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GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Manon Lescaut (complete opera with libretto recorded in 1957) Giuseppe Di Stefano, Maria Callas, Franco Calabrese / La Scala Orchestra and Chorus / Tullio Serafin [ EMI / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/1985 ] "In general this is Callas at her most girlish: light-voiced, lyrical and with the power to make the dramatic climaxes thrilling." MusicWeb |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: La Traviata (Complete Opera recorded in 1993) Gran Teatro la Fenice, Venice / Edita Gruberova / Neil Shicoff / Giorgio Zancanaro / Carlo Rizzi (cond) [ NVC Arts / DVD - released 6/Jun/2000 ] This famous work was recorded at the Gran Teatro, La Fenice in Venice, one of the most famous and beautiful venues in all opera. The theatre has been the scene for first nights for Rossini, Bellini, Verdi and more. |
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J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach: Magnificat BWV 243 / Cantata BWV 21 Greta de Reyghere / Rene Jacobs / Christoph Pregardien / Peter Lika / La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken [ Virgin Classics Veritas / CD - released 14/Oct/1989 ] "The lovely solo and choral singing in both works, coupled to a superbly atmospheric recording, made this a Bach CD to treasure." (Gramophone April 2001) |
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CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK
Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice Iestyn Davies, Sophie Bevan, Rebecca Bottone / La Nuova Musica, Davis Bates [ Pentatone / CD - released 4/Oct/2019 ] "High praise, then, for David Bates and his ensemble." Gramophone Awards 2020 Short List - Opera |
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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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VERDI / BELLINI / DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Joan Sutherland: Verdi / Bellini / Donizetti Joan Sutherland (soprano), Orchestre de la Societe des concerts du Conservatoire, Paris, Nello Santi [ Decca Opera Gala / CD - released 10/Oct/1982 ] Original recordings from 1959 and 1960 |
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BIZET / VERDI / OFFENBACH / PUCCINI / BOITO / etc
Joseph Calleja - The Maltese Tenor Joseph Calleja (tenor) L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marco Armiliato, with Aleksandra Kurzak, soprano [ Decca Music Group / CD - released 26/May/2011 ] "Calleja's timbre, brilliant, caressing, keenly focused, is entirely individual...All in all, this is a fine calling-card for a tenor, still only in his early thirties, on the threshold of greatness, during a transition phase of his career. The... |
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JOHANN PACHELBEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Pachelbel: Easter Cantatas La Capella Ducale, Musica Fiata, Roland Wilson [ CPO / CD - released 2/Jul/2004 ] "Pachelbel's little-explored sacred music here provides a glorious experience" Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine July 2004 |
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ERASMUS van ROTTERDAM
Erasmus van Rotterdam: In Praise of Folly La Capella Reial de Catalunya & Hespèrion XXI, Jordi Savall [ Alia Vox 3 SACD set with large book / 6 Hybrid SACD - released 20/Jan/2013 ] "This is another outstanding release from Alia Vox...The singing and playing of La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hesperion XXI display, as usual, an exemplary combination of stylistic awareness, passion and panache." Sunday Times |
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BUXTEHUDE
Membra Jesu Nostri La Chapelle Rhenane / La Maitrise de Garcons de Colmar / Benoit Haller [ K617 Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 20/May/2008 ] "One long oration in music" is how the musicologist Gilles Cantagrel describes this cycle, unique in Buxtehude's output. These meditations on the 'Seven Words of Christ on the cross' possess a truly mystic dimension.This performance by Benoît Haller... |
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FELIX MENDELSSOHN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mendelssohn: Psaume [Psalms]s La Chapelle Royale, Collegium Vocale, Philippe Herreweghe, with Peter Kooy (baritone), Eiddwen Harrhy (soprano), Hervé Lamy (tenor) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 10/May/1988 ] "Elegant and fluent singing" - Gramophone |
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La Fonte Musica; Michele Pasotti
Zacara da Teramo: Enigma Fortuna (Complete Works) [ Alpha Classics / 4 CD - released 27/Aug/2021 ] In this recording entitled Enigma Fortuna, the ensemble La Fonte Musica, directed by Michele Pasotti, aims to shed light on the mysterious and eccentric personality of Antonio Zacara da Teramo (1355-1416). A contemporary of Boccaccio, Donatello and... |
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GIUSEPPE TARTINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tartini: Trio Sonatas / Violin Sonatas Op 2 and Op 6 La Magnifica Communita with Enrico Casazza (violin) [ Brilliant Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2008 ] Giuseppe Tartini's best-known work must be his sonata for violin 'Devil's trill'. Now meet the virtually unknown Tartini on these three CD's. |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Il Trovatore (complete opera recorded in 2012) La Monnaie de Munt / Misha Didyk, Marina Poplavskaya, Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo, Scott Hendricks / Marc Minkowski (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques DVD / DVD - released 20/Dec/2014 ] Stage Direction, Set Design, Costumes: Dmitri Tcherniakov After the success of 'Rigoletto', Verdi called on librettist Salvadore Cammarano in 1851 for his new opera 'Il Trovatore', based on the eponymous play by Spanish playwright Antonio García... |
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BROSSARD / CARISSIMI / CHARPENTIER
Sacrifices La Nuova Musica, David Bates [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 15/Sep/2014 ] "To these affecting narratives (separated by instrumental interludes by De Brossard), La Nuova Musicabring superbly straight tone, unerring tuning and plangent phrasing." The Observer, 20th July 2014 **** |
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JOSEPH HAYDN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Haydn: Symphonies 88 - 92 La Petite Bande, Sigiswald kuijken [ Virgin Veritas / 2 CD - released 22/Mar/2008 ] Original recordings from 1990 & 1992 |
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JOSEF HAYDN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Haydn: Symphonies Nos 90 & 91 La Petite Bande, Sigiswald kuijken [ Virgin Veritas / CD - released 22/Mar/1995 ] "The performances of both symphonies are energetic, and thoughtful; the sound is outstanding." Review |
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GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Maria Stuarda (complete opera recorded in 2008) La Scala Opera / Anna Caterina Antonacci / Mariella Devia / Paola Gardina / Antonino Fogliani (con) [ Arthaus Musik / DVD - released 1/Apr/2009 ] Two queens on one island. A recipe for disaster. Especially as both have a legitimate claim to the other's throne. They are, after all, related… So the power politics are the name of the game. And, for reasons of state, one of the heads that wears a... |
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NICOLA VACCAJ
Vaccaj: Giulietta e Romeo (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY La Scala Opera / Bruno Taddia, Filippo Morace, Laura Giordano, Pietro Adaini / Federico Maria Sardelli (cond) [ Dynamic Blu-Ray / Blu-ray - released 1/Aug/2019 ] "Raffaella Lupinacci's characterful, fruity mezzo is matched by detailed and lively acting, and Leonor Bonilla brings a bright, elegant soprano and oodles of charm to Giulietta." Gramophone DVD/Blu-ray of the Month July 2019 |