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Joan Sutherland is not usually considered a Puccini singer, and in fact she sang the role of Turandot only in the recording studio. But for that assignment she had exactly what was needed: a voice that seemed to have no upper limits and a personality that concealed vulnerability under an air of icy ...

Joan Sutherland - The Greatest Hits...

Maria Callas surprised some fans when this recording appeared in 1958 by singing some of Rosina's music in the mezzo-soprano range. Originally used by Rossini, the mezzo range helped Callas in characterizing Rosina not as a bird-brained, twittering, helpless ingenue but as a crafty, intelligent woma...

This was Joan Sutherland's second recording of Lucia, made with an all-star cast in prime vocal condition, and it is a must for those who believe that bel canto opera should live up to its descriptive title: "beautiful singing." In the 10 years since her first Lucia recording, she had settled more c...

Gundula Janowitz had a very beautiful voice that critics like to describe as "creamy," whatever that means. Strauss had a life-long love affair with the soprano voice. He even married one--not just the voice, the whole woman, of course. His Four Last Songs constitute his dying tribute, and they are ...

Puccini: Turandot...

This opera, about an orphan girl who is adopted by a whole regiment of Napoleon's army (meaning that anyone who wants to marry her must get the regiment's consent) combines sparkling comedy with spectacular vocal writing--not only for the soprano but for the tenor who, in one legendary passage, ...

The flashy, kaleidoscopic Magnificat remains one of Bach's most popular works, and this is one of its best recordings. John Eliot Gardiner directs a performance full of energy: his crackerjack choir and orchestra sail through the trickiest passages at high speed without sounding at all rushed or ...

Schubert: Masses Nos. 2 & 6...

RCA's 1963 highlights disc brought the stars of the early-1950s revival of the work, Leontyne Price and William Warfield, together again. By this time, however, Price was well advanced on her meteoric rise to operatic stardom and Warfield was gaining renown as a recitalist. Both are glorious here an...