GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: L'Elisir d'Amore (complete opera recorded in 2005) Gran Teatre del Liceu / Rolando Villazon / Maria Bayo / Jean-Luc Chaignaud / Daniele Callegari (cond) [ Virgin Classics DVD / DVD - released 1/Jul/2011 ] "Rolando Villazón is here on top form, fleshing out the notes with alternate delicacy and vehemence and personifying the shy, frustrated hero with a Chaplinesque range of gesture and mannerism." (BBC Music) |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gotterdammerung (complete opera recorded in 2004) Gran Teatre del Liceu / Harry Kupfer / Deborah Polaski / John Treleaven / Matti Salminem / Falk Struckmann / Gunter von Kannen / Bertrand de Billy [ Opus Arte DVD / 3 DVD Box Set - released 1/Jul/2009 ] "This is in many respects superb. The acid test is that one should emerge exhausted from Wagner's emotional outpourings, yet uplifted, and this de Billy and his team of soloists do in the final analysis achieve" (MusicWeb Sept 2005) |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Die Walkure (complete opera recorded in 2003) Gran Teatre del Liceu / Richard Berkeley-Steele / Falk Struckmann / Linda Watson / Bertrand de Billy (cond) [ Opus Arte / Kultur DVD / 3 DVD Box Set - released 1/Jul/2009 ] Filmed at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu in 2003, Harry Kupfer's acclaimed production, first staged in Berlin, numbers among the greatest productions of modern times and is recorded in sumptuous surround sound. |
STRAUSS / VERDI / ADAM / TCHAIKOVSKY / MOZART / etc
Herbert von Karajan - Complete Decca Recordings Herbert von Karajan with Vienna Philharmonic, with Mario del Monaco, Renata Tebaldi, Hilde Güden, Leontyne Price, etc [ Decca / 33 CD Box Set - released 21/Feb/2020 ] Presented with original sleeves and spined wallets, this 33CD set of Herbert von Karajan's complete Decca recordings includes a new essay by Karajan biographer, Richard Osborne. |
W. A. MOZART
Arias Ildebrando d'Arcangelo (bass) / Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Torino [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 16/Sep/2011 ] "The velvety patina and fierce core strength of the Italian bass-baritone is on show here in a patterning of both popular operatic and rarer concert arias...He shifts from the expression of astonishment to regret, from pride to shame within... |
PUCCINI / VERDI / DELIBES / OFFENBACH / BERLIOZ / BELLINI / DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Operatic 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. |
TRADITIONAL
Jonas Kaufmann - Dolce Vita Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) / Orchestra del Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Asher Fisch [ Sony Classical / CD - released 7/Oct/2016 ] "Kaufmann does everything with the care and intelligence one expects, and no shortage of open-throated ardour." Gramophone |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
The Verdi Album Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) / Orchestra dell'Opera di Parma, Coro del Teatro Municipale di Piacenza, Pier Giorgio Morandi [ Sony / CD - released 1/Oct/2013 ] "his musicianship melds with his keen interpretative intelligence to achieve real and extraordinary success" (Opera Choice BBC Music Five Stars Oct 2013) |
DUKAS
Dukas: Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (Recorded live at Gran Teatre del Liceu, June & July 2011) BLU-RAY Gran Teatre del Liceu / José van Dam, Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet / Stéphane Denève (conductor) & Claus Guth (director) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Feb/2013 ] Stéphane Denève is universally acclaimed for his interpretation of French repertoire. |
THE THREE TENORS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Three (3) Tenors In Concert 1990 [The original recording] Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti / Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Zubin Mehta [ Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Original Masters / CD - released 12/Dec/1999 ] This is a special collector's Mobile fidelity gold CD edition. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Santo - Sacred Songs Juan Diego Florez (tenor) & Nicoletta Mezzini (organ & harpsichord) / Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Michele Mariotti [ Decca Music Group / CD - released 28/Oct/2010 ] "Good for Juan Diego Florez for this release! I'm second to none in my love for the bel cantists, but it's good to hear a "pigeon-holed" tenor in repertoire that is somewhat different. The engineering is superb and the accompaniments are excellent." |
VINCENCO BELLINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bellini: Zaira (complete opera recorded live in 1990) Katia Ricciarelli, Simone Alaimo, Ramon Vargas, Alexandra Papadjakou / Orchestra del Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania, Paolo Olmi [ Nuova Era / 2 CD Box Set - released 4/Sep/2009 ] "(Katia Ricciarelli gives) a highly impressive portrayal of the title part. As Orosmane, Simone Alaimo's lean bass is also a further strength with his clear diction a welcome hallmark." MusicWeb |
Lana Del Rey
Honeymoon [ Polydor / CD - released 18/Sep/2015 ] Lana del Rey's fourth album recorded between Los Angeles and New York, is more reminiscent of Born to Die rather than a follow-up to Ultraviolence. Layered vocals, decaying synths and echoing guitar lines and hints of jazz with lyrics that focus on... |
Lana Del Rey
NFR aka Norman Fucking Rockwell [ Polydor / CD - released 30/Aug/2019 ] NFR was mainly produced and co-written with Jack Antonoff and includes 'Venice Bitch,' 'Mariners Apartment Complex,' 'hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it,' and a cover of Sublime's 'Doin' Time'. |
Lana Del Rey
Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass [ Interscope / CD - released 2/Oct/2020 ] Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is brought to life in an unprecedented spoken word audiobook which features Lana Del Rey reading fourteen select poems from the book accompanied by music from Grammy Award-winning musician Jack... |
VERDI
Verdi: Rarities (recorded 1978 & 1980) Luciano Pavarotti (tenor) / Orchestra del Teatro Alla Scala, Claudio Abbado [ Sony Singers / CD - released 10/Aug/2013 ] Reissue of the classic recordings Pavarotti made of some of the more unusual Verdi repertoire. Includes one of the few recordings of the original 'Aida' Overture - all 11 minutes of it! |
BELLINI / BIZET / DONIZETTI / WAGNER / VERDI / GOUNOD / PUCCINI / etc
Operamania - 95 of opera's most glorious moments Luciano Pavarotti, Renata Tebaldi, Carlo Bergonzi, Mario Del Monaco, Joan Sutherland, Tom Krause, Birgit Nilsson, Kiri te Kanawa, Mirella Freni, etc [ Decca Budget Boxes / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/Mar/1994 ] This is the world's most popular operas in classic performances! Decca's recordings of operas rank among the very finest ever committed to disc. |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Discoveries María José Siri, Veronica Simeoni, Giorgio Berrugi, Simone Piazzola, Riccardo Zanellato / Coro e Orchestra del Teatro [ Decca Records / CD - released 15/Sep/2002 ] "Chailly's Scala forces give the 13 movements their all...it's a fascinating testament to a historical event that never was. Verdi's movement for soprano and chorus is the best music here, justifying his decision to write his own Requiem" Sunday Time |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Tosca (Complete Opera recorded in 1953) Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi / Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Milano. Victor de Sabata [ Warner Classics Maria Callas Remastered / 2 CD - released 20/Oct/2014 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1851-1900) - 50 GREATEST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME (No 5) - BBC MUSIC |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Turandot (3 LP) Maria Callas, Nicolai Gedda, Eugenio Fernandi, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Giuseppe Nessi / Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafi [ Warner Classics LP / 3 Vinyl Box Set - released 8/Sep/2023 ] "To have Callas, the most flashing-eyed of all sopranos as Turandot, is the most natural piece of casting. With her Turandot was not just an implacable man-hater but a highly provocative female" Gramophone |