Customer Reviews

Diva:Montserrat Caballe

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Caballe is truly the mistress of song. I don't think I've ever heard a more sustained pianissimo in all my 50 years of Opera going. She is so underated I think. She should be consider one of the greatest voices of our time. But when you mention the name Caballe to the common person, they don't know who she is. This cd is just amazing. I just cry when this great diva floats her perfect pianissimo high notes. To hear another incredible recording of Caballe, buy Puccini's masterpiece Turandot conducted by Mehta. Not only do you get Caballe in the role of Liu, which shows off her pianissimo better then any role I've heard her in, but you also get the legendary Joan Sutherland in glorious voice, and the wonderful Luciano Pavorotti. I would say three of the greatest voices of all time in one recording!!! If you love Caballe, you must purchase her singing of Liu in the set conducted by Mehta!!!

This is a wonderful collection of arias and a marvellous introduction to the World of Montserrat Caballe, indisputably among the most beautiful soprano voices I've ever heard! Amazing legatos, perfect endings and unbelievable pianissimos(listen to "o patria mia"). One does usually not expect high powerful notes from Montserrat Caballe. I must however say that this is not always the case. A lot of times this woman surprises me and produces some trully enchanting high notes! Even though she is not my most favourite Puccinian soprano (it's Renata Tebaldi), her arias in these operas are ravishing! Just listen to her "signore Ascolta".On the other hand, I adore her and find her really unforgettable when it comes to Donizetti, Bellini and sometimes Verdi. Especially some of her recordings of their operas are a must for every true opera fan. (for example her Lucrezia Borgia, her Norma and her Aida). Even if an aria is a bit boring, she manages to enrich it with her personal touch that makes the aria unforgettable!The touch that only the melting, creamy voice of Montserrat has.If you want to find out why Montserrat Caballe is one of the greatest sopranos of the world, here's the proof.

A collection taken from Caballe's complete opera recordings, with pianissimos that will take your breath away, especially in "O patria mia" from Aida. Each selection is wonderfully expressive, with highlights from the best of Italian opera.

I enjoyed the variety of content and the span of time (early to late 1970s) represented in this CD. For comparison wonks like me, there are 16 arias, several orchestras, a nice mix of conductors and 75 minutes of gorgeous singing here. Nice for the price!

On this CD, Montserrat Caballe sings a wide range of arias. She runs the gamut from the bel canto works of Rossini and Bellini to the verismo works of Puccini and Mascagni, with Verdi in between. Overall, this is a nice introduction to her work. While I would not rate her among the very greatest of sopranos, she certainly ranks high in the pantheon of sopranos from the 20th century.

A brief sampling of her work on this CD. From Puccini's "Madam Butterfly," the CD begins with "Un bel di vedremo." She sings smoothly with a nice sound to her voice. Normally, when she increases the volume of her singing, the sound of her voice is still good. There are some occasional unpleasant sounds, but nothing notable. This is a nice dramatic rendering of an iconic aria. She hits the higher notes well.

Rossini's "William Tell" isn't much performed these days. But Caballe's version of "Sombre foret" suggests that some good operatic music is not played often enough. This is well sung; Caballe shows good vocal agility at the close.

"Son vergin vezzosa," from Bellini's "I Puritani," shows off her agile vocal technique. Early on, she floats a nice piano high note. In terms of technique, it is disappointing that the trills are not evident. In the end, this is a good version of this work, but not at the level of Jo, or Sills, or Sutherland. Outside of trills, ornamentation is good, but that is like saying that outside of its lack of speed, a sports car is a lot of fun to drive. Still, other ornamentation is well done, including appoggiaturas. The Wikipedia says (under ornamentation): "In music, ornaments are musical flourishes that are not necessary to the overall melodic (or harmonic) line, but serve to decorate or "ornament" that line. Many ornaments are performed as "fast notes" around a central note. . . . From the Italian word appoggiare, "to lean upon". . . . The long appoggiatura is important melodically and often suspend the principal note by taking away the time-value of the appoggiatura prefixed to it (generally half the time value of the note, though in triple time, for example, it might receive two thirds of the time). The added note (the unessential note) is one degree higher or lower than the principal note; and, if lower, it may or may not be chromatically raised (see mordent)." I'm not sure, as a musical nonexpert, that I fully understand the technicalities here, but Caballe does seem to exhibit nice ornamentation as per the above.

From "La Boheme," we have "Donde liata usci," very nicely done. This is prettily sung, for the most part, with only a rare unpleasant sound intruding. Finally, from "Turandot," "Signore ascolta." This is a smoothly sung version. From this CD, it is clear that Caballe can sing Puccini very well indeed. There is a nice piano high note at the close.

So, Caballe is clearly an excellent soprano although not, in my judgment, among the "all time greats."

I love this cd. I've been playing it often for five years. Included here are a selection of arias from Caballe's greatest complete recordings, as well as a few selections from her solo puccini arias cd. This is a great starter cd for someone who is curious about Caballe's art. All the selections on Diva, effortlessly demonstrate the supreme beauty of the Caballe sound. On this cd are definitive selections from Don Carlo, Macbeth, Tosca, and many more. Most of these arias she sings here are the most beautiful renditions in recorded history, and are sung with such feeling and intelligence. In Un macchia e qui tutta'ora from Macbeth she even sings like a dramatic soprano with extraordinary power, I feared for her vocal chords, and yes the beautiful sound was still there. She even ended the Macbeth aria with an ultra high pianissimo, high d flat. All the tracks are first rate. Great picture of Caballe on the cover too.

This is one of the first Caballe cds I bought, and I still feel it makes a nice demonstration of the legendary Caballe sound. This cd is full of examples of why Caballe is considered almost universally, to have the most beautiful voice in opera history. The selection, non pianger, mia compagna, from don carlos is sung to perfection and ends with a stunningly beautiful pianissimo. And her signore ascolta, is the most beautiful ever recorded ending with a 15 second high piannissimo, that has to be heard to be believed!

There are a handful of artists for whom a rating of 5 stars seems woefully inadequate, and a little absurd! Legendary soprano Montserrat Caballe is one such artist. This is a splendid collection of her art, the kind of musical experience that can change your life. Nearly everyone remarks on Caballe's breathtaking pianissimos, and they are certainly noteworthy given the number of bellowers passing for opera singers, but too few remark upon the nature of her musicality, her inborn understanding of the musical line, in a word, her phrasing. Caballe's musicality is the defining element of her ravishing genius, and the natural musical intelligence driving, sustaining, and making all things whole is stupendous not simply for the perfection of its parts, but is remarkable above all because it is always so wisely employed, with a subtlety and restraint that is at times almost unbearable in its beauty. Critics have been known to refer to her self-indulgence in handling a musical phrase, suggesting that to indulge this kind of matchless musical intelligence could manifest as a fault. To paraphrase the well known advertising hook - Silly Critics, tricks are for kids! And Mme. Caballe is no kid, but a supreme artist. If one could illustrate faultless artistry, the first name rising to mind is Montserrat Caballe. There are only a few- Richter, Menuhin, certainly not Callas, whose discipline, extravagant though it was, could never quite compensate for an insufficiency of native gifts. This CD, like a number of Caballe's other efforts, simply poses the question again: when once one has tasted the divine, what use has one for the earthbound? Get this recording and leave earth's chains behind!

I liked Caballe the minute I heard the two Liu arias in a Decca release. I found her voice sweet and her floating notes exceptional, yet I'm a little bit disappointed with this CD. I've bought this CD at least a month ago and have only listened to it once.

What I find distracting in this CD is the sloppiness in which she sung the arias. Upon listening to it, I keep wondering why she can't sound as wonderful as she did on that Decca CD that I heard her in. Part of the reason I guess is that I find other sopranos to sing some of this repertoire much better than Caballe. Apart from the aria in Turandot, I find Tebaldi to be a better puccinian, while I like a true coloratura or a dramatic in the other roles. Even her one Liu aria in this CD is not as good as the one I've owned, again sloppiness.

The high notes are another problem. She sounds excellent when she floats them, but when she sung them in full voice they sounded more like screams. I just couldn't get over these two humps in which a soprano of her caliber should not have done.

Better luck next time I guess.

The selection is very good, i just love her L'altra notte in fondo al mare but.... there's a noise, in my cd player i can't hear it, but when i hear it out loud it's unbearable! Barely can hear the orchestra.Montserrat is one of the best sopranos EVER in my opinion, but i would have saved my money to other cd

To start off i would like to say that this cd has many songs which are signiture roles to Cabelle who is an incredible voice. The color and tone of her voice is spectacular in the middle register. Her bottom register is booming and full of force and to me her only problem that I have is her hi notes. She sings this arias that are well above average and exceed the stardards. And this Cd is well worth the money. Though I still dont think that she mastered any of these aria on here. Her Tosca is still lacking the real passion of Maria Callas and if not her then Leontyne Price. Her Madam Butterfly is no where near either Renata Tebaldi or Mirella Freni. Her Turandot is one of the best if not the best her booming in questa reggia might even set the hairs straight on Nillison still supposedly holds the title for the best turandot but im not sure about that anymore after hearing Cabelles In questa reggia and of course she beats Sutherland who has a very weak bottom register due to her ulta light voice that doesnt carry the same dramatic intensity that like her. And as far as the sleepwalking scene in Macbeth...well i think there is no better MacBeth than Maria Callas herself. And her I puritani is again one of the best. So there is my reivew on this great singer who is on my list for the top ten sopranos of 1900's. This Cd is worth every cent but i still have to reason that she is not the best out there.