Gounod - Roméo et Juliette / Alagna, Gheorghiu, van Dam, Keenlyside, Capitole de Toulouse, Plasson [Box set]

Charles Gounod (Composer), Michel Plasson (Conductor), Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse (Orchestra), Roberto Alagna (Performer), Angela Gheorghiu (Performer), Jose van Dam (Performer), Simon Keenlyside (Performer), Marie-Ange Todorovitch (Performer), Alain Fondary (Performer), Daniel Galvez Vallejo (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Jose van Dam, Simon Keenlyside, Marie-Ange Todorovitch, et al.
• Orchestra: Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse
• Conductor: Michel Plasson
• Composer: Charles Gounod
• Audio CD (April 7, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B000006308
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,582 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #3 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Gheorghiu, Angela

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Recording Ever of Romeo & Juliet, January 15, 2000

By 

James Walters (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gounod - Roméo et Juliette / Alagna, Gheorghiu, van Dam, Keenlyside, Capitole de Toulouse, Plasson (Audio CD)

Plasson is a noted interpreter of French repertoire, and it shows. Gheorghiu, and Alagna present themselves very well and make the characters very believable. Ghoerghiu's voice is so exciting in this version, and she fully develops the character.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than live, March 18, 2001

By 

drommie1810 (VA Beach, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gounod - Roméo et Juliette / Alagna, Gheorghiu, van Dam, Keenlyside, Capitole de Toulouse, Plasson (Audio CD)

For once an opera recording is better than the live performance. While Alagna has a lovely sound and good height even on the top of his voice, the fact remains he's rather "small" vocally for large operatic stages. However, he comes across wonderfully in this recording, where his tone is greatly helped by not having topush to be heard over his wife. Gheorghiu, with her sharp attack and powerful voice, doesn't fare so well in recordings. There is a bit of that odd, over-amplified sound that one often gets with studio recordings of large voices; one really needs space for her to sound her best. Overall, the orchestra was technically good, but somehow lacking in feeling. Also, the tempo for the "Juliet's waltz" in Act 1 sounds very odd. Being just a hair too fast for comfortable listening, it feels as though it's being played at the wrong speed. The low point for Gheorghiu is definately the iffy chromatic scale in the waltz and some interesting liberalities she takes with rests, though some of her runs are spectacularly clean. It's too bad she has to scale back her voice so much to sing with Alagna, there's so much intensity in her voice. The high point of the recording, especially for a student or serious listener, is the beautiful diction throughout the recording. Every syllable is clean and precise, both a joy to listen to, and a great help for study.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a terrific romeo, December 27, 1999

By 

Dolores Zoch (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gounod - Roméo et Juliette / Alagna, Gheorghiu, van Dam, Keenlyside, Capitole de Toulouse, Plasson (Audio CD)

this is the best recording of romeo available now.alagna is the one and only romeo.he won the laurence olivier award and covent gardens performance of the year.he certainly is not just a cabaret singer.