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The 17th-century Italian art song repertory traditionally reserved for novice singers is given new life via Bartoli's artistry. With impeccable diction and evocative phrasing, she captures every innuendo of these simple, but passionate, pieces. No two repetitive phrases are alike; she chisels every ...

This is Plácido Domingo's first recording of his signature role, and what he can't do with sheer vocal force, he accomplishes somewhat less resourcefully with vocal color, of which he has plenty. The main draw, though, is Renata Scotto's dramatically acute Desdemona, recorded a tad late (1978) in h...

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro / Furlanetto, Upshaw, Te Kanwa, Hampson, von Otter, Troyanos; Levine...

This is the record that started the Hildegard craze back in 1982--and you need only listen to Emma Kirkby glide and soar through Columba aspexit (the opening hymn) to understand why. Gothic Voices performs the music very simply, either alternating soloists and unison choir over a drone or using a s...

This really is a remarkable collection, and anyone even remotely interested in opera is bound to be vastly entertained by it. Almost everything and everyone is here, albeit in small doses: Tebaldi, Pavarotti (a lot), Bjoerling, Bartoli, Sutherland, Solti, Karajan, Troyanos, Gheorghiu, Nucci; the com...

Little can be added to what's been written about this landmark recording, except that Walter Legge's 1953 mono production yields nothing to modern Tosca recordings for vivacity and theatrical impact--especially Maria Callas's. The miraculous Victor de Sabata conjures up a vibrant, inspiring orchestr...

Recorded in performance, but one act at a time so that the principals could sing full-out, this is one of the most electrifying opera recordings of the stereo era. Birgit Nilsson blazes as Isolde, and Wolfgang Windgassen's Act-III evocation of the delusional Tristan is heart-wrenching. Karl B"hm ins...

Leonard Slatkin's recording of the Resurrection Symphony was one of Telarc's early digital triumphs--an outstanding achievement, both technically and musically. The account is noteworthy for the powerful, disciplined playing of the Saint Louis Symphony, as well as for Slatkin's clear, intelligent pr...

The Only Classical CD You'll Ever Need!...

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