Brilliant Opera Collection

Bártok / Berg: Bluebeard's Castle

Mihály Székely • Olga Szönyi • Helga Pilarczyk
London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Antal Dorati

catalogue no: 9092
ean/upc: 5029365909228 / 842977090925
format: 1CD

'This is probably the spiciest Bluebeard around ...add Dorati's wonderfully sensitive Wozzeck extracts and you have a most desirable bargain.' Gramophone, 1993

Beethoven: Fidelio

Gabriele Schnaut · Ruth Ziesak · Josef Protschka · Uwe Heilmann
Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor
Wiener Philharmoniker
conductor: Christoph von Dohnányi

catalogue no: 93921
ean/upc: 5028421939216 / 842977039214
format: 2CD

'This is a tough, unvarnished reading...concentrating on briskish speeds, incisive and lithe rhythms.' Gramophone

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Bellini: La Sonnambula

Nicola Zaccaria • Maria Callas • Fiorenza Cossotto • Nicola Monti • Euginia Ratti • Guiseppe Morresi • Franco Ricciardi
Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala Milano
Conductor: Antonino Votto

catalogue no: 93961
ean/upc: 5028421939612 / 842977039610
format: 2CD

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Bellini: Norma

Maria Callas · Mario Filippeschi · Ebe Stigani · Nicola Rossi-Lemeni · Paolo Caroli ·
Rina Cavallari
Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla
Scala, Milano
conductor: Tullio Serafin

catalogue no: 93922
ean/upc: 5028421939223 / 842977039221
format: 3CD

' The phrasing, the pronunciation, the weight and shape and meaning of the music, are peerlessly conceived. ' Gramophone

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Berlioz: Beatrice & Benedict

Yvonne Minton · Placido Domingo · Ileana Cotrubas · Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Orchestre de Paris
conductor: Daniel Barenboim

catalogue no: 93923
ean/upc: 5028421939230 / 842977039238
format: 2CD

' Minton's beautiful voice and her warm understanding of Berlioz style, are again evident. ' Gramophone

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Cimarosa: Il matrimonio segreto

Julia Hamari • Ryland DaviesAlberto Rinaldi • Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau • Arleen Augér • Julia Varady •
English Chamber Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim

catalogue no: 93962
ean/upc: 5028421939629 / 842977039627
format: 3CD

'It is, in fact, the polish of the ensemble work that is so striking in the present recording: the cast – in which there is not a weak member – sounds as if it had been used to working together for ages rather than assembled for the occasion, and the sheer lightness and clean balance of the ensemble singing, with no individual part ever protruding unduly, are most attractive features. Taken in conjunction with the neat, spring-heeled orchestral playing apparent right from the Overture, this represents a distinct feather in Barenboim's cap.' Gramophone, 1977

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Donizetti: Anna Bolena

Beverly Sills · Paul Plishka · Shirley Verrett · Robert Lloyd · Stuart Burrows · Patricia Kern · Robert Tear
John Alldis Choir
London Symphony Orchestra
conductor: Julius Rudel

catalogue no: 93924
ean/upc: 5028421939247 / 842977039245
format: 2CD

' Sills puts heart and soul into the drama of what is, after all, a very strenuous role. ' Gramophone

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Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor

Raffaela Arie • Gino Sarri • Valiano Natali • Tito Gobbi • Maria Callas • Anna Maria Canali • Guiseppe di Stefano
Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Conductor: Tullio Serafin

catalogue no: 94015
ean/upc: 5028421940151 / 842977040159
format: 2CD

'It (The Mad Scene) is filled with the deepest pathos (as in her singing of "Alfin son tua", in the section beginning "Ardon gl'incensi", which is quite unforgettable) and it has an impulsive, excitable note in it that conveys the derangement of the poor girl's mind. With all this goes the most superb vocalisation. Here is certainly some of the finest singing of our time, and there is one moment in the repeat of Spargi d'amaro when the voice is recorded with all the actuality of 3-dimensional sound. It is startling.' Gramophone 1954

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Donizetti: Maria Stuarda

Stuart Burrows • Beverly Sills • Patricia Kern • Eileen Farrell • Louis Quilico •
Christian du Plessis •
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Aldo Ceccato

catalogue no: 93963
ean/upc: 5028421939636 / 842977039634
format: 2CD

'Stuart Burrows...steals the vocal honours. Impassioned and youthful in sound, he produces a lovely lyrical legato in true Italian style but with intelligence and impeccable taste: this is his first Italian opera recording ...Beverly Sills, as Mary Stuart, is in a class of her own. It is her technical prowess as a singer which stays in the mind rather than her characterisation of the unhappy queen.' Gramophone

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Dvořák: Rusalka

Nelly Boschkova • Walter Coppola • Vitomar Marof • Martina Zadro • Ursula Furi-Bernhard • Tiziana K. Sojat • Marcel Rosca • Zeljco Grofelnik •
Conductor: Alexander Rahbari

catalogue no: 93968
ean/upc: 5028421939681 / 842977039689
format: 2CD

'the standard of the orchestral playing is high' Gramophone 1999

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Gounod: Faust

Boris Christoff • Victoria de los Angeles • Nicolai Gedda
Orchestra de l'Opéra National de Paris
Conductor: André Cluytens

catalogue no: 93964
ean/upc: 5028421939643 / 842977039641
format: 3CD

Classic recording made by EMI in 1953, the first full-length opera recording by Gedda

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Hummel: Mathilde von Guise

Kristine Gailite • Philippe Do • Pierre-Yves Pruvot • Hjördis Thébault
Choir Alea • Solamente Naturali
Conductor: Didier Talpain

catalogue no: 94043
ean/upc: 5028421940434
format: 2CD

Leoncavallo: Pagliacci

Victoria de los Angeles • Jussi Björling • George Cehanovsky • Paul Franke • Robert Merrill • Leonard Warren • Richard Wright
RCA Victor Orchestra • Robert Shaw Chorale
Conductor: Renato Cellini

catalogue no: 94016
ean/upc: 5028421940168 / 842977040166
format: 1CD

'This a welcome reissue of an admired set from the mid 1950s, notable for the refined, perhaps too refined, Nedda of los Angeles and the dramatically restrained, perhaps too restrained, Canio of Björling. I found Leonard Warren's Tonio the most convincing performance of all: he sings a resplendent Prologue, then a subtly characterized Tonio. Robert Merrill, at the height of his powers, is a sensuous Silvio, while Cellini's conducting is measured and the playing more than adequate. I enjoyed reencountering them, especially for los Angeles's beautiful account with Merrill of the Nedda/Silvio love duet and for Bjorling's splendours in the final scene.' Gramophone 1989

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Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana

Maria Callas • Giuseppe di Stefano • Rolando Panerai • Anna Maria Canali • Ebe Ticozzi
Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano & Orchestra del Teatro all Scala di Milano
Conductor: Tullio Serafin

catalogue no: 9163
ean/upc: 5029365916325 / 842977091632
format: 1CD

'Callas is an exceptional artist in this creative artistry if in nothing else. Whether Callas's interpretation strikes you as 'beautiful' or not, it is arresting. so here in page after page of this durable favourite, the music comes at you characterised, experienced and weighted with an artistry wholly out of the ordinary.' Gramophone 1954

Mozart: Così fan Tutte

Soile Isokoski · Monica Groop · Namcy Argenta · Markus Schäfer · Per Vollestad · Huub Claessens
Le Petite Bande Orchestra &
Chorus
conductor: Sigiswald Kuijken

catalogue no: 93925
ean/upc: 5028421939254 / 842977039252
format: 3CD

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Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito

Andre Post • Claudia Patacca • Francine van der Heyden • Cecile van de Sant • Nicola Wemyss • Marc Pantus
Vocal Ensemble Cocu & Musica ad Rhenum
Conductor: Jed Wentz

catalogue no: 93967
ean/upc: 5028421939674 / 842977039672
format: 2CD

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Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro

Werner van Mechelen • Christiane Oelze • Huub Claessens • Patrizia Biccire • Monica Groop
Choeur de Chambre de Namur & La Petite Bande
Conductor: Sigiswald Kuijken

catalogue no: 93966
ean/upc: 5028421939667 / 842977039665
format: 3CD

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Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov

Boris Christoff · Kim Borg · Nicolai Gedda · Eugenia Zareska · Lydia Romanova · Ludmilla Lebedeva
Orchestre National de la
Radiodiffusion Française
conductor: Issay Dobrowen

catalogue no: 93926
ean/upc: 5028421939261 / 842977039269
format: 3CD

'Dobrowen builds each scene with a wonderful architectural sense. We may think of the Boris recording as his monument.' Gramophone

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Pfitzner: Palestrina

Nicolai Gedda • Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau • Helen Donath • Brigitte Fassbaender • Karl Ridderbusch • Bernd Weikl • Hermann Prey • Friedrich Lenz
Tölzer Knabenchor & Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Conductor: Rafael Kubelík

catalogue no: 9093
ean/upc: 5029365909327 / 842977090932
format: 3CD

'It is that sense of communion established by the conductor and orchestra that above all makes this a recorded performance to cherish.' Gramophone, 1974

Poulenc: Les Mamelles de Tiresias

Renata Arends • Mattijs van de Woerd •
Hans Pieter Herman • Bernard Loonen •
Nieuw Ensemble
Conductor: Ed Spanjaard

catalogue no: 8951
ean/upc: 5029365895125 / 842977089516
format: 1CD

Puccini: Tosca

Maria Callas · Giuseppe di Stefano · Tito Gobbi · Franco Calabrese
Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla
Scalla, Milano
conductor: Victor de Sabata

catalogue no: 93927
ean/upc: 5028421939278 / 842977039276
format: 2CD

'The performance of the unique Callas in the title role provides the greatest marvel.' Gramophone

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Purcell: King Arthur

Gerald Finley · Nancy Argenta · Jamie MacDougall · Julia Gooding
The English Concert and Choir
conductor: Trevor Pinnock

catalogue no: 93928
ean/upc: 5028421939288 / 842977039283
format: 2CD

'Pinnock has an orchestra of glittering skill, his choir is tight and well balanced; and the recorded sound is clearer than on any of the other recordings.' Gramophone

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Rachmaninoff: The Miserly Knight

Mikhail Guzhov • Vsevolod Grivnov • Andrei Baturkin • Borislav Molchanov •
Vitaly Efanov
Russian State Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Valery Polyansky

catalogue no: 9096
ean/upc: 5029365909624 / 842977090963
format: 1CD

'Valery Polyansky here is at his most punchy and committed. Unexpurgated, this tale of monetary obsession makes disturbing listening.' Gramophone

Rameau: Anacreon

Thierry Felix · Veronique Gens · Rodrigo Del Pozo · Annick Massis
Les Musiciens du Louvre
conductor: Marc Minkowski

catalogue no: 93930
ean/upc: 5028421939308 / 842977039306
format: 1CD

'The conjunction of convivial text and first-rate music makes for excellent entertainment…The performance is mainly excellent.' Gramophone

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Rimsky-Korsakov: May Night

Vitaly taraschenko • natalia erasova • marina lapina • vyacheslav pochapsky

Conductor: andrey chistiakov

catalogue no: 94036
ean/upc: 50284219403666
format: 2CD

Rossini: Il Barbieri di Seviglia

Maria Callas • Luigi Alva • Tito Gobbi • Fritz Ollendorf • Nicola Zaccaria • Gabriella Carturan • Mario Carlin
Philharmonia Chorus & Philharmonia Orchestra
Conductor: Alceo Galliera

catalogue no: 94018
ean/upc: 5028421940182 / 842977040180
format: 2CD

'Callas, is the most calculating of Rosinas, often brilliant, clever and witty..' Gramophone 1959

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Schönberg - Moses und Aron

Günter Reich · Louis Devos · Chor und Sinfonieorchester des Österreichischen Rundfunks
conductor: Michael Gielen

catalogue no: 9083
ean/upc: 5029365908320 / 842977090833
format: 1CD

'No one who likes the idea of linking Schoenberg with Puccini…will want to be without this fiery reading.' Gramophone

Schubert - Die Freunde von Salamanka

Edith Mathis · Thomas Moser · Hermann Prey · Robert Holl
Austrian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra
conductor: Theodor Guschlbauer

catalogue no: 93931
ean/upc: 5028421939315 / 842977039313
format: 1CD

'Lovers of Schubert should not let slip the opportunity of hearing this…It is affectionately directed by Guschlbauer.' Gramophone

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Richard Strauss - Ariadne auf Naxos

Deborah Voigt · Natalie Dessay · Anne Sofie von Otter · Ben Heppner
Staatskapelle Dresden
conductor: Giuseppe Sinopoli

catalogue no: 9084
ean/upc: 5029365908429 / 842977090840
format: 2CD

'A landmark in the history of the gramophone...It really does triumph over them all.' Gramophone

Richard Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf · Otto Edelmann · Christa Ludwig · Eberhard Wächter · Teresa Stich-Randall · Nicolai Gedda · Ljuba Welitsch
Philharmonia Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
conductor: Herbert von Karajan

catalogue no: 9085
ean/upc: 5029365908528 / 842977090857
format: 3CD

'Karajan captures the essential fragility and ambiguity as well as the hedonism of the score…catching the transparent, Mozartian element of its writing as he has never done since.' Gramophone

Richard Strauss - Die Frau ohne Schatten

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau • Ingrid Bjoner •
Jess Thomas • Inge Borkh
Bayerischen Staatsorchester
conductor: Joseph Keilberth

catalogue no: 9095
ean/upc: 5029365909525 / 842977090956
format: 3CD

'This is an historical document of some importance in the recorded history of this piece ...Inge Borkh's utter commitment to the part of the Dyer's wife ...probably remains unsurpassed.' Gramophone

Richard Strauss - Elektra

Paul Franke • Victoria de los Angeles • Richard Wright • Robert Merrill • Leonard Warren • George Cehanovsky • Jussi Björling
RCA Victor Orchestra
conductor: Renato Cellini

catalogue no: 9153
ean/upc: 5029365915328 / 842977091533
format: 2CD

Richard Strauss - Salome

Wieslaw Ochmann • Richard Cassilly •
Mignon Dunn • Gwyneth Jones •
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau • Ursula Boese
Orchester des Hamburgischen Staatsoper
conductor: Karl Böhm

catalogue no: 9094
ean/upc: 5029365909426 / 842977090949
format: 2CD

Verdi - Rigoletto

Maria Callas · Tito Gobbi · Giuseppe di Stefano
Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Milano
conductor: Tullio Serafin

catalogue no: 93932
ean/upc: 5028421939322 / 842977039320
format: 2CD

'No Rigoletto has surpassed Gobbi…No Gilda has come anywhere near Callas ... no conductor matches Serafin...This remains the classic performance of the opera on record.' Gramophone

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Wagner - Tristan und Isolde

Kirsten Flagstad · Ludwig Suthaus · Blanche Thebom · Josef Greindl · Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Philharmonia Orchestra
conductor: Wilhelm Furtwängler

catalogue no: 93933
ean/upc: 5028421939339 / 842977039337
format: 4CD

'Furtwängler's firm control and masterly conception of the score and his unfailing response to the subtleties of Wagner's writing are shown in page after page.' Gramophone

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