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.

La Forza del Destino (1958)

La Forza del Destino
Featuring Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli, and Boris Christoff
1958 Teatro San Carlo, Naples performance
160 minutes; Hardy Classics DVD

This is simply fantastic viewing. You listen to the records and imagine these famous people singing, but it is so great to be able to actually see them perform on stage at the peaks of their careers. Gives you a much better feeling when you listen to a disc, knowing how they actually sing.

The quality is a little old, but so much better than I thought it would be when I ordered this DVD. The sound is absolutely wonderful, especially considering they had to remaster old TV film. I took the disc upstairs onto our 42" plasma TV and it looked and sounded great! The end scene is fabulous, worth watching twice in a row.

The staging and costumes are traditional and the acting is great (although modern viewers would consider it old-fashioned). Corelli is always convincing and, actually, this is his debut in the role of Alvaro. You would never know it, he is so natural. Tebaldi is simply breathtaking as Leonora, an opera treasure. You can really appreciate her fame and the power of her voice. You can't help but notice her. She really must have been something to hear live!

The disc has subtitles (in several languages, but I can't remember which other than English and Italian) which can be turned on or off as well as an interview with Renata Tebladi that is very fun. All in all, it is so worth the viewing time. A must for any Tebaldi or Corelli fan.

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 -

Producer's Showcase: Festival of Music Vol. 1

Producer's Showcase: Festival of Music - Volume 1
89 minutes; Video Artists Int'l

This is the complete January 30, 1956 live broadcast featuring artists Leonard Warren, Jan Peerce, Rise Stevens, Zinka Milanov, Roberta Peters, Blanche Thebom, Mildred Miller, Renata Tebaldi, Jussi Bjorling, and other classical performers.

A great way to see many of the older singers, however, the standout is Renata Tebaldi and Jussi Bjorling singing the end of Act 1 from La Boheme. It starts a little before "Che Gelida Manina" and goes until the end of the scene. Two great artists in a superb performance of a classic piece. Thrilling and beautiful.

The DVD is nicely restored and contains all the original Ford commercials. Actor Charles Laughton is host and has some very funny descriptions of opera stories!

Opera Legend Joan Sutherland Dies 1927 - 2010

Legendary coloratura soprano, Joan Sutherland died on Sunday evening at her home after a long illness. She was 83 years old. Vocally brilliant, she rose to overnight fame with her performance in Covent Garden's "Lucia di Lammermoor" in 1959. Possessing true pitch, great breath control and a powerful upper range, she became one of the foremost interpreters of the Bel Canto repetoire. Her career spanned over 40 years and she sang over 60 roles with such opera greats as Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne, and Franco Zefferelli. After her retirement in 1990, she conducted master classes and judged vocal competitions. She is survived by her husband, conductor Richard Bonynge, of 56 years; her son, Adam and his wife and two daughters.

Such an outstanding talent - who can forget her Mad Scene or her magnificent rendition of Handel's "Let the Bright Serephim" or her fantastic recording of Turandot? In 1997 she published her autobiography A Prima Donna's Progress, which is a great book filled with career information and funny stories. During her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1959 (as Lucia), she received a twelve minute standing ovation at the end of the Mad Scene alone!

Opera Australia's artistic director a simple statement that is conveys the perfect feelings. "We won't see her like again. She had a phenomenal range, size and quality of voice. We simply don't hear that any more."

To read an obituary with a full bio, click the links below:

NYTimes

Metropolitan Opera

Telegraph.co.uk

Joan Sutherland: The Reluctant Prima Donna

Joan Sutherland: The Reluctant Prima Donna
60 minutes; 2007 Kultur Video DVD

A look at the career of opera legend, Dame Joan Sutherland, as told through interviews with her and her contemporaries (including Franco Zefferelli, Luciano Pavarotti, and her husband, Richard Bonynge). Really fun DVD that gives a nice glimpse into a legendary ladies' career. This does include a clip of her guest appearance on "The Dinah Shore Show" where she sang two trios with Dinah Shore and Ella Fitzgerald! A very fun DVD for fans of Dame Joan.

With a Song in My Heart: A Tribute to Mario Lanza

With a Song in My Heart: A Tribute to Mario Lanza

Jose Carreras
Teldec

Very cool to hear a great modern tenor saluting his “role model”. All the famous Lanza songs,opera, popular, and folk. Not my favorite Carreras CD, but it is still fun to listen to if you are a fan of Lanza or Mr. Carreras.

Lucia di Lammermoor

Lucia di Lammermoor
Featuring Montserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, and Samuel Ramey
New Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos
Decca; 2 discs

Unusual interpretation by Caballe. The “Mad Scene” is very different from Joan Sutherland’s style, closer to Callas’ interpretation. Caballe’s famous pianissimo high notes are nowhere to be found and she is somewhat strained on the high-C’s. If you are a fan of Caballe or “Lucia”, this is worth listening to. Carreras is wonderful and his ending aria, which is sometimes an anti-climax, is superb.

The Great Singers

The Great Singers: From the Dawn of Opera to Caruso, Callas, and Pavarotti

by Henry Pleasants
Illustrated history of great singers, including Jenny Lind, Caruso, Flagstad, Sills, Callas and Pavarotti. Gives the reader a nice overview on many of the great singers, along with photographs and personal stories about them.

Deep In My Heart (1954)

Deep In My Heart (1954)
Starring Jose Ferrer, Merle Oberon, and Helen Traubel.
132 minutes; MGM Studios

A bio-pic of operetta composer Sigmund Romberg, this film shines from the presence of Wagnerian Soprano Helen Traubel, who steals the show as Romberg's lifelong friend. She sings five numbers; "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise", "Auf Wiedersehn", "You Will Remember Vienna", Stouthearted Men", and "Leg of Mutton". Wonderful to be able to see such a great operatic personality in a role that is more than a walk-on appearence. Here are video clips of two of her numbers. She is fantastic!

Here she is singing "Auf Wiedersehn" as Merle Oberon, Jose Ferrer, and Doe Avedon listen.

Singing "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" while Merle Oberon listens in raptures (as I do!).

Korngold: Orchestral Works

Korngold
Featuring Willy Mattes, Thomas Hampson, and Kiri Te Kanawa
EMI Classics; 2 discs

Beautiful, top quality recordings of some of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's orchestral works. Includes the Symphony in F Sharp, a violin concerto, "Much Ado About Nothing" Suite, a piano trip, and two arias from his opera "Die Tote Stadt". The instrumental pieces are beautiful and very different from his well-known swashbuckling film scores. However, the final track is so stupendous that the cd is worth getting for it alone. Famed opera baritone, Thomas Hampson, sings the gorgeous aria "Mein Sehnen, Mein Wahnen" from "Die Tote Stadt" so beautifly that the listener can't help but be enthralled.

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.

Zefferelli's "La Traviata" with Teresa Stratas

La Traviata (1982)
Featuring Teresa Stratas, Placido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil. Directed by Franco Zefferelli
105 minutes; Universal Studios

This is an “Opera Film”. Actually filmed like a movie, elaborate sets (maybe too elaborate?). More acting from the performers than in a stage production and about twenty minutes of the score was trimmed to make the movie a better length (I have never listened to a complete recording of “Traviata” so I don’t know it as well as some, but I didn’t notice any abrupt sounding cuts or anything). Teresa Stratas gives a wonderful acting performance of the dying Violetta. The scene in Act II where Germont asks Violetta to leave is very well done and vocally pleasing. The lip syncing is sometimes noticeable to a watchful eye but generally all right. The dresses tend to be rather low-cut and a bit immodest. Widescreen, it does have removable subtitles.



Here is a clip from the film of Teresa Stratas as Violetta singing "Addio, del passato".

La Boheme - The Dream Cast

La Boheme - The Dream Cast [Highlights]
Decca
Featuring Carlo Bergonzi, Andrea Bocelli, Kiri Te Kanawa, Renata Tebaldi, Renee Fleming, Mirella Freni, Jose Carreras, Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Gianni Maffeo, Luciano Pavarotti and Nicolai Ghiaurov.

All the famous arias from La Boheme, interesting mix of people. If you like the opera, it is worth listening to so that you can see how many different styles can sing the same music. Interesting, but lacks flow.

The Golden Age of Opera

The Golden Age of Opera
by Robert Tuggle
What makes this book REALLY exciting is that it features the photographs of Herman Mishkin, Met photographer from 1910 to 1932. Wonderful stories (and photographs) about some of the legendary performers during the “golden age”, including Caruso, Claudio Muzio, Ponselle, Farrar, Jeritza, and Frances Alda, just to name a few.

Madame Butterfly (1974) Film

Madame Butterfly (1974)
Featuring Mirella Freni, Placido Domingo, and Christa Ludwig
145 minutes; Deutsche Grammophone DVD

Good singing, poor staging. The director filmed this like a movie and the finished product is somewhat odd to watch, with Placido Domingo chewing gum through much of the first half(even while singing) and voices singing while the characters are doing something else. An interesting note, though. It started out as a plain recording with the same people except Pavarotti instead of Domingo. When they decided to make a film out of it, they recorded Placido Domingo’s part and spliced it into the recording, replacing Pavarotti, then the performers lip-synced to the recording during filming. This is a phenomenal recording of “Madame Butterfly” and Mirella Freni shines in one of her greatest roles. Well worth listening to, just turn the television screen off.

Turandot

Turandot
Featuring Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, and Montserrat Caballe.
London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta
Decca; 2 discs

The ultimate "Turandot" out there! Wonderful performances from all the cast. Joan Sutherland is wonderful as the icy princess, easily delivering the challenging vocals. Pavarotti makes a wonderful "Calaf" and who else can sing Nessun Dorma like that? Montserrat Caballe gives a beautiful rendition of Liu’s Signore, Ascolte, pianissimo high-notes floating through the air. Just skip through the tedious Act 2 (nobody could make that entertaining). The end is wonderful with Pavarotti and Sutherland in top form.

La Fanciulla del West (1991)

La Fanciulla del West
1991 La Scala performance
142 Minutes; Image Entertainment DVD

Featuring Placido Domingo, Mara Zampieri, and Juan Pons
The two stars turn in great performances. Mara Zampieri is wonderful as "Minnie", and Domingo is always great as the bandit "Ramirez". Well worth watching if you like this opera. The downfall to this is that the subtitles are stationary.

Concerto Italiano (1965)

Concerto Italiano: 1965 CBC Broadcast
Featuring Renata Tebaldi with Louis Quilico
53 minutes; Video Artists International DVD

Canadian broadcast of Tebaldi singing “O Mio Babbino Caro”, Venetian songs, and the scene from Act II of Tosca where she kills Scarpia (which is performed fully staged). Worth the viewing just to see Tebladi perform some great Puccini arias.

La Forza del Destino (1984)

La Forza del Destino
1984 Metropolitan Opera performance
featuring Leontyne Price and Giacomo Giacomini
180 Minutes; Deutsche Grammophon DVD

The incomparable Leontyne Price! What more is there to say? Every note she sings is well worth your time, beginning to end. The last act alone is worth watching, even if you aren’t interested in the whole opera. Her phenomenal rendition of "Pace, Pace, Mio Dio" is an absolute MUST! The remastered DVD is GREAT!

Fidelio

Fidelio (TelDec; 2 discs)
Featuring Waltraud Meier, Placido Domingo, Falk Struckmann, and Rene Pape
Staatskapelle Berlin, conducted by Daniel Barenboim
Teldec; 2 discs

A very good "Fidelio". Waltraud Meier is very good as "Leonora" and Placido Domingo is well matched as "Florestan". Strong supporting cast, excellent direction. Struckmann as "Pizarro" is not my favorite, but Pape makes a fantastic "Rocco". One of my favorite recordings of this opera. If you can’t get the DVD of Gabriela Benackova, then this recording is the one to get.

Mario Lanza: Opera Arias

Mario Lanza: Opera Arias & Duets
Also featuring Jean Fenn, Elaine Malbin, and Licia Albanese
RCA
The back of the case says it best, "A feast for Lanza and opera fans alike, this collection boasts ten traks new to CD, including four never issued before in any format. For a grand finale, Metropolitan Opera star Licia Albanese partners Lanza in an electrifying duet from Verdi’s Otello".





Track List:

1. Celeste Aida (Aida)
2. Amor ti vieta (Fedora)
3. Un di, all'azzurro spazio (Andrea Chenier)
4. O soave fanciulla (La Boheme) with Jean Fenn
5. Flower Aria: La fleur que tu m'avais jetee (Carmen)
6. O paradiso (L'Africaine)
7. Un tal gioco, credetemi (I Pagliacci)
8. Stolta paura l'amor (Madame Butterfly) with Elaine Malbin
9. La donne e mobile (Rigoletto)
10. Vesti la Giubba (I Pagliacci)
11. M'appari, tutt amor (Martha)
12. Nessun Dorma (Turandot)
13. Testa adorata (La Boheme)
14. Come un bel di di maggio (Andrea Chenier)
15. Lamento di Frederico (L"Arlesiana)
16. Dio ti giocondi (Otello) with Licia Albanese

Mad Scenes

Feautring Joan Sutherland
Decca
Includes the “Mad Scenes” from I Puritani, Dinorah, Hamlet, L’Etoile du Nord, and Lucia di Lammermoor. This is a MUST for any fan of Joan Sutherland. Each piece is a gem. The L’Etoile du Nord is fantastic, and rarely found, with Dame Joan singing a “trio” with a pair of flutes. Positively thrilling! This is one of my favorite Sutherland CDs.



Track List:

1. O rendetemi la speme (I Puritani)
2. Vien, diletto, e in ciel la luna (I Puritani)
3. Bellah! ma chevre cherie! (Dinorah)
4. Shadow Song: Dieu! Comme cette nuit (Dinorah)
5. A vos jeux, mes amis, permettez-moi (Hamlet)
6. L voila! Je crois l'entendre (Hamlet)
7. C'est bien lui . . . Lalala air cheri! (L'Etoile du Mord)
8. Eccola! . . . Il dolce suono (Lucia di Lammermoor)
9. Ohime! Sorge il tremendo fantasma (Lucia di Lammermoor)
10. S'avenga Enrico! (Lucia di Lammermoor)
11. Spargi d'amoro pianto (Lucia di Lammermoor)

La Boheme (1982) with Teresa Stratas (1999 Pioneer DVD)

This is another of one of my favorite opera DVDs. Stratas and Carreras are wonderful. I listen to this all the time. However, this does not sound like a studio recording, as it was filmed live at the Met. I will embed a few of my favorite arias/duets from this recording in another post.

La Boheme
1982 Metropolitan Opera performance
featuring Teresa Stratas, Renata Scotto, and Jose Carreras
141 minutes; 1991 release, Paramount VHS, Geneon [Pioneer] DVD

Teresa Stratas and Jose Carreras turn in well-acted, grand performances of "Mimi", and "Rodolfo". Renata Scotto is a little shaky and seems a little stretched, especially the high range. The entire production is well staged, acted and beautifully sung. Definitely well worth the time, one of the best versions of Puccini’s masterwork. The only con is that the subtitles cannot be removed.

Lucia di Lammermoor

Lucia di Lammermoor (Decca London; 3 discs)
Featuring Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, and Nicolai Ghiaurov
Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Conducted by Richard Bonynge
Probably the BEST recording of Lucia out there. This was Joan Sutherland’s second recording of "Lucia", done in 1971, so she is comfortable with the role and vocally brilliant. The rest of the cast is great but Sutherland is "La Stupenda". I would recommend this for any fan of Sutherland, or the opera itself. One of the best recordings of one of the masterpieces in opera.