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Four Last Songs

from: Decca

September 16, 2008
This recording is sublime; Renee Flemings interpretation is outstanding and her German totally understandable. I've ripped this CD to my computer, downloaded to my MP3 player so I can listen as I'm Nordic walking and have a CD in my car!!!

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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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Four Last Songs

from: Decca

September 16, 2008
This set of glorious performances by Renee Fleming, both the older ones included on the bonus disk and the new ones, especially the new versions of Strauss's Vier Letzte Lieder, seem to me so fine as to be nearly beyond praise. Listening to them, especially after reading some of the more critical comments here, has taken me back some 50 years to when I was a young lad in LA diving into the world of great singing, all on LPs then. There was much discussion in those days about Renata Tebaldi and Maria Callas -- in fact, there was a debate, and sometimes a bitter one, about whether Tebaldi was better than Callas, or Callas better than Tebaldi. (A similar debate was going on over the different sorts of violin playing offered by Francescatti and Heifetz.) ... Read More:

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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

by: Howard Shore, Annie Lennox

November 25, 2003
Okay, I was already determined to love this album when I found out that Renee Fleming stars in three of it's pieces. But Howard Shore truly does provide a gorgeous presentation of his musical talents. Keeping in mind that this is a movie track, and therefore, there is a lot of "incidental" music in this album. It's not always riveting without the action of the movie to complete the story. But that is a challenge every composer of film music faces.

Flemming is flawless, providing a straight-tone (no vibrato), eerie, airy sound in her performances to emphasize the other-worldly influence of this music. One wonders how authentic her "elfin" would be, but since her vocals are nearly indistinguishable from the orchestra, the accent could hardly be determined ... Read More:

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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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Angels: Christmas with the Great Sopranos

from: Decca

October 14, 2008
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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Massenet - Thaïs / Fleming, Hampson, Sabbatini, Shkosa, Vidal, Devellereau, Cals, Yves Abel

by: Jules Massenet, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Yves Abel, Giuseppe Sabbatini, Elisabeth Vidal, Marie Devellereau, Enkelejda Shkosa, Stefano Palatchi

August 22, 2000
I bought the CDs on Thais after hearing it in Paris in April 2007.
I think Renee Fleming is incomparable.

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Amparo

from: Decca

September 09, 2008
Here's my super-sophisticated way to judge music -- do I find myself wanting to play a song again? I can't say that ANY of the tracks on this CD compelled me to listen more than once. Since I received it for evaluation, I tried to keep an open mind and played the whole collection several times with the intent to write a detailed, brilliant review. Each time, I was simply bored. That's a shame, because I do own other CDs by several of the featured artists, and I expected to be charmed. This one isn't a keeper.

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Immortal Beloved / Sir Georg Solti (film 1994)

by: Ludwig van Beethoven, Georg Solti, Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Murray Perahia, Emanuel Ax, Pamela Frank, Thomas Frost, Gidon Kremer, Vinson Cole, London Symphony Orchestra, London Voices

December 06, 1994
This is my personal favorite rendition of Beethoven's work, although it's only a small sample. The approach taken on some numbers by the conductor and performers are quite moving, and for me personally it inspired emotions I haven't found in other versions of the same music. This soundtrack made me love Beethoven, it was my first real exposure to his music. Since then I've listened to more complete collections, but personally I never yet felt like they played the excerpts here with the same feeling.

My only complaint is that the CD is too quiet. Some sections I can barely hear when I listen in my car. Maybe I just don't have a trained ear. It would be great on headphones, but even still the overall volume is much less than most music CDs. There's no way ... Read More:

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The Wonder of Christmas

by: Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, Bells on Temple Square, Bryn Terfel, Frederica von Stade, Audra McDonald, Renee Fleming, Angela Lansbury

September 26, 2006
I am a musician at heart (read: critical and difficult to please, but very moved by good music) and this is my absolute favorite christmas album. The arrangements are incredible and the performances will blow you away. This is a must have for those who truly appreciate music and even those who just love christmas music (who doesn't?). Even my hubby, who listens to rap and thinks choir music is not cool, looks forward to the Choir's Christmas concert every year.
I'm lucky enough to live in Salt Lake where I can see them perform, and this album contains most of my favorite performances from the past several years. Each song on this album can stand on its own, but my favorites are Joy to the World, What Shall We Give to the Babe in the Manger, Angels From the Realms of Glory, and of course ... Read More: