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“There is much to recommend this performance of Beethoven's Fidelio, recorded in clean mono sound. Karl Böhm was an immensely experienced conductor of this opera, and his account of the Leonore No. 3 Overture is thrilling. Jon Vickers, in one of his first Florestans, is in uneven voice, but committed. Birgit Nilsson makes an exciting Fidelio.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2011 **** “the focus of interest falls primarily on the conducting...It's a white-knuckle ride of a performance in which he ratchets up the tension to the nth degree, reminding us that this grandest of humanitarian statements is essentially a thriller, and one of the finest ever written...The dialogue here is delivered with tremendous sincerity, at times shockingly intense.” The Guardian, 7th July 2011 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Fox Theatre Atlanta 4/5/1960 live
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Recording Date: February 15, 1958 “Schippers's control of the ensembles is exemplary...[Albanese] is the most fragile Mimi I've ever heard...[Bergonzi] has absolute ease with Rodolfo's music...This thoroughly idiomatic performance - filled with Italian singers steeped in the tradition - is, again, the kind one rarely hears nowadays, and it's highly recommended.” International Record Review, March 2011 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Boston Opera House 13/4/1957
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Each release includes a booklet with a three-language synopsis (English/French/German), full cast list and detailed track list. Recorded in 1991 “...here's Aprile Millo in best form before the golden voice began to buckle under pressure. This is another of those vintage Met Ensembles vividly guided by Levine” BBC Music Magazine, July 2010 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Samuel Barber’s first opera was an outstanding success when first performed in 1958 at the Metropolitan opera and this recording was made with the original cast and conductor. Eleanor Steber (for whom Barber had written Knoxville) created the title role. The work follows traditional operatic form with arias, duets and ensembles within an essentially romantic — and sometimes nostalgic —musical language characteristic of Barber’s other works. Recorded in 1958 “There is the great pleasure of hearing young Nicolai Gedda, enchanting of voice, greatly musical, singing faultless English...[Steber is] strong in temperament, generous of voice, and well inside the character. Rosalind Elias had the lioness's share of the music and responded splendidly at all levels.” Gramophone Magazine, February 1978 “This recording was made at the time of its first performance in 1958, but no apologies are needed for its quality; it stands the test of time as well as does the opera itself, and this reissue is well worth seeking out.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Der fliegende HollÄnder is Wagner’s first mature opera and marks the start of his music dramas which would culminate in his last opera, Parsifal. The opera tells the legend of the Flying Dutchman — the wandering Jew of the seas, who can only find release from his constant travels until Judgement Day if he finds a woman who will love him faithfully until death. The famous overture sets the scene and contains all the famous musical motifs found in the opera. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Luciano Pavarotti (Il Duca), Vladimir Chernov (Rigoletto), Cheryl Studer (Gilda), Roberto Scandiuzzi (Sparafucile), Denyce Graves (Maddalena), Jane Shaulis (Giovanna), Ildebrando d' Arcangelo (Monterone), Dwayne Croft (Marullo), Paul Groves (Borsa), Yanni Yannissis (Il Conte di Ceprano), Heidi Grant Murphy (La Contessa di Ceprano), Elyssa Lindner (Un paggio) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine “Levine conducts a thrustful, exceptionally high-powered reading of Rigoletto, vividly dramatic. The sound is full and immediate...Chernov is a firm, clear, virile Rigoletto...Studer is a tenderly affecting Gilda.” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Recorded 1962 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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