Classical > Ambrosian Opera Chorus Classical

Does exactly what it says on the tin!

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

...I have begun to explore the world of opera, deciding to inject a little culture in my life! My uncle had definitely been listening to my interests as this CD was one of the great gifts I had. It is a double disc album, cleverly titled 'The Only Opera Album You'll Ever Need! And I can honestly say that this may be a very true claim! Only the most famous arias are included on these cds, covering many composers including Mozart, Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, ...
...with the place you'll recognise the song from, such as the British Airways advert, the films Fatal Attraction and Moonstruck and the Baileys tv advert. This is extremely helpful for those times when you just can't place where you know a song from. In my house this has also settled many arguments about which composers feature on which advert! The songs are beautifully performed by Luciano Pavarotti, Lesley Garrett, Placido Domingo and many other ...

fluffyfreak 08.01.2004 · Read full review
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Review of The Only Opera Album You'll Ever Need, Volume 2

HISTORY OF TENORS ON ONE CD

Advantages: All the hero's in one
Disadvantages: Mixed sound recordings Sound louder and quieter in places

...first glance you would imagine the CD to be the normal mainstream nonsense with Russell Watson singing Amor ti Vieta, but when looking at the back you do see that this is a quality CD. So lights down low CD player on high and a nice Glass of wine and you are ready for an audio trip through operatic tenor modern history. Track List: (THERE ARE 27 TRACKS IF YOU WANT A SUMMARY OF EACH ONE THEN READ ON OTHERWISE HEAD FOR BOTTOM OF REVIEW) Track 1: O ...
...the Cd. Nothing but quality technique and voice on show here, one of the best renditions you'll ever hear Track 2: Morgenlich leuchtend sung by Peter Anders Not my favourite song and a big jump in quality from the first track but still an adept singer, the first sign that there is going to be a wide variation of voice and style on this record Track 3: Bimba, dagli occh sung by Hedwig von Debicka and Helge Rosvaenge The first Duet we hear on the ...

jameslucjan 19.09.2006 · Read full review
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Review of The Greatest Tenors of the 20th Century

Mixed Performance

Advantages: Domingo and Bruson are excellent
Disadvantages: Scotto is sometimes very bad indeed

***Please note there are different versions of this performance available one through Classics for Pleasure at Emi and Emi classics with this one not having a libretto and perhaps (not sure on this one) even different remastering dates - might be worth checking the website of Emi just to be sure - i always go with the one with the libretto but if it is down to the price, the Classics for pleasure is nearly always cheaper *** I am going to compare ...
...and probably appeal to the same market. This recording with Renata Scotto, Placido Domingo and Renato Bruson and another Tosca recording with [what looks like on paper] a stellar cast - the remarkable Davis set with Carreras and Caballe. Scotto proves to be a more dramatic Tosca than Caballe, but Caballe sounds somewhat fresher. Scotto would have been terrific about three or four years earlier - she started singing Bellini's opera Norma as well as ...

operalover2000 01.01.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Puccini: Tosca

A mixed Bag

Advantages: Domingo and Bruson are fine with lively conducting from Levine
Disadvantages: Scotto is rather shrieky and worn a lot of the time, in my opinion

Renata Scotto is not very good in this performance as it comes rather late in her career. When she sings quietly she is superb but more often than not her voice becomes hard and wobbly and this influences her performance - we can imagine what she would be like only a few years earlier. Her vissi d'arte is succesful however, thanks to the quiet shadings. Digital Tosca recordings are rather lacking in classy, strong voiced protagonists - Mirella Freni ...
...but she is rather old by the time of the sinopoli recording. Kiri te Kanwa is a beautiful singer but she is not equal to the part which is unfortunate as Giacomo Aragall is probably my favourite Cavaradossi. Talking of Cavaradossi, Domingo is very good here although the perforamance is not as strong as earlier with Mehta and because the accoustic is warmer and the conducting is more inspired he is actually in better form with the later recording ...

operalover2000 01.01.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Puccini: Tosca

Sumptuous works by a little-known composer

Advantages: Good recordings of unfamiliar, but rewarding works
Disadvantages: None

Karlowicz is a relatively unknown composer whose chief claim to fame was his untimely death in a skiing accident just before the First World War. He left a small collection of works, the later of which (figured in this disc) show a talent that was tragically snuffed out before he could achieve greatness. The Symphonic Poems featured here reveal a composer adept at interesting orchestral effects (try the sad theme at the start of the Lithuanian Rhapsody, ...
...writing for the lower-toned instruments of the orchestra. Karlowicz has clearly learnt a lot from Richard Strauss, whose shadow fell across much pre-1914 music, but it often lacks the extrovert quality of the Gernman composer's tone poems; as the inlay notes say, there is a 'brooding' quality to much of this music, particularly evident in the middle sections of these works. Another feature of Karlowicz's writing is his tendency to pick himself up ...

chivhu 15.09.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Karlowicz: Symphonic Poems Vol 1