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GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Don Pasquale (complete opera recorded in 2006) BLU-RAY Ravenna Festival / Claudio Desderi, Mario Cassi, Francisco Gatell & Laura Giordano / Riccardo Muti (conductor) [ Arthaus Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/May/2010 ] Watching this realistic, young and vital production, directed by the young Andrea da Rosa and listening to a high potential and unspent young cast, you feel how powerful, charming and timeless this score by Gaetano Donizetti is. |
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BERNARD HERRMANN
Herrmann: Suite from 'Wuthering Heights' / etc Roderick Williams (baritone) / Singapore Symphony Orchestra Conductor, Mario Venzago [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 30/Jun/2023 ] "Through their two voices - a radiant Keri Fuge and a towering Roderick Williams...stunningly recorded, serves as a tantalising example of what it might be to go on Herrmann's entire emotionally wrought journey." Recording of the Month BBC Music |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Messa da Requiem Barbara Frittoli, Mario Zeffiri, Olga Borodina, Ildar Abdrazakov / Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Muti [ CSO Resound SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 20/Oct/2010 ] "Ravishing orchestral playing and choral work combined with an unmatchable understanding of Verdi makes this..a very important addition to the Verdi Requiem catalog." (9/10 ClassicsToday Oct 2010) |
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MASCAGNI / TOSTI / EDUARDO DI CAPUA
Italian Popular Songs, Vol. 2 Beniamino Gigli / Stefano di Giuseppe / Tito Schipa / Mario del Monaco [ Naxos Historical / CD - released 15/Aug/2006 ] Italian popular songs from 1926 - 1953 |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Tosca (complete opera recorded in 2010) Daniela Dessì (Tosca), Fabio Armiliato (Mario Cavaradossi) & Claudio Sgura (Scarpia), Teatro Carlo Felice, Marco Boemi (conductor) [ Arthaus Musik / DVD - released 10/Apr/2012 ] "Sgura possesses a timbre rather warmer than usual for Scarpia - it's nice to hear 'Va, Tosca' sung rather than roared...The conductor, Marco Boemi, has the idiom solidly in hand and extracts full-blooded, sumptuous sound from the Genoa players" |
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ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schoenberg: Kammersymphonie No 2 / Verklarte Nacht Op. 4 / Suite in G for Strings Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Mario Venzago [ Virgin Classics / CD - released 1/Oct/1991 ] Recorded in Frankfurt, 1987 & 1989 |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Das Reingold (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Deutsches Nationaltheater, Weimar / Mario Hoff / Alexander Gunther / Jean-Noel Briend / Erin Caves / Carl St. Clair (cond) [ Arthaus Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Jun/2009 ] DVD Blu-Ray - "Weimar National Theatre opens a promising 'Ring' cycle with Wagner's original ur-scene." Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Sings Verdi Arias Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone) / Philharmonia of Russia, Mario Bernardi [ Delos / CD - released 2/Oct/2002 ] Delos International and Dmitri Hvorostovsky invite you to feel the passion, fire and beauty of Verdi with this exciting second recording: VERDI ARIAS. |
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BELLINI / BIZET / DONIZETTI / PUCCINI / VERDI
Pearlfishers' Duet: World-Famous Operatic Duets Ettore Bastianini / Carlo Bergonzi / Mario del Monaco / Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Jose Carreras [ Australian Decca SBS Eloquence / CD - released 1/Oct/2009 ] There is always a special pleasure in the blending of two fine voices, and composers have usually been happy to provide it during the course of their operas. Characters may join their voices in a unity of feeling, or in extreme disagreement, or in... |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Il Trittico (Suor Angelica, Il Tabarro, Gianni Schicchi) Fernando Corena, Robert Merrill, Mario del Monaco & Giulietta Simionato / Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Lamberto Gardelli [ Alto Legendary Recordings / 2 CD - released 25/Nov/2013 ] "Renata Tebaldi brings off a tour de force in her assumption of all three soprano roles..In Gianni Schicchi small parts are again first rate" (Gramophone) |
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FERRAN SAVALL
Mireu el nostre mar Ferran Savall (voice, guitar & piano) with Mario Mas (guitar) Javier Mas (bandurria) etc [ Alia Vox / CD - released 10/Nov/2008 ] When a great tradition meets world music and contemporary style. |
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Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Mario Lanza, Tony Martin, Richard Crooks, Howard Keel, Tony Bennett, and more
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Deep in My Heart - The Songs of Sigmund Romberg [ ASV Living Era / CD - released 1/Jul/2006 ] Romberg created a long string of musicals, the most memorable being his operettas of the 20s, The Student Prince, The Desert Song and The New Moon. |
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PUCCINI / VERDI / DELIBES / OFFENBACH / BERLIOZ / BELLINI / DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Opera Duets Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Mario del Monaco, Mirella Freni. Christa Ludwig, April Cantelo, Hugette Tourangeau, Jane Berbié [ Decca Opera Gala / CD - released 5/Apr/1994 ] Decca's recorded legacy is dominated by the huge number of complete opera recordings and vocal recitals. These extracts are taken from complete recordings. |
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VERDI / PUCCINI / GIORDANO / HALEVY / BELLINI / WAGNER / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mario Del Monaco Mario Del Monaco (tenor) [ Decca The Singers / CD - released 25/Feb/2001 ] Legendary Italian tenor Mario del Monaco was born in Florence on 27 July 1915 and died near Venice on 16 October 1982. |
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Mario Lanza (tenor)
The Student Prince / The Desert Song (recorded in 1954 & 1959) [ RCA Records / CD - released 25/Aug/1989 ] This American imported disc features Lanza performing songs from both of these wonderful musicals. Recorded in 1954 & 1959. Orchestra conducted by Constantine Callinicos. |
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Mario Lanza & Norma Giusti
The Student Prince [ Sepia / CD - released 10/Sep/2012 ] |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: La Forza del Destino (highlights recorded in 1955) Renata Tebaldi, Mario del Monaco, Ettore Bastianini / Orchestra e coro dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Roma / Francesco Molinari-Pradelli [ Decca / CD - released 1/Oct/1997 ] 'Tebaldi, as always, makes some lovely sounds, and the mezza voce in the soaring theme (first heard in the overture) in 'madre, madre, pietosa Vergine' is exquisite...the brilliance and atmosphere of the recording add much to the listener's pleasure" |
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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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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Gottdammerung (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Staatskapelle Weimar / Catherine Foster, Norbert Schmittberg, Mario Hoff, Renatus Meszar / Carl St. Ckar [ Arthaus Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jun/2009 ] A bleak wind chord of E flat minor opens Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung. It establishes the dominant atmosphere of the piece from its first bar: twilight, a deceptive half-light, prevails. Shadowy figures stumble towards the abyss. |
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GIOACCHINIO ROSSINI
Rossini: L'Italiana in Algeri [An Italian in Algeries] (complete opera recorded in 2013) Teatro Comunale di Bologna / Anna Goryachova, Alex Esposito, Yijie Shi & Mario Cassi / José Ramón Encinar [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/Aug/2014 ] Pesaro's new offering in 2013 was an off-the-wall production of Rossini's popular comedy, 'The Italian Girl in Algiers', presented as a Swinging Sixties, James Bond adventure, set in the desert oil fields of the North African coast. Davide... |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: La Traviata (Complete Opera recorded in 1960) Victoria de los Angeles, Carlo del Monte, Mario Sereni, Santa Chissari / Coro e Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera, Tullio Serafin [ EMI Classics for Pleasure / 2 CD - released 20/Jul/2006 ] "The CD transfer is first-rate, and this remains a real bargain." (Gramophone) |
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ANTONIO VIVALDI / ASTOR PIAZZOLLA etc
From Venice to Buenos Aires Andres Gabetta (violin), Veronica Cangemi (soprano), Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi (bandoneon / accordion), Gabetta Consort [ Pentatone / CD - released 29/May/2026 ] Andrés Gabetta (violin and direction), Veronica Cangemi (soprano), Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi (bandoneon and accordion), and the Gabetta Consort present From Venice to Buenos Aires, a remarkable journey from 18th-century Venice to the streets of... |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Don Carlo (complete opera) Antonietta Stella, Fedora Barbieri, Mario Filippeschi, Tito Gobbi, Boris Christoff / Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Gabriele Santini [ Naxos Historical / 3 CD - released 7/Feb/2006 ] "Gobbi goes from strength to strength … Rodrigo's noble death scene elicits from this artist some of the loveliest baritone singing I have ever heard on record.With the cardinal rôles of the King and Posa finely done, with beautifully moulded... |
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RAFFAELLO DE BANFIELD
Lord Byron's Love Letter (complete opera recorded in 1958) Astrid Varnay / Gertrude Ribla / Nicoletta Carruba / Mario Carlin / Academy Symphony Orchestra of Rome / Nicola Rescigno [ Naxos Historical Great Opera Recordings / CD - released 10/May/2011 ] The RCA Victor recording of Raffaello de Banfield's 1955 opera Lord Byron's Love Letter is a true rarity, remaining in their catalogue for only a short time and never reissued on CD before now. Based on a Tennessee Williams play set in late... |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Tosca (complete opera recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Baden-Baden Opera / Kristine Opolais, Marcelo Álvarez Mario, Marco Vratogna, Alexander Tsymbalyuk / Sir Simon Rattle [ EuroArts Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Sep/2018 ] "Rattle and his orchestra add both depth and gloss: to hear the shimmer of the Berlin strings in the eerie dwells of the Te Deum is enough to absolve the conductor of his reverential tempos" Gramophone |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
The Singers of the Century: 35 Supreme Voices Birgit Nilsson, Leonie Rysanek, Fritz Wunderlich, Richard Lewis, Leontyne Price, Mario Del Monaco, etc [ ALTO / 2 CD - released 20/Nov/2011 ] Thirty five magnificent voices in arias from operas we all know and love. |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Aida (Complete Opera recorded live Mexico, 1951) Maria Callas, Mario del Del Monaco, Oralia Dominguez / Fabritiis [ Warner Classics Maria Callas Live Remastered / 2 CD - released 1/Feb/2019 ] Aida held an important place in the earlier years of Callas's career, and in 1950 it brought her debut at La Scala, Milan, the theatre where she soon became reigning diva. That same year, she sang the role of the Ethiopian princess in Mexico City,... |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: La Traviata (complete opera recorded live in 1958) Maria Callas, Alfredo Kraus, Mario Sereni, Laura Zannini, Maria Cristina de Castro / Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisboa Franco Ghione [ Warner Classics Maria Callas Live Remastered / 2 CD - released 1/Feb/2019 ] Callas sang La traviata more frequently than any other opera, apart from Norma. She performed it over 60 times between 1951 and 1958, most famously in Luchino Visconti's production at La Scala in 1955/56. Her only studio recording of the role was... |
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Castro-Neves, Mario
Brazilian Mood [ Vocalion / CD - released 19/May/2008 ] |
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W.A. MOZART
Requiem (filmed at St Ignazio Church in Rome) Cecilia Casdia / Mario Malagnini / Orchestra Sinfonica del Festival di Pasqua / Tamas Pal (cond) [ Brilliant Classics / DVD - released 15/Mar/2008 ] G : - |
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CHEN GANG / NICCOLO PAGANINI
Gang: Butterfly Lovers, Sunshine Over Tashkurgan / Paganini: Violin Concerto No 1 Chloe Chua (violin), Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Mario Venzago [ Pentatone / CD - released 26/Jul/2024 ] "The SSO give tremendously impassioned support to the individual instrumentalists, led by Chua's expressive, storytelling violin." BBC Music |
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GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Maria Stuarda (complete opera) Maria Pia Piscitelli, Laura Polverelli, Roberto De Biasio, Mario Cassi / Coro Lirico Marchigiano V. Bellini, Marchigiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Ricca [ Naxos / 2 CD Box Set - released 30/Nov/2009 ] "Laura Polverelli is a vibrant Elisabetta, dramatic, powerful and expressive and her opening aria Ah! Quando all'ara scorgemi and the following cabaletta Ah! Dal ciel discenda have a certain thrill." MusicWeb |
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W.A. MOZART
Mozart: Masonic Works, Cantatas & Funeral Music Die Kölner Akademie Choir and Orchestra / Michael Alexander Willens John Heuzenroeder, tenor; Mario Borgioni, bass Alexander Puliaev, fortepiano; Will [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 23/Feb/2018 ] Following their 11-disc cycle of Mozart's piano concertos recorded with Ronald Brautigam, Die Kölner Akademie and Michael Alexander Willens in 2017 released a disc with two of Mozart's best-loved serenades: the Posthorn Serenade and Eine kleine... |
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BEETHOVEN
Piano Concerto No 3 / Piano Sonatas Nos 23 Appassionata & No 28 Friedrich Gulda (piano) / Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester / Mario Rossi [ Medici Arts / CD - released 12/Apr/2008 ] The two piano sonatas, like the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3, have never been issued before and re-mastering has been done using the original WDR master tapes. |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven - Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 Mario Galeani (piano) / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Grzegorz Nowak [ Orchid Classics / CD - released 7/Sep/2009 ] Recorded in 2007, and featuring one of the most important and active Italian pianists of his generation, Mario Galeani. This recording reflects a bright and fresh version of these concerti, particularly the attention given to the dialogue between... |
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GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: L'elisir D'amore (complete opera recorded in 1966) Mirella Freni, Nicolai Gedda, Mario Sereni, Renato Capecc [ Warner Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 7/Mar/2011 ] Recording Location: August 1966, Opera House Rome |
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J.S. BACH / ANTONIO VIVALDI
Bach & Vivaldi: Sonar in Ottava. Double Concertos for Violin and Violoncello Piccolo Giuliano Carmignola (violin); Mario Brunello (violoncello piccolo); Accademia dell'Annunciata, Riccardo Doni (cond.) [ Arcana / CD - released 27/Mar/2020 ] "These are high-risk performances, both soloists preferring raw expression to mere beauty of sound." BBC Music Five Stars Concerto Recording of the Month |
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BERLIOZ
Symphonie fantastique / Lélio, ou Le Retour a la vie Gérard Depardieu (narrator), Mario Zeffiri (tenor) & Kyle Ketelsen (bass-baritone) / Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Muti [ CSO Resound / 2 CD - released 1/Oct/2015 ] This recording features Berlioz's 'Symphonie fantastique' with its sequel 'Lelio' presented as Berlioz intended. Actor Gerard Depardieu is the narrator in 'Lelio', and Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as part of their 120th season,... |