Collection: Amore - Great Italian Love Arias (Various artists)   SONY SFK 89224 

 

This album contains the following arias from Italian Operas:-

Giacomo PUCCINI:
`O mio baabino caro' from Gianni Schicchi
`Chi il bel sogno di Doretta' from La Rondine
`Quando m'en vo' from La bohème
`Vissi d'arte' from Tosca Kiri Te Kanawa with the LPO conducted by Sir John Pritchard
`Mi chiamano Mimi' from La bohème
`Donde lieta uscì' from La bohème
`Tu, che di gel sei cinta' from Turandot Eva Marton with the Munich Radio Orchestra conducted by Giuseppe Patané
`Un bel di' from Madama Butterfly
`Bimba dagli occhi pieni di malia' from Madama Butterfly Ying Huang with Orchestre de Paris conducted by James Conlon
`Dammi colori...Recondita armonia' from Tosca *
`Nessun dorma!' from Turandot?
José Carreras with * Hungarian State Orch. Conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas
Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Lorin Maazel

 Giuseppe VERDI:
`La donna è mobile' from Rigoletto
`Lunge da lei...De' miei bollenti spiriti ...oh mio rimorso' from La Traviata Marcello Álvarez with Orch. Of Welsh National Opera cond. by Carlo Rizzi
`Caro Nome' from Rigoletto Ileana Cotrubas with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by John Pritchard
`Celeste Aida' from Aida Richard Tucker with Vienna State Opera Orchestra conducted by Nello Santi

Gaetano DONIZETTI:
`Prendi, per me sei libero' from L'elisir d'amore
`Quel guardo il cavaliere from Don Pasquale Andrea Rost with the RPO conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras
`Una furtiva lagrima' from L'elisir d'amore Marcelo Álvarez with Orchestra of the National Welsh Opera cond. Carlo Rizzi

Many of these operatic arias have, of course, been featured in Hollywood films over the years. This album of popular arias is an ideal introduction for those new to opera, although there is much to enjoy here for the more experienced listener.

Many of the best-loved Puccini arias are here from his most popular operas. Kiri Te Kanawa sings warmly and appealingly to her beloved father in the Gianni Schicchi number, and she is suitably coquettish in Musetta's Waltz Song from La Bohème. I was delighted that Sony has chosen to include her singing the charming `Chi il bel sogno di Doretta' from the shamefully under-rated La Rondine. (A special feature review of Te Kanawa's complete recording of this Puccini opera, together with its rival EMI Alagna/Gheorghiu version is to be found this month on Classical Music on the Web). José Carreras is of course justly famous for his `Nessun Dorma!' from Turnadot beloved of football fans the world over. Ying Huang' s youth, purity of vocal line and dramatic intensity informs her two arias from Madam Butterfly, in the second of these, the gloriou love duet `Bimb dagli occhi pieni di malia', with the equally appealingly ardent Richard Troxell.

Of the Verdi and Donizetti arias, Marcello Álvarez impresses strongly in all his arias particularly from Rigoletto and L'elisir d'amore. His is a voice has a timbre that suggests virility and sensitivity. The oaken-voiced Richard Tucker's `Celeste Aida' is another highlight and Andrea Rost's coloratura Donizetti arias are silken perfection.

But really all the tracks on this compilation impress. An album for lovers and lovers of opera

Reviewer

Ian Lace