This year, I actually got Christmas presents that I enjoyed, not a single returned item! It seemed that my friends and family had really thought about their gifts to me, instead of last minute panic buying. Recently 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, Dvorak and many more.
Each track is listed 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 famous opera singers, so the quality of the singing can't be argued with. Some of my favourite pieces of music are here, such as the classic Nessun Dorma from Madam Butterlfy, the famour Lone Ranger Theme (william tell overture) and two beautifully sung pieces from Mozarts Marriage of Figaro. There is also a particularly good version of Gershwin's Summertime, which I am not used to hearing sung by a soprano!
This particular compilation is well thought and laid out. The first cd definitely contains the more popular and well known tracks, and is arranged in a way that keeps the listener interested, without being too upbeat or sleep inducing! The second cd contains some just as brilliant but less well known operas, such as Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffman, and Bizet's The Pearl Fishers. I could say this disc actually gave me more enjoyment, as the songs were new to me, so I really listened instead of just trying to sing along! There are just over two hours of music on these cds, so you'll be engrossed for a while yet!
There are so many operas written, and performed by different artists that it can be difficult to choose a single cd to listen to. This cd solves that problem by just giving you the best bits of a whole variety of operas. The booklet that comes inside the cd is fascinating and gives the listener a bit of background for each song, such as the opera it comes from and the point in the story when it is sung. This can be invaluable to show you know a little bit of the subject around opera afficiandos!
As I am a relative newcomer to opera, I thought this cd was excellent, as it gave such variety, but also only gives you the best bits (no offence, but sometimes the stories can lag a little or become confusing!). This would be a great gift to anyone with a curiosity for opera, as well as for regular listeners who can't be bothered sifting through their entire collections to find one aria!
Track Listing CD1 Verdi - Brindisi (La Traviata) Puccini - Un Bel Di (Madam Butterfly) Handel - Ombra a Mai Fu (Serse) Bizet - Toreador Song (Carmen) Catalini - Ebben? Ne Andro Lontano (La Wally) Gershwin - Summertime (Porgy and Bess) Puccini - O Soave Fanciulla ( La Boheme) Dvorak - Song 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 Saint (The Pearl Fishers) Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries (Die Walkure) Mozart - Non Piu Andrai (The Marriage of Figaro) Verdi - Celeste Aida (Aida) Tchaikovsky - Entr'acte and Waltz (Eugene Onegin)
Sorry about any missed accents, I can't figure out how to make my computer do them!
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