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new Vocal ~ Opera CDS
new Vocal ~ Opera CDS
NEW CDS FOR FALL 2001
POSTED 12 DECEMBER 2001
"John Adams - El niño / Hunt-Lieberson, Upshaw, W. White, Nagano"
John Adams
Our price: $30.37 | You save: $1.60
...available here.
In "El Niño," John Adams turns to the story of the Nativity to
create a contemporary oratorio that interweaves sources from the
Gnostic Gospels, the Mexican poets Sor Juana Inéz de la Cruz
and Rosario Castellanos, and the Latino culture of Los Angeles into
a stunning masterpiece. This world premiere recording features Dawn
Upshaw and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Paul Hilliard's Theatre of
Voices, and conductor Kent Nagano.
"Reneé Fleming & Jean-Yves Thibaudet - Night Songs (Fauré, Debussy,
Marx, Strauss, Rachmaninov)"
Gabriel Fauré
Our price: $15.49 | You save: $1.48
...available here.
Renée Fleming's mastery of a wide repertory extends to the
more rarefied world of song in her recital of music exemplifying
themes of the night. "Night Songs" also represents a marvelous
partnership with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.
"Cecilia Bartoli - Gluck Italian Arias ~ Dreams & Fables"
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Our price: $16.49 | You save: $1.48
...available here.
What a year this has been for fans of opera composer Christoph
Willibald Gluck. Earlier, there was Marc Minkowski's glorious
"Iphigénie en Tauride," and now there's a program of his
arias"Dreams and Fables." In top form, beloved mezzo-soprano Cecilia
Bartoli returns with a captivating follow-up to her immensely
successful collection of Vivaldi's opera music. Her high level of
taste and intelligence sheds new light on Gluck's utopian goal of
restoring the balance between poetry and music.
"Verdi - Falstaff / Terfel, Pieczonka, Hampson, Röschmann, Shtoda,
Daidkova, Berlin Phil., Abbado"
Berliner Philharmoniker
Our price: $32.27 | You save: $1.70
...available here.
Chalk up another triumph for the Verdi anniversary year. For this
new recording of "Falstaff," Bryn Terfel's outsized singing
personality perfectly matches Verdi's conception. Under the baton of
Claudio Abbado, this interpretation is by far the best of the
current crop and is indispensable for Terfel and Thomas Hampson
fans.
"Little Women: Complete Opera"
Mark Adamo
Our price: $31.32 | You save: $1.65
...available here.
Young American composer Mark Adamo adapted the classic Louisa May
Alcott novel "Little Women" for the opera stage on a commission from
Houston Grand Opera. His sensitive treatment of this touching story,
which was recently aired on PBS's "Great Performances," offers a
neo-Straussian opportunity to characterize through a rich tapestry
of female voices.
POSTED 21 NOVEMBER 2001
"Verdi - Aida / Gallardo-Domas, Borodina, La Scola, Hampson, Polgar,
Streit, Röschmann, Salminen, Wiener Phil., Harnoncourt"
Giuseppe Verdi
Our price: $48.42 | You save: $2.55
...available here.
The ever-controversial but always fascinating Nikolaus Harnoncourt
here undertakes one of the sacred cows of 19th-century opera.
Packaged with a booklet that includes the full libretto, this "Aida"
features a cast headed by Christina Gallardo-Domas, Vincenzo La
Scola, and Olga Borodina.
"Wayfaring Stranger"
Andreas Scholl
Our price: $15.49 | You save: $1.48
...available here.
Acclaimed countertenor Andreas Scholl pays homage to the work of
his legendary forebear Alfred Deller on his new collection,
"Wayfaring Stranger." As with Deller's recordings of folk songs,
Scholl here undertakes English, Irish, and American folk songs
accompanied by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (in arrangements by
Craig Leon, producer for Blondie and the Ramones).
"Ben Heppner - Airs Francais / London Symphony Orchestra, Myung-Whun
Chung"
Jules Massenet
Our price: $15.49 | You save: $1.48
...available here.
Leading man Ben Heppner returns to disc, lending his powerful,
gorgeous tenor to an assemblage of French grand-opera arias.
Included is music by Berlioz, Meyerbeer, Halévy, and Massenet,
with Heppner accompanied by the London Symphony under Myung-Whun
Chung.
"Classics"
Sarah Brightman
Our price: $12.58 | You save: $5.39
...available here.
For the Sarah Brightman fan, here is a perfect gift idea.
"Classics"--sporting a Botticelli-inspired image of the
platinum-selling soprano within--is a classy anthology of Brightman
material, gathering the singer's own favorite selections from her
last three blockbusters as well as several new recordings: "Ave
Maria," "Winter Light," "Alhambra," "Dans La Nuit," and fresh takes
on "O Mio Babbino Caro," "Nessun Dorma," and Andrew Lloyd Webber's
"Pie Jesu".
HOLIDAY MUSIC CHOICE
"Handel - Messiah / Dawson · Heaston · Kozená · Hellekant · Asawa ·
Ainsley · Smythe · Bannatyne-Scott · Les Musiciens du Louvre ·
Minkowski (1999 film)"
George Frideric Handel
Our price: $32.27 | You save: $1.70
...available here.
Marc Minkowski's take on "Messiah" is wildly original, unlike any
other version on record. Also, check out our roundup of "Messiah"
recordings.
POSTED 1 NOVEMBER 2001
"Verdi: Tenor Arias (Complete)"
Placido Domingo
Our price: $64.57 | You save: $3.40
...available here.
Here's one of the real keepers from the Verdi anniversary year.
Placido Domingo--indisputably among the crowning Verdi interpreters
of our time--has released an ambitious four-CD project that gathers
together from his vast discography all of Verdi's arias for the
tenor voice.
"Palestrina: Masses & Motets"
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Our price: $16.49 | You save: $1.48
...available here.
The Christ Church Cathedral Choir--an ensemble with 500 years of
tradition behind it--recorded this Palestrina collection in 1996,
although it is only now being released. Along with Palestrina's
sublime "Missa Ecce Ego Johannes" are several motets and the austere
but stunning "Missa Pater Noster."
"Ariadne auf Naxos / Sinopoli, Voigt, Dessay, von Otter, Heppner,
Dohmen, Staatskapelle Dresden"
Richard Strauss
Our price: $32.27 | You save: $1.70
...available here.
Recorded in Dresden in December 2000, this new version of Strauss's
delicious, delirious "Ariadne auf Naxos" has become by default the
last will and testament of the late Giuseppe Sinopoli. It features
an unbeatable cast: Deborah Voigt, Ben Heppner, Anne Sofie von
Otter, and Natalie Dessay.
NOTABLE REISSUES: SOLTI'S STRAUSS
"Solti Strauss ~ Arabella / della Casa, Gueden, Dermota, London,
Wiener Phil."
Richard Strauss
Our price: $32.27 | You save: $1.70
...available here.
"Solti Strauss ~ Der Rosenkavalier / Crespin, Minton, Jungwirth,
Donath, Wiener Phil."
Richard Strauss
Our price: $48.42 | You save: $2.55
...available here.
Explore a little-known Strauss opera
...available here.
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN OPERA
"Anthony Davis: Tania-Complete Opera"
Cynthia Aaronson-Davis; Avery Brooks; Thomas Young
Our price: $34.17 | You save: $1.80
...available here.
"Bolcom - A View from the Bridge / Josephson, Malfitano, Turay, Lyric
Opera of Chicago, D. Russell Davies"
William Bolcom
Our price: $35.98
...available here.
"Little Women: Complete Opera"
Mark Adamo
Our price: $31.32 | You save: $1.65
...available here.
More American opera titles
...available here.
VERDI RARITIES
"Verdi - Alzira / Mescheriakova, Vargas, Gavanelli, L'Orchestre de la
Suisse Romande, Fabio Luisi"
Giuseppe Verdi
Our price: $21.82 | You save: $1.15
...available here.
"Verdi: Stiffelio"
Giuseppe Verdi
Our price: $32.27 | You save: $1.70
...available here.
"Verdi - Jérusalem / Mescheriakova, Giordani, Scandiuzzi, L'Orchestre
de la Suisse Romande, Luisi (First Complete Recording)"
Giuseppe Verdi
Our price: $48.42 | You save: $2.55
...available here.
Go to Verdi Store
...available here.
EARLY MUSIC: ENSEMBLE DOULCE MÉMOIRE'S "LA SIÈCLE DU TITIEN"
There's a huge, tremendously varied, and exciting world of classical music from before the time of Bach and Handel. Consider, for instance, this delightful new release by the early-music group Ensemble Doulce Mémoire, "The Century of Titian," which explores the rich culture of music in Venice from 1490 to 1576. Visit Amazon.com's Early Music Store for more recommended titles.
Go to Early Music Store
...available here.
FREE MUSIC DOWNLOAD: ANDREA BOCELLI'S NEWEST
Andrea Bocelli's "Cieli di Toscana" marks a triumphant return to the pop idiom last explored on the superstar tenor's "Sogno." Download the hot-blooded opening song, " Melodramma," now, for free, from Amazon.com.
* Go to download
...available here.
Posted 4 OCT 2001
"Cecilia Bartoli - Gluck Italian Arias ~ Dreams & Fables"
Christoph Willibald Gluck
...available here.
In top form, beloved mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli returns with a
captivating follow-up to her immensely successful collection of
Vivaldi's opera music. This time, it's a program of arias in Italian
from Gluck operas, aptly titled "Dreams and Fables." Bartoli's high
level of taste and intelligence sheds new light on Gluck's utopian
goal of restoring the balance between poetry and music.
"Morimur"
Johann Sebastian Bach
...available here.
Baroque violinist Christoph Poppen was inspired by a theory that
the Chaconne from Bach's Partita in D minor for solo violin encoded
a secret epitaph for his wife, Maria Barbara, in the concert hall.
Poppen intersperses all five movements of the whole Partita with the
various chorales hidden inside, sung with breathtaking precision by
the Hilliard Ensemble.
"Cieli di Toscana"
Andrea Bocelli
...available here.
Tenor Andrea Bocelli's newest effort follows the lead of his
earlier pop-oriented releases such as "Sogno." "Cieli di Toscana"
gathers heartwarming ballads pointing to the beauty of his native
Tuscany--including some new tunes cowritten by Bocelli himself.
"The Second Circle [IMPORT]"
Anonymous 4
...available here.
"The Second Circle" turns from the celebrated ensemble's usual
sacred repertoire back to secular material, presenting medieval love
songs by the seminal Florentine composer Francesco Landini.
"Schubert: Goethe Lieder"
Franz Schubert
...available here.
Baritone Thomas Quasthoff--whose moving "Schwanengesang" we
featured last month--is one of today's leading interpreters of the
art song. The performances here were recorded in May 1993 and follow
a program of Schubert songs to texts of the poet Goethe, with
Charles Spencer on piano.
"Puccini: Messa di Gloria"
Giacomo Puccini
...available here.
Here's another collaboration by two of today's leading Puccinians
(conductor Antonio Pappano and tenor Roberto Alagna), with a focus
on youthful non-operatic works by the composer. The centerpiece is
the ambitious "Mesa di Gloria," which features many notable passages
for the vocal soloists.
EMI'S GREAT RECORDINGS OF THE CENTURY
"Wagner: Tristan und Isolde"
Richard Wagner
...available here.
EMI Classics has played a significant role in the history of music
throughout the 20th century. With attractive packaging, the Greatest
Recordings of the Century series showcases the history and quality
of each recording, updated with digital remastering that uses the
latest Abbey Road technology. Check out the latest release in the
series, Wilhelm Furtwangler's essential account of "Tristan und
Isolde."
More Great Recordings of the Century
...available here.
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IRISH TENORS
Touring the United States this past summer to support their new release,
"Ellis Island," the Irish Tenors have already become a household
word in just a couple of years. Make sure you check out our Irish
Tenors Store for more of their great catalog and a list of tour
dates.
...available here
Visit the Irish Tenors Shelve
...available here
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