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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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Essential Mozart: 32 Of His Greatest Masterpieces

from: Decca

March 13, 2001
You get Mozart's best works in 2 CD. The sound is flawless to the common ear. Get it! if you love Mozart

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Mozart - Requiem / Augér, Bartoli, Cole, Pape, Wiener Phil., Solti

from: Decca

March 10, 1992
To my great surprise, in the last two decades of his life Solti turned into a marvelous Mozart interpreter. His '80's Figaro, and '90's Magic Flute and Cosi fan Tutte are among my favorite versions, Sir Georg's sometimes abrasive nervous energy (and scholarly use of reduced orchestral forces) makes for fantastically dramatic, anti-romantic readings. This requiem, recorded on the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death in St Stephen's cathedral in Vienna benefits from an awesome reverberant acoustic, a quartet of fabluous operatic singers (and let's face it, this is an opera manque, religiose, not religious, "the sickly sweets of operatic sin" as Stravinsky called it, and a good thing too I say). Excerpts of the actual Mass ceremony are interspersed, ... Read More:

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La Sonnambula (Limited Edition Hardcover Book)

by: Cecilia Bartoli, Juan Diego Florez

February 24, 2009
To my great surprise, in the last two decades of his life Solti turned into a marvelous Mozart interpreter. His '80's Figaro, and '90's Magic Flute and Cosi fan Tutte are among my favorite versions, Sir Georg's sometimes abrasive nervous energy (and scholarly use of reduced orchestral forces) makes for fantastically dramatic, anti-romantic readings. This requiem, recorded on the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death in St Stephen's cathedral in Vienna benefits from an awesome reverberant acoustic, a quartet of fabluous operatic singers (and let's face it, this is an opera manque, religiose, not religious, "the sickly sweets of operatic sin" as Stravinsky called it, and a good thing too I say). Excerpts of the actual Mass ceremony are interspersed, ... Read More:

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Cecilia Bartoli - If You Love Me (Se tu m'ami ), 18th-Century Italian Songs

by: Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Caldara, Antonio Lotti, Antonio Cesti, Giovanni Paisiello, Anonymous, Benedetto Marcello, Giuseppe Giordani, Giulio Caccini, Alessandro Parisotti, Pietro Francesco Cavalli, Antonio Vivaldi, Giacomo Carissimi, Cecilia Bartoli, György Fischer

October 13, 1992
Cecilia Bartoli may not be the finest mezzo-soprano extant but few would doubt her exceptional artistry and professionalism. In "Se tu m'ami", she transforms simple, even primitive, melodies into beautiful, dare I say, rapturous arias, in the finest bel canto tradition. I now understand why Paisiello was a favourite of Buonaparte and why I should now acknowledge Vivaldi for his considerable versatility and creativity. The disc now occupies a top shelf in my CD rack. Bravissimo Cecilia.

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Cecilia Bartoli - Maria

from: Decca

October 10, 2006
I should start out saying I generally do not like to listen to female singers five minutes (I have always loved Baritones). There is only one singer that is the exception and that is Cecilia.

I certainly feel that there are enough different songs on here that there is something for everyone. There are slow flowing songs like "Se Un Mio Desir" and fast paced songs such as "Ah! Non" to name a few. Cecilia's voice is distinctive and a pleasure to listen to.

--Sarah

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Cecilia Bartoli ~ Opera Proibita (Handel · Scarlatti · Caldara) / Les Musiciens du Louvre · Minkowski

from: Decca

September 13, 2005
One can't help but be impressed with the agility in Bartoli's voice. Vocal fireworks! And yet the "Mentre io godo...", "Caldo sangue" and "Lascia la spina..." are so sweet and calming. I consider this CD a must have!

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Pavarotti: Greatest Hits

from: Decca

September 30, 1997
I love this music. Great for long drives when stations fade in and out. Pavarotti's best!!!

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Cecilia Bartoli - An Italian Songbook (Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini)

from: Decca

September 16, 1997
To be honest I am not an admirer of Bartoli's voice and art. However her interpretation of these 'Composizioni da Camera' is excellent, very sensitive, in style and with deep emotion and feeling. It's the BEST performance I have ever heard of these songs.

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Cecilia Bartoli - Gluck Italian Arias ~ Dreams & Fables

by: Christoph Willibald Gluck, Bernhard Forck, Cecilia Bartoli, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

September 25, 2001
Now i don't own too many of Ms Bartoli's albums (including this one only 2). In fact i don't own too many opera albums at all. I am only just getting into this genre. So i don't know anything about operatic technique or style or for that matter what is technically meant by the terms soprana or mezzo etc. (I guess i could do some googling on the subject). So this is not a review about any of this.

This is simply a review about the music & what i hear when i listen to this CD. It is hard not to be "captured" by her voice. I was glued to this CD when i first listened to it & in subsequent listenings i still find myself turning up the volume. The production & quality of the sound on this CD is first class imho. When i listen to Bartoli on this album her voice reminds ... Read More: