Customer Reviews

Aria: Opera Without Words

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sensitive and beautifully expressive playing, Thibaudet captures the essence of the singers art with his piano. Recording quality excellent.
Can't stop listening to this superb recording. Buy it now!

So easy to listen to. He plays so smoothly. Such a joy to hear.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet's new recording is very pleasant to listen to. As expected, his playing is flawless and endlessly romantic in style; very poetic performances. His selection of repertoire is nice; however, the transcriptions themselves cannot compare to those by Liszt, in which Thibaudt dazzled listeners with his earlier recorded disc.

Overall, the playing is superb, the music is both warmly familiar and interesting and this is an excellent edition to the music lover's collection.

French piano virtuoso Jean Yves Thibaudet brings his lifelong passion for opera to his new album of irresistible operatic melodies called Aria Opera Without Words. This cd is a collection of opera's most enduring music in piano arrangements from touching simplicity to thrilling virtuosity. Jean Yves Thibaudet who is often called the Poet of the piano again brings his uniquely accessible artistry to the widest classical audience with an album that combines the intimacy of the piano recital with the drama and romance of the opera house. The album showcases the full palette of sound colors he produces when he plays composers like Debussy and Ravel for which he is internationally renowned. These performances are not just arrangements of popular classics, they are also piano works in their own right. Bellini's Casta Diva, in which the heroine of his opera Norma sings to the moon goddess, becomes a Romantic nocturne which sounds like it could have been composed by Chopin. The album also includes arrangements of many of the best loved arias of opera including Puccini's Vissi darte from Tosca and O mio babbino caro and the sparkling jewel song from Gounod's Faust. For this recording Jean Yves Thibaudet explored both established transcriptions and new arrangements. The Puccini arias are performed in versions by the American pianist Yvar Mikashoff who Jean Yves Thibaudet met before his death in 1993. As a tribute a large part of the album is devoted to Mikashoff's four part sonata fantasy which paints a portrait of Puccini's tragic heroine Madama Butterfly. Two of the most evocative tracks have been arranged by Jean Yves Thibaudet himself working with acclaimed composer Randy Kerber best known for his film score The Color Purple. Thibaudet's understanding of French style lies at the heart of his arrangement of music from Saint Saens Samson et Dalila and the setting of Marietta's Lied from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt showcases the fluid, vocal quality of his playing. A highlight of the disc is Thibaudet's piano version of the most spectacular moment in all opera The Ride of the Walkyries from the second opera in Wagner's mighty Ring Cycle. To music that everyone will recognize, the Walkyries warrior daughters of Wotan, King of the Gods ride through the sky on winged horses. Music which Wagner wrote for massive orchestral forces loses none of it's power in Thibaudet's gloriously virtuosic performance. This is an amazing cd and I think you will enjoy it whether you are an opera fan or not. Thibaudet is an amazing pianist and if you have any of his other cd's you should definitely add this one to your collection.

I enjoy listening to this CD mainly because I try to play these on the piano and this nonorchestral version emphasizes the melody better. The arrangements approach lounge music, but overall very nicely done. Not really for the avid opera lover, although I am--just have a different purpose for buying this.

For all those who love OPERA and its everlasting great ARIAS, this special CD will be a lovely surprise and a very precious collection item. The great keyboard virtuoso Jean-Yves Thibaudet - who confesses in the accompanying booklet his passion for operatic genre and for all those wonderful voices living in it - pays his affectionate tribute to its grand masters, by recording this second disc devoted to piano transcriptions. This time, take the stage transcriptions from operas by Puccini, Wagner, Bellini, Saint Saens, Richard Strauss, Gluck, Korngold or Johann Strauss son.

Thibaudet's passion for opera and his stunning virtuosity seem to supply an undiminished inspiration in expressing the whole gamut of feelings and moods considered for long time the exclusive realm of the human voice. Thibaudet preeminently proves here that the piano can stand on an equal footing with human voice, that it can shine in its own right and not be regarded as a mere second-rank partner in the singing equation. If I were urged to argue my above statement by presenting a short list of highlights from this recording, I would definitely face a great difficulty, as all these lovely transcriptions and their magisterial interpretation are simply glowing. Notwithstanding, I would mention in the first place the magic transcription of Bellini's `Casta Diva' by Yvan Mikhashoff. Truly, a marvel!

I invite you to witness Jean-Yves Thiaudet's joy of playing the piano and making it sing with unmatched pathos and sensitivity. The effect is simply a mind-blowing experience not to be missed!

A novel and yet very satisfying performance by the master, Jean Yves Thibaudet. I never tire of hearing it again and again.

I saw in these pages an ad regarding Jean Yves Thibaudet, the pianist, in one of his recent numerous CDs. First I was attracted by the beautiful presentation of the CD and an invitation to hear samples of it. After listening to some of them, I was immediately caught by his elegant style, his finesse and the profound expression he gives to each interpretation. I couldn't resist the temptation to order one and I decided on the spot, to order one more for a dear friend. So when I received the package and played mine at my home, I realized I was done a good choice. It is so wonderful that I play it over and over and I'm very happy I bought it.

In "Aria: Opera without Words" Jean-Yves Thibaudet has chosen arrangements, and sometimes co-arranged operatic melodies in a way that allows the piano to enhance the original rather than being a substitute for the voice. I had thought I would never buy an instrumental arrangement of arias, especially after hearing the sentimental renderings of a certain popular classical violinist, but I heard several tracks of "Aria" on KUSC-FM and immediately purchased two copies, one for me and one for a Christmas present.

I first heard an excerpt from this CD on WQXR and was impelled to hear the rest of the album ( if that is what a collection is called nowadays.) I have played the CD often and am reminded of the Liszt "transcriptions" of popular themes as I listen. Except for the Wagner , I have enjoyed every selection. "Opera Without Words" is a very accurate title for this CD.