Donizetti: Quel guardo il cavaliere (from Don Pasquale) (Norina's aria)

Mirella Freni was one of Herbert von Karajan’s favourite singers; indeed, he is known to have commented that if he could have any voice in the world, it would be hers. Combining a stunning voice with heartfelt acting, Freni is equally at home in the lighter roles, such as Mozart’s Susanna and Zerlina, as in the weightier roles of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut and Tosca. This collection brings together arias from throughout Freni’s illustrious career.

If opera enthusiasts had to choose a singer as the quintessential coloratura soprano, the name of Edita Gruberova would be bound to come up. To the delight of her audiences, she has spent the last four decades exploring every corner of the coloratura repertory. The fact that throughout this period she has retained her timbre, flexibility and an upper range extending above top C is due to two factors: her sovereign technique and her intelligent choice of repertoire.

After making her professional début with a provincial company in her native Slovakia, Gruberova joined the Vienna State Opera, which remains her artistic home to this day. This new compilation of high points from Orfeo's Wiener Staatsoper Live series showcases her earliest decisive successes in the sort of lighter coloratura roles often sung by soubrettes: Norina in 'Don Pasquale' and above all Zerbinetta in 'Ariadne auf Naxos', a role to which she returned for 35 years. Lucia stayed for 30 years, allowing her to cast a powerful spell on audiences not only in Vienna but all over the world.

Starting with Lucia and with three of Mozart’s soprano roles, Donna Anna, Konstanze and Giunia in the rarely heard 'Lucio Silla', she began to develop in the direction of dramatic coloratura roles, a development that finally enabled her to tackle Bellini’s 'Norma'. Between these two extremes, Edita Gruberova’s career contains many other milestones that may all be enjoyed in this portrait from Vienna. Roles represented here include the titular heroine of Verdi’s 'La traviata' (with Alfredo Kraus as one of her many world-class partners), the flighty Manon in Massenet’s opera of the same name – one of only a handful of excursions into the French repertory – and her irresistible Adele in Johann Strauss’ operetta, 'Die Fledermaus'.

Central to the second half of Edita Gruberova’s 40-year reign at the Vienna State Opera are leading roles in bel canto operas, operas which without her be even more of a rarity: Elvira in 'I Puritani' and four of Donizetti’s dramatic coloratura roles, Elisabetta in 'Roberto Devereux' plus Maria Stuarda, Linda di Chamounix and, most recently, Lucrezia Borgia.

Lucia Popp is one of the best-documented and most versatile singers of her generation. Because of her linguistic and stylistic flexibility she was able to sing a very wide range of repertoire. Her acting talent was extraordinary as well. Before she began her vocal studies she had studied medicine and drama and acted in a number of movies. This new release shows a richly varied program with soprano arias by Mozart to Weber and Rossini all the way to Lehár and Stolz taken from concerts given in 1968 to 1982.

Previously unreleased live recordings from the “Sunday Concerts” with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester.

Singer portrait featuring Lucia Popp’s core repertoire, including famous arias from the likes of Mozart to Lehár.

After Mirella Freni, Nicolai Ghiaurov and Margaret Price, this release continues the successful “Great Singers Live” series

This recording of Don Pasquale, despite its age (1932), has long been regarded as the yardstick by which all subsequent versions of this sparkling opera have been measured. Still in fine voice, Ernesto Badini (1876 - 1937) in the title role was undoubtedly the finest basso buffo of the day - he was London's first Gianni Schicchi) and Tito Schipa was at the height of his career. Saraceni and Poli were also matchless in their roles. Also included are rare highlights in German with Rita Streich and Josef Greindl stylishly conducted by Fritz Lehmann, some tracks of which are on CD for the first time. There is also space for two further bonuses: Streich singing Norina's aria in Italian and the legendary version of Pronta io son with Lotte Schöne and Willi Domgraf-Fassbänder