Joan Sutherland: Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits

Featuring Joan Sutherland
London/Decca

This is a fantastic compilation cd of Dame Joan. The best thing for an established fan or a new comer! She really shines throughout the entire disc and every song is a gem. The recording quality is super and very nicely remastered. As the finale they have included the Mad Scene from Dame Joan's very first recording of Lucia di Lammermoor. Personally, my favorite song (and one of my all-time favorite Joan Sutherland numbers) is Let the Bright Seraphim, which is absolutely stupendous! All in all, highly recommended! This was one of the very first opera cds that I purchased and is still my favorite!

Handel: Let the Bright Seraphim from Samson
Arditi: Il Bacio
Lehar: Vilja from The Merry Widow
Strauss: Nuns' Chorus from Casanova
Donizetti: Salut a la France! from La Fille du Regiment
Delibes: Bell Song from Lakme
Bellini: Casta Diva from Norma
Gounod: Jewel Song from Faust
Donizetti: Mad Scene from Lucia Di Lammermoor

The American Opera Singer
Featuring Emma Eames, Louise Homer, Mary Garden, Geraldine Farrar, Rosa Ponselle, Lawrence Tibbett, Marian Anderson, Grace Moore, Lily Pons, Edward Johnson, Richard Crooks, Helen Traubel, Rise Stevens, Dorothy Kirsten, Patrice Munsel, Eleanor Steber, Jan Peerce, Leonard Warren, Roberta Peters, Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill, Anna Moffo, Beverly Sills, Leontyne Price, Jon Vickers, Marilyn Horne, Sherrill Milnes, Shirley Verrett, Ben Heppner, Deborah Voigt, Carol Vaness, Tatiana Troyanos, Jerry Hadley, Samuel Ramey, Frederica Van Stade, & Dawn Upshaw.
RCA; 2 discs

A very cool cd set. This features many famous American opera singers, each performing a famous aria/duet. The remastered recordings are simply wonderful, allowing you to hear good quality recordings of some of the older singers. Mary Garden is really amazing. Not the best opera compilation I have ever listened through, but very interesting to hear the different singers. There are a few Canadians and Lily Pons, but most of the singers are American. All in all, very interesting for any fan of American opera.