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Luciano Pavarotti: The Best (Farewell Tour)
(more) »rank: 291from: Decca
: :Anyone discovering this album who had never heard or heard of Luciano Pavarotti would immediately recognize greatness, a one-of-a-kind, one-per-generation (maybe) talent and personality that commands attention, respect, and yes, even love. These 35 selections are an astonishing achievement: Taken, for the most part from the tenor's prime--the 1970s and '80s (although there are four earlier and three from 2003)--what we hear is golden tone, impeccable diction, an innate sense of style and line and where the music should be going, absolutely natural phrasing, an evenness of production from C to (shining) C, and an ability to communicate warmth, passion, and the sheer ...
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25 Classical Favorites
(more) »rank: 652from: Vox (Classical)
: :Anyone discovering this album who had never heard or heard of Luciano Pavarotti would immediately recognize greatness, a one-of-a-kind, one-per-generation (maybe) talent and personality that commands attention, respect, and yes, even love. These 35 selections are an astonishing achievement: Taken, for the most part from the tenor's prime--the 1970s and '80s (although there are four earlier and three from 2003)--what we hear is golden tone, impeccable diction, an innate sense of style and line and where the music should be going, absolutely natural phrasing, an evenness of production from C to (shining) C, and an ability to communicate warmth, passion, and the sheer ...
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25 Mozart Favorites
(more) »rank: 1352from: Vox (Classical)
: :This is an astonishing collection of works - or parts of works - by Mozart that covers almost every aspect of his creative output: symphonic, religious music, concerti (for piano, horn, violin, clarinet, flute), chamber music, serenades (for strings; winds), a couple of opera overtures and more. Those who know and love Mozart's music will not need this, but it's a great introduction, a great overview. The selections are well-chosen and interestingly organized, with familiar pieces splrinkled among some not-so well known. A good primer. --Robert Levine
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Messiah (George Frederick Handel) London Philharmonic Orchestra
(more) »rank: 865by: Handel, London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Alldis
: :This is an astonishing collection of works - or parts of works - by Mozart that covers almost every aspect of his creative output: symphonic, religious music, concerti (for piano, horn, violin, clarinet, flute), chamber music, serenades (for strings; winds), a couple of opera overtures and more. Those who know and love Mozart's music will not need this, but it's a great introduction, a great overview. The selections are well-chosen and interestingly organized, with familiar pieces splrinkled among some not-so well known. A good primer. --Robert Levine
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Sarah Brightman Classics
(more) »rank: 985by: Sarah Brightman, Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni, Francisco Tarrega, George Frideric Handel, Fryderyk Chopin, Sergey Rachmaninov, Giacomo Puccini, Antonin Dvorak, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Marie Canteloube, Francesco Sartori, Paul Bateman
: : Sarah Brightman Photos More from Sarah Brightman Time to Say Goodbye Diva: The Singles Collection Eden Diva: The Video Collection Live from Las Vegas La Luna (Live in Concert) Amazon.com:Have some friends who still haven't discovered what the Sarah Brightman fuss is all about? You'll find the perfect introduction to make converts of them all in Classics, so they'll have no more excuses to remain clueless. Sporting a Botticelli-inspired image of the platinum-selling soprano on the cover, Classics is a classy anthology including highlights from three of Brightman's chart-topping releases along with seven new tracks. Songs ...
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O Holy Night / Luciano Pavarotti / Special Deluxe Edition (Decca)
(more) »rank: 509from: Decca
: : This CD is a compilation of (mainly) devotional music sung by Pavarotti when he was in or near his prime, most going back, gloriously, to 1976. Precisely what Orfeo's lament (from the Gluck opera) is doing in a recital called 'O Holy Night' is beyond me, but the rest of the selections are well chosen. The title song is gorgeously enough performed to be worth the album's asking price, the tenor's voice ringing out with great clarity and beauty, and the selection from Rossini's Stabat Mater is even more thrilling, with its ascent to high D flat near its close. Verdi's 'Ingemisco,' ...
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Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; Violin Concertos
(more) »rank: 1878from: EMI Classics
: : This CD is a compilation of (mainly) devotional music sung by Pavarotti when he was in or near his prime, most going back, gloriously, to 1976. Precisely what Orfeo's lament (from the Gluck opera) is doing in a recital called 'O Holy Night' is beyond me, but the rest of the selections are well chosen. The title song is gorgeously enough performed to be worth the album's asking price, the tenor's voice ringing out with great clarity and beauty, and the selection from Rossini's Stabat Mater is even more thrilling, with its ascent to high D flat near its close. Verdi's 'Ingemisco,' ...
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The #1 Opera Album
(more) »rank: 4664by: Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Léo Delibes, Georges Bizet, Umberto Giordano, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Wagner, Gioachino Rossini, Alfredo Catalani, Jacques Offenbach, Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Charles Gounod, Gaetano Donizetti, Pietro Mascagni, Antonin Dvorak, Richard Bonynge, Herbert von Karajan, Alberto Erede, Lamberto Gardelli, Giuseppe Patane, John Mauceri, Zubin Mehta, Charles Dutoit, Gyorgy Fischer, Riccardo Chailly, Istvan Kertesz, Leone Magiera, Evelino Pido, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Luciano Pavarotti, Jussi Bjorling, Renata Tebaldi
: :The labels that are now gathered under the Universal Classics umbrella have a pretty impressive scorecard in the area of classical compilations. We've seen The Greatest Opera Show on Earth, The Yellow Guide: Classical Music, Best of the Millennium, and now there's The No. 1 Opera Album. But that's no surprise, since Universal has some of the finest interpreters in its catalogue to draw from. This two-CD set (at the price of one), for example, brings together the likes of Cecilia Bartoli, Renée Fleming, Luciano Pavarotti, Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir Georg Solti, Herbert von Karajan, and many more. Yet the other key to ...
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Four Last Songs
(more) »rank: 2751from: Decca
:Album Description:This is the special, deluxe edition! In addition to the Strauss program, a second disc which highlights Fleming's signature roles at the Metropolitan Opera is included. These extended scenes are drawn from her highly-regarded Decca discography. Renée Fleming, the world's preeminent lyric soprano, is joined by Christian Thielemann, internationally acclaimed for his performances of Strauss works, for this recording of the exquisitely beautiful Four Last Songs. These enduringly popular works have become signature pieces for the soprano and she was delighted for the opportunity to work with the gifted Thielemann. In addition, Fleming performs a selection of lieder with orchestra as well ...
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The Most Famous Opera Duets
(more) »rank: 3373from: EMI Classics
: :This is a misnomer--not all of these duets are all that famous--but it's a fine compilation nonetheless. You'll hear selections from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers (Nicolai Gedda and Ernest Blanc at their most elegant French), Madama Butterfly (Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto--an impassioned pair), Lucia di Lammermoor (a classy Alfredo Kraus and Edita Gruberova), the lovely Lakme duet, The Presentation of the Silver Rose from Der Rosenkavalier (with the earnest Christa Ludwig and the other-worldly Teresa Stich-Randall), and a fine Trovatore 'Miserere' (with Leontyne Price and Franco Bonisolli singing up a storm). There are many others, too--a veritable cornucopia of couplings--and a treat ...
