The Essential Jessye Norman [Includes DVD: Jessye Norman Sings Carmen]

Georges Bizet (Composer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Pietro Mascagni (Composer), Henry Purcell (Composer), Richard [1] Strauss (Composer), Hector Berlioz (Composer), Johannes Brahms (Composer), Franz [Vienna] Schubert (Composer), John Newton (Composer), Leonard Bernstein (Composer), Richard Rodgers (Composer), Adolphe Adam (Composer), Cesar Franck (Composer), Richard [Classical] Wagner (Composer), Seiji Ozawa (Conductor), Colin Davis (Conductor), Semyon Bychkov (Conductor), Raymond Leppard (Conductor), Kurt Masur (Conductor), Alexander Gibson (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Seiji Ozawa, Colin Davis, Semyon Bychkov, Raymond Leppard, Kurt Masur, et al.
• Composer: Georges Bizet, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Pietro Mascagni, Henry Purcell, Richard [1] Strauss, et al.
• Audio CD (January 11, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B00067GKEM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,728 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #20 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Baroque (c.1600-1750) > Vocal & Song
  • #26 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Norman, Jessye
  • #72 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Classical (c.1770-1830) > Vocal & Song > General AAS

Track Listings

1. Quand Je Vous Aimerai? L'amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle (Habanera)

2. Pres Des Ramparts De Seville (Seguidilla)

3. Porgi, Amor, Qualche Ristoro

4. E Susanna Non Vien! ... Dove Sono I Bei Momenti

5. Regina Coeli Laetare ... Inneggiamo, Il Signor Non E Morto (Easter Hymn)

6. Thy Hand Belinda ... When I Am Laid In Earth

7. Cacilie, Op. 27 No. 2

8. Wiegenlied

9. Villanelle (No. 1)

10. Standchen

11. Ave Maria

12. Amazing Grace

13. Somewhere

14. With A Song In My Heart

15. O Holy Night

16. Panis Angelicus

17. Mild Und Leise (Isoldes Liebestod)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Voice, July 5, 2005

By 

K. Rowland "Joshua Rowland" (Preston, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential Jessye Norman [Includes DVD: Jessye Norman Sings Carmen] (Audio CD)

Jessye Norman has possibly the greatest voice I have ever heard. Being a bass/baritone, I usually shy away from higher voices (especially tenors), but I find this soprano to be flooring. For being a classicaly trained vocalist (she attended Indiana University) Ms. Norman has an incredibly versatile voice. In this album alone, she sings broad French arias, light Mozart, spirituals, and Broadway. Each is done superbly. Out of every track, her rendition of "Ave Maria" is my favorite. She sings it so tenderly and intimately, it is like she is singing it directly in front of you. You will be moved, certainly.

I suggest this CD to everyone, a fan of classical music or not. It is important for everyone to have these songs to relax, calm down, or to just listen to. You would not regret it.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, April 4, 2007

By 

Pierre L. Laleau - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential Jessye Norman [Includes DVD: Jessye Norman Sings Carmen] (Audio CD)

This record is wonderful; simply Jessye Norman. What else can I say: loved it!

5 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST HAVE..., February 8, 2006

By 

Carol L. Holmes - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Jessye Norman [Includes DVD: Jessye Norman Sings Carmen] (Audio CD)

The American soprano Jessye Norman was born in Augusta, Georgia (the segregated South) on September 15, 1945 in a family of amateur musicians; her mother a pianist, her father a singer in a local choir.

Norman received a scholarship to Howard University (a historically black university in Washington, D.C.) -NOT INDIANA-, graduating in 1967 with a degree in music. The following year, she won the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. She made her operatic debut in 1969 as Elisabeth in Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser at the Berlin State Opera, and in subsequent years performed with various German and Italian opera companies. She returned to the US to make her professional concert debut at Lincoln Center in 1973.