Bellini: Norma

Advantages: Fine performances all round, especially Ludwig and Corelli
Disadvantages: Callas not in best voice

This is often considered one of the finest recordings of Bellini's opera "Norma". That opera is one of the best 'bel canto' operas of the nineteenth century. Norma, the soprano title character, has a secret relationship with the tenor Pollione, a Roman and thus an enemy to her people. She loves Pollione but he loves another priestess, the mezzo Adalgisa. Eventually it transpires that Norma has the power to decide the fate of Pollione and Adalgisa. ...
...ground (hoping to elope with/abduct Adalgisa). But rather than point the finger at Adalgisa for breaking her vows Norma admits to breaking her own vows with Pollione. Pollione, seeing Norma's nobility - she had felt pity for Adalgisa having intended to reveal the young priestess' betrayal - realises how much he loved her. They both mount the funeral pyre. This was Callas' great role and in some regards this recording captures her greatness but at ... Read review

Advantages: everything
Disadvantages: nothing

...saint (Les Pêcheurs de perles) Vincenzo Bellini Casta diva (Norma (1831)) Gioacchino Rossini Largo al factotum (Il Barbiere di Siviglia (1816)) Giacomo Puccini Che gelida manina (Bohème (highlights)) Vissi d'arte (Tosca) Nessun dorma (Turandot) O mio babbino caro (Gianni Schicchi) Robert Prizeman Voca me Gabriel Faure In paradisum (Requiem Op.48) Paul McCartney Celebration (Standing Stone) Carl Orff O Fortuna (Carmina Burana) Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov The Flight of the Bumble-bee Johann II Strauss An der schonen, blauen Donau, Op.314 Edvard Hagerup Grieg Allegro molto moderato (Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.16) George Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue (1924) jazzband version Gustav Holst The Planets: Jupiter - excerpt Sergei Prokofiev Montagues and Capulets (Romeo... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average not helpful

Advantages: The most beautiful voice ever
Disadvantages: She's not very well known

...the opera Norma by Bellini which is the passionate story of a Druid priestess and a Roman soldier. This aria and in fact all that follow are so evocative and uplifting that you become totally immersed in the magical music and Filippa's amazingly versatile voice. It obviously would have a quite different effect on a bloke but some of the songs make me want to dress up in something floaty and dance round the room while others make me sink into deep cushions, close my eyes and dream. Other operatic arias on the album are Puccini's Vissi d'arte from Tosca and O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi; Addio del passato from Verdi's Traviata and s'apre per te il mio cuor from Samson and Dalila. In Habanera from Carmen she uses electronic voice enhancement and while purists might object I found the different approach quite entrancing. Filippa... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: easy to find the piece of music you want
Disadvantages: maybe too familiar for the expert listener

...to the Moon (Rusalka) Donizetti - Una Furtiva Lagrima (L'Elisir d'Amore) Bizet - Habanera (Carmen) Rossini - Largo Al Factotum (The Barber of Seville) Delibes - Flower Duet (Lakme) Purcell - When I am Laid in Earth (Dido and Aeneas) Verdi - Grand March (Aida) Mozart - Soave sia il Vento (Cosi Fan Tutte) Puccini - Nessun Dorma (Madam Butterfly) CD2 Rossini - William Tell Overture (William Tell) Bizet - Seguedille (Carmen) Puccini - E Lucevan le Stelle (Tosca) Offenbach - Barcarolle (The Tales of Hoffman) Verdi - Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (Nabucco) Mozart - Voi Che Sapete (The Marriage of Figaro) Leoncavello - Vesti la Guibba (I Paglicacci) Bellini - Casta Diva (Norma) Mozart - Der Holle Rache (The Magic Flute) Verdi - La Donna e Mobile (Rigoletto) Gluck - Che Faro Senza Euridice? (Orfeo ed Euridice) Bizet - Au Fond du Temple... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful