MASCAGNI / MASSENET / DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Duets & Arias Angela Gheorghiu (soprano) Roberto Alagna (tenor) / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Richard Armstrong [ EMI Music / CD - released 1/Dec/2000 ] An ideal gift - a delightful collection of opera duets |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin (complete opera) Bernd Weik, Teresa Kubiak, Stuart Burrows / Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Music Group Limited DVD / DVD - released 16/Aug/2004 ] Director Petr Weigl is celebrated for his sumptuous opera films, using magnificent natural settings and casting photogenic actors in the principal roles. |
BIRGIT NILSSON
La Nilsson (arias and songs by Wagner, Weber, Beethoven, Gounod, etc) Birgit Nilsson (soprano) / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Sir Edward Downes (with Ake Leven, organ) [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Sep/2008 ] One of the greatest soprano legends of all time, Nilsson's 1963 Decca recital with Sir Edward Downes of popular opera arias by Wagner, Weber, Beethoven, et.al. has never been fully issued. Here it is on CD - issued complete for the first time and in... |
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 |
ARNE / HANDEL / BELLINI / ROSSINI / MEYERBEER / MOZART / VERDI / etc
Joan Sutherland - The Art of the Prima Donna Joan Sutherland (Soprano) / Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Francesco Molinari-Pradelli [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 11/Mar/2022 ] Sutherland's sensational debut recital album, long unavailable on its own, reissued with photographs and rarely seen costume designs for the soprano's signature roles. |
CILEA / PUCCINI / CHARPENTIER / MASSENET / R. STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Kiri Te Kanawa: Diva Kiri te Kanawa (soprano) / London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Staatskapelle Dresden [ EMI Classics / CD - released 17/Oct/1996 ] The best of Kiri in one package! |
CHARPENTIER / DEBUSSY / BERLIOZ / MASSENET / OFFENBACH / GLUCK / BIZET / VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Kiri te Kanawa - French Opera Arias Kiri te Kanawa (soprano) / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Jeffrey Tate [ EMI / CD - released 20/Jun/1989 ] "As always, one marvels at the sheer allure of the voice" Gramophone |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Salome (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Nadja Michael, Michael Volle, Michaela Schuster, Thomas Moser / Philippe Jordan [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2010 ] "Nadia Michael… is an attractive Salome, moving like a dancer, as physically unafraid as she is vocally… Michael Volle is an imposing, rich-toned Narraboth" (Gramophone) |
FERDINAND HEROLD / CHARLES LECOCQ
Herold: La Fille Mal Gardee / Lecocq: Mam'zelle Angot (Complete Ballets) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, John Lanchbery / National Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 20/May/2007 ] "Here, with sound of spectacular Decca digital fidelity, Lanchbery conducts a highly seductive account of the complete ballet with an orchestra long familiar with playing it in the theatre." (Rosette Penguin Stereo Guide) |
JOHANN STRAUSS II
Strauss, (J.): Die Fledermaus (compete opera recorded in 1984) The Royal Opera at Covent Garden / Dame Kiri Te Kanawa / Hermann Prey / Hildegard Heichele / Benjamin Luxon / Placido Domingo [ Warner Music Vision / NVC Arts DVD / DVD - released 13/Oct/2003 ] "An Austrian composer of Viennese waltzes; Johann Strauss is known as "the Waltz King." His almost 500 dance pieces are his crowning achievement, while his "Die Fledermaus" is the epitome of operetta." -ALLMUSIC |
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 |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Don Giovanni (complete opera recorded in 2014) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Mariusz Kwiecien, Alex Esposito, Alexander Tsymbalyuk, Véronique Gens , Antonio Poli / Nicola Luisotti (cond [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Nov/2014 ] Mozart's sublime tragic comedy offers boundless scope for directors, and Kasper Holten has chosen it to follow his directorial debut of Eugene Onegin. He wanted to shift the emphasis from Don Giovanni's sex life into a darker place, showing... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) (complete opera recorded in 2021) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Mauro Peter, Siobhan Stagg, Roderick Williams, Sabine Devieilhe, Mika Kares / Julia Jones (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 26/Nov/2021 ] David McVicar's classic production embraces both the seriousness and comedy of Mozart's work. The audience is transported to a fantastical world of dancing animals, flying machines and dazzlingly starry skies. The setting provides a wonderful... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Macbeth (complete opera recorded in 2011) Royal Opera House / Simon Keenlyside, Liudmyla Monastryrska, Raymond Aceto / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte / BBC DVD / DVD - released 20/Apr/2012 ] "Lloyd's Covent Garden staging of Verdi's opera has a good deal going for it; there's plenty of atmosphere in Anthony Ward's aptly dark-toned sets...Keenlyside sings the title role with imagination and insight" (BBC Music) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECK COLLECTABLE: Verdi: La Traviata (complete opera recorded in 1994) Angela Gheorghiu, Frank Lopardo, Leo Nucci / Royal Opera / Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 25/Oct/2012 ] "... the Decca engineers here offer one of the most vivid and involving versions ever of La Traviata ... Gheorghiu brings heartfelt revelations, using her rich and vibrant, finely shaded soprano with consistent subtlety." Rosette Penguin Guide |
MOZART / GLUCK / CHERUBINI / HAYDN / PERGOLESI
Teresa Berganza - Eighteenth-Century Portraits Teresa Berganza (mezzo-soprano), Félix Lavilla (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Kammerorchester, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent [ Australian Decca Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Apr/2018 ] 'This has always been one of Teresa Berganza's most attractive records.' Opera, September 1968 (Mozart arias) |
CHARLES GOUNOD
Gounod: Faust (Complete opera recorded in 2004) Royal Opera House / Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Bryn Terfel, Simon Keenlyside / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ EMI Classics DVD / 2 DVD - released 4/Oct/2010 ] "This is opera at its grandest and best" The Wall Street Journal |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (complete opera filmed in 2006) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo / Antonio Pappano (conductor) [ Decca Music Group Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 25/Jan/2017 ] BLU-RAY - 'Kaufmann and Antonacci are that rare breed: superb singers who can also act with subtlety and passion' The Guardian |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Tosca (complete opera recorded in 2001) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Ruggero Raimondi / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ BBC / Opus Arte Blu-ray 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray UHD - released 10/Oct/2017 ] "brings this opera vividly to life ... this is a classic of the future" The Guardian |
RICHARD WAGNER
Birgit Nilsson Sings Wagner Birgit Nilsson (soprano) / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Leif Segerstam / London Symphony, Sir Colin Davis [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Sep/2008 ] "Even allowing for the fact that these were demonstration records when they first appeared, the sound on this CD is astonishing in its lifelike presence and its warmth." Gramophone |