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Sarah Brightman Classics

by: 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

November 20, 2001
What a rare treat to hear such a wonderful voice! The music transcends the various languages( Latin, Italian, French, Spanish and almost no English) and communicates directly, beyond intellect, deeper to sooth the soul. This we expect from Opera and Religious selections such as Pucinni's "Nessun Dorma" and Lloyd Webber's "Piu Jesu". A favorite is the solo rendition of "Time To Say Good-bye". Orchestrations are as light and lyric as the voice. Some tracks are found on other CD's and the enclosed photos are a bit risque, but again, the music reaches a much higher plane than most. You won't be disappointed.

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The #1 Opera Album

by: 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

February 27, 2001
I heard this CD on a PBS pledge drive (it was a premium) and found myself loving every cut on it! I was in my car and just wanted to keep on driving and listening. This is by far my most-played CD - I've had to make it a weekend only listen to prevent getting burned out on it. HIGHLY recommend it. Even if you are unfamiliar with some of the pieces, you will quickly learn to love them. . . . I must end this review - I'm off to listen to the "flower duet" for the 100th time. . .

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The Very Best of Maria Callas

by: Maria Callas

February 12, 2002
I grew up on opera but not on Maria Callas. Joan Sutherland, Schwartzkoff, Victoria Los Angeles, and Mady Mesple (to name a few) crowded the airwaves of our home growing up. I had heard that Maria Callas was THE Diva of opera and bought one of her obscure recordings from a low budget bin while in Paris 10 years ago. It didn't impress me that much. Perhaps it was recorded during her voice decline. I could certainly tell she had a powerhouse voice but many of those arias were unknown to me and I didn't connect all that well with the CD.

After reading some of these reviews I decided to give her one more chance. Surely 50 million opera fans can't be all wrong! So I bought this disc and listened to it the other day. There are plenty ... Read More:

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The Most Famous Opera Arias

from: EMI Classics

July 19, 1994
The conductor and the singers can make a beautiful song the opera that everyone jeers and hates. To have a Russian singer doing o mio babbino caro is just plain silly...give the woman a break and play something from Russian opera...give a beautiful melodic aria to a lyrical singer like Caballe...boo hiss. Try Opera's Greatest Moments where they give Hvorostvsky an aria from Pique Dame and leave the bel canto to bel canto singers.

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Tuscany: A Romantic Journey

from: Avalon

March 01, 2005

I had heard this CD at a friends and loved the music. Great for quiet times or background music for dinner. The complaint I have is that although the CD arrived in a reasonable time and was completely sealed, there was a small nick in the CD which prevents it from playing the last song. I decided to purchase a "new" CD at a higher cost then I could have bought one used to avoid a situation like this. This was my first purchase at Amazon and I don't think I will ever buy like this again. So I am happy to have this CD to play whenever, but disappointed that it is flawed.

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The East Village Opera Company

from: Decca

September 27, 2005
You'll love The East Village Opera Company. They add their own distinct sounds to such classics as Nessa Dorma. It is a great addition to your collection of Il Divo, Russell Watson, Amici Forever, Michael Amante, and 10 Tenors. Give it a shot I am glad I did. Also watch for them on tour.

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Rapture: Opera's Most Heavenly Moments

from: Deutsche Grammophon

October 08, 2002
I have more experience with other genres of music, but am interested in basically all kinds. I have been collecting CDs for nearly 2 decades but had no Opera in my collection. I did a little research and arrived at a conclusion. If I wanted the most and best Opera music for my money, I had to get this title, which is a double album, and "The Most Famous Opera Duets". Well, the latter was a steal with a list price under four dollars, and the former was a truly good compilation of many uplifting, diverse, impactful, and pleasant pieces. I am satisfied with my purchases and have filled the gap in my music collection. I can't see Opera getting better than this and the other title I mentioned. Enjoy!

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The Best Opera Album in the World...Ever!

from: Angel Records

July 27, 1999
I'm not opera literate, so I was looking for some kind of introduction that had some familiar arias and that would connect me to others that I had not heard. I liked that the notes with the cd indicated where a new listener may have heard some of the music (in a commercial, during an important scene in a movie, etc). This was the source of a lot of 'Ah ha!' moments. It even inspired me to rent a dvd of a live version of Turandot and to put others on my Netflix queue. I owe my newly aroused curiosity about opera, believe it or not, to Il Divo. I had to know what these guys sing when they're not reinterpreting pop songs. I'm glad I started this journey and this cd was a good start.

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Cello Adagios

from: Decca

May 11, 2004
This CD is an excellent choice, I enjoyed so much that I bought a second CD for a friend of mine! I highly recommend it.

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Renee Fleming: By Request

by: Vincenzo Bellini, Alfredo Catalani, Antonin Dvorak, George Gershwin, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Jules Massenet, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giacomo Puccini, Sergey Rachmaninov, Richard Rodgers, Richard Strauss, Giuseppe Verdi, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Georg Solti, James Levine, Jeffrey Tate, Patrick Summers, Sir Charles Mackerras, Lee Ritenour, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Renee Fleming

September 16, 2003
This is my favorite album!!! I use it to mellow out, or just listen to her magnificent voice. I've passed on a few of her other albums, but if I lost this one, I'd buy it over and over again.