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Messiah (George Frederick Handel) London Philharmonic Orchestra(more) »rank: 721by: Handel, London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Alldis
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Puccini - Turandot / Sutherland · Pavarotti · Caballé · Ghiaurov · Krause · Pears · LPO · Mehta(more) »rank: 3513from: Decca
: essential recording: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 detachment. She also had an ideal set of colleagues, notably Luciano Pavarotti, whose 'Nessun dorma' has become practically his signature tune. --Joe McLellan |
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Hymns Triumphant 1 & 2(more) »rank: 6251by: Lee Holdridge, London Philharmonic Choir, London's National Philharmonic Orchestra
: essential recording: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 detachment. She also had an ideal set of colleagues, notably Luciano Pavarotti, whose 'Nessun dorma' has become practically his signature tune. --Joe McLellan |
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The Most Relaxing Classical Album In the World Ever, Volume II(more) »rank: 10052by: Gabriel Faure, Frederic Chopin, Antonio Vivaldi, Gustav Mahler, Claude Debussy, Sir Neville Marriner, Maris Jansons, Lorin Maazel, Sir Adrian Boult, Miklos Rozsa, Riccardo Muti, Stephen Cleobury, Sir John Barbirolli, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Berlin Philharmonic
: essential recording: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 detachment. She also had an ideal set of colleagues, notably Luciano Pavarotti, whose 'Nessun dorma' has become practically his signature tune. --Joe McLellan |
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The Ultimate Puccini Collection(more) »rank: 6536by: Giacomo Puccini, Herbert von Karajan, Riccardo Chailly, Stephen Barlow, Tullio Serafin, Lorin Maazel, Sir Edward Downes, Giuseppe Patane, Zubin Mehta, Alberto Erede, John Mauceri, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Kiri Te Kanawa, John Alldis Choir, Luciano Pavarotti, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bologna Community Theater Orchestra, Ettore Bastianini, Carlo Bergonzi, Renato Cesari, Fernando Corena, Cesare Siepi, Renata Tebaldi, Gianna D'Angelo, Saint Cecilia Academy Orchestra, Franco Corelli, Alfredo Mariotti, Regine Crespin, Royal Opera House Orchestra Covent Garden, London Symphony Orchestra, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra, Rome Opera House Orchestra, Pilar Lorengar, Berlin Philharmonic Brass Ensemble, Mirella Freni, Rolando Panerai, Jussi Bjorling, Leontyne Price, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
: essential recording:Ordinarily, it pays to be wary of collections such as these, which often promise a lot but deliver a mishmash of disconnected excerpts. This disc, however, is something of an exception: you really do get just about all of Puccini's best arias, which is possible, because he didn't write so many operas that choosing the best moments becomes a matter of the producer's personal taste. Also, Puccini's operas are so popular that every major label has excellent complete recordings of all of them, so in making this compilation it was possible to cast from strength: all the singers here are fine. ... |
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Luciano Pavarotti: O Holy Night(more) »rank: 8481from: Decca
: essential recording:Ordinarily, it pays to be wary of collections such as these, which often promise a lot but deliver a mishmash of disconnected excerpts. This disc, however, is something of an exception: you really do get just about all of Puccini's best arias, which is possible, because he didn't write so many operas that choosing the best moments becomes a matter of the producer's personal taste. Also, Puccini's operas are so popular that every major label has excellent complete recordings of all of them, so in making this compilation it was possible to cast from strength: all the singers here are fine. ... |
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Sanctuary(more) »rank: 54248from: EMI Classics
: essential recording:Ordinarily, it pays to be wary of collections such as these, which often promise a lot but deliver a mishmash of disconnected excerpts. This disc, however, is something of an exception: you really do get just about all of Puccini's best arias, which is possible, because he didn't write so many operas that choosing the best moments becomes a matter of the producer's personal taste. Also, Puccini's operas are so popular that every major label has excellent complete recordings of all of them, so in making this compilation it was possible to cast from strength: all the singers here are fine. ... |
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Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Ring Cycle) / Sir Georg Solti(more) »rank: 34544by: Sir Georg Solti, Wiener Philharmoniker, Vienna State Opera Choir, Kirsten Flagstad, Paul Kuen, George London, Jean Madeira, Ira Malaniuk, Gustav Neidlinger, Hetty Plumacher
: essential recording:Modern storage media (CD/DVD) offer both high fidelity and great reliability in the playback of music. Yet only a bit more than a generation ago, the possibilities inherent in the long-playing record inspired John Culshaw, a young producer for Decca, to attempt the most ambitious recording project ever contemplated up to that time--a complete studio recording of the Ring. Though other Rings were issued after this landmark enterprise, none have equaled the Decca Ring in popularity. There are those who prefer live performances, or who feel that the sound and theatrical effects in this recording are overdone; nonetheless this remains the ... |
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Carmen / Troyanos, Domingo, van Dam, Te Kanawa; Sir Georg Solti(more) »rank: 57315by: Georges Bizet, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Tatiana Troyanos, Plácido Domingo, Sir Georg Solti, José van Dam, Kiri Te Kanawa, Norma Burrowes, Jane Berbié, John Alldis Choir
: :Tatiana Troyanos was reportedly never comfortable on stage as Carmen, but she sings it ravishingly well in this recording, in good voice and at home with the character. Placido Domingo, seemingly the only Don José of our era, gives one of his best accounts of the role; Dame Kiri Te Kanawa sings beautifully as Micaëla, and Jose van Dam's Escamillo offers just the right blend of macho swagger. The dialogue is unusually well done, and Georg Solti's conducting, though lacking some Gaelic wit, gets the serious parts spot-on. --Sarah Bryan Miller |
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Pavarotti: Greatest Hits(more) »rank: 55137from: Decca
: :Tatiana Troyanos was reportedly never comfortable on stage as Carmen, but she sings it ravishingly well in this recording, in good voice and at home with the character. Placido Domingo, seemingly the only Don José of our era, gives one of his best accounts of the role; Dame Kiri Te Kanawa sings beautifully as Micaëla, and Jose van Dam's Escamillo offers just the right blend of macho swagger. The dialogue is unusually well done, and Georg Solti's conducting, though lacking some Gaelic wit, gets the serious parts spot-on. --Sarah Bryan Miller |


DVD features
Yes, the unrated edition of The Dukes of Hazzard has nudity... but no, it's not of Jessica Simpson, but topless sorority girls. There are also two sets--"PG-13" and "unrated"--of deleted scenes and bloopers. The four minutes of unrated deleted scenes (supplementing the 25 minutes of "PG-13" deleted scenes) include more sorority girls and a menage à trois for Johnny Knoxville . The five minutes of unrated bloopers (the same amount as the "PG-13" bloopers) feature a few more girls but mostly bad language. Featurettes discuss the Daisy Duke short shorts (and show how you can make your own), car stunts, and the making of the movie (narrated by a cast member of the original TV series). --David Horiuchi