Handel: Renee Fleming

Handel: Renee Fleming
Decca

Handel is not one of my favorite composers. Sure, he did write some beautiful music, but a little tends to go a long way. However, this CD is a wonderful collection. Great as background music and her renditions of “Ombra Mai Fu” and “Let the Bright Seraphim” are brilliant. The quality of the recordings is excellent and her voal renditions are very nice. I have listened through the entire album many times and enjoyed every minute of it. It has definitely raised my opinion of Handel. All in all, very nicely done. “The Beautiful Voice” is really beautiful.

Madame Butterfly

Madame Butterfly
featuring Ying Huang, Richard Troxell, and Ning Liang.
Sony; 2 discs

This is actually the soundtrack to the 1995 film. I have always liked certain numbers from Butterfly, but have never actually explored the opera other than listening to highlights. However, a friend sent a link to Un Bel Di from the film and I was awestruck at the beauty of Miss Huang's rendition of the famous aria. Wishing to hear a little more, I got a copy of the entire soundtrack thinking that I would at least try to find the love duet as well as Un Bel Di. I found it, and WOW! I was really thrilled. After listening to my few favorite parts, I kept rewinding tracks to just hear a little more. Pretty soon I had listened to practically the entire first disc! What comes before Un Bel Di is fantastic. Miss Huang as Cio-Cio San and Ning Liang as Suzuki work very well together and when the music climaxes right before the aria, it sends chills up and down your spine! Mr. Troxell's very high and clear tenor is different from the usual Pinkerton and he is very good in the role of the totally unlikable sailor. The love duet is simply fantastic!

A really phenomenal cast. Well suited to each other and beautifully sung. You can't beat the quality of the recording and the set comes with a full four-language libretto. I highly recommend this for any fan of Madame Butterfly or Puccini.

Voice of the Violin

Voice of the Violin
Joshua Bell
Featuring Anna Netrebko
Sony Classical

Joshua Bell's 2006 CD is an experience not to be missed. I just checked it out from our library and fell in love with it so much that I just had to go buy it. Every song on this disc has been adapted for violin from vocal pieces (hence the name "Voice of the Violin"). He plays several opera arias, including "Pourquoi me reveiller?"and Rusalka's "Song to the Moon". Every song is a gem and so worth listening to, however, the last two are the icing on the cake. Bizet's haunting "Je crois entendre encore" is simply wonderful. Joshua Bell has indeed made the violin sound like a voice, creating a wonderful effect for this beautiful number. For the final song, he is joined by famous opera soprano Anna Netrebko, for Richard Strauss' "Morgen!", a song originally written for voice and piano. They are simply wonderful together and the only trouble is that it is over too soon. Actually, that is the only trouble with the entire cd - it is over too soon. But the nice thing is that you can start it all over again from the beginning!

The disc has wonderful quality sound and features a nice booklet, which is worth reading as it has notes about each song. All in all, definitely worth listening to and this will be on the top of my shelf from now on! Whether you want to hear a few songs or go all the way through, this is a fantastic cd.

RACHMANINOFF: Vocalise
SCHUBERT: Ave Maria
MASSENET: Pourquoi me reveiller? from Werther
FAURE: Apres un reve
DVORAK: Song to the Moon from Rusalka
MOZART: Laudate Dominum
TCHAIKOVSKY: None but the Lonely Heart
DONIZETTI: Una furtiva lagrima from L'Elisir d'Amore
ORFF: In trutina from Carmina Burana
MENDELSSOHN: May Breezes from Songs Without Words
DEBUSSY: Beau soir
PONCE: Estrellita
DE FALLA: Nana from Seven Popular Spanish Songs
BIZET: Je crois entendre encore from The Pearl Fishers
R. STRAUSS: Morgen! - featuring ANNA NETREBKO -

Renee Fleming: By Request

By Request
Featuring Renee Fleming
Decca

A great introduction to “The Beautiful Voice”. Together with her album “Signature Scenes” you get to hear all her greatest songs. She does, however, omit the E flat in “Sempre Libera”, which is different. Her rendition of Rachmaninov’s “Vocalise” and Dvorak’s “O Silver Moon” are the highlights.