Hallstrom: Duke Magnus & the Mermaid (complete opera) Lars Johansson, Robin Svanvik, Marco Stella, Jonas Olofsson, Emelie Sigelius, Ingela Bohlin, Eva Marklund / Vadstena Academy Choir, Niklas Willen [ Marco Polo / 2 CD Box Set - released 17/Feb/2003 ] Although he learnt the piano, Hallström was self-taught as a composer. He studied law in Uppsala and in 1853 was appointed librarian to Prince Oscar which assisted him in advancing his career as a composer. His operas in collaboration with the... |
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RICHARD STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss, (R.): Elektra (complete opera recorded in 1981) Vienna State Opera / Astrid Varnay, Leonie Rysanek, Catarina Ligendza, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Karl Bohm (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Aug/2005 ] "Karl Bohm - Strauss's protégé - conducts, while Gotz Friedrich directs the stage production itself, dramatically evoking and emphasizing the expressionist set design inherent in Strauss's original conception." (Rovi) |
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CHARLES GOUNOD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gounod: Faust (complete opera directed by Ken Russell in 1985) Vienna State Opera / Gabriela Benackova, Francisco Araiza, Ruggero Raimondi / Erich Binder (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 23/Jun/2006 ] Gounod's crowning achievement Faust, first staged in 1859 at the Lyric Theatre in Paris, is a conflict of good and evil, love and hate. |