Customer Reviews

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Leontyne Price is one of the great artists of the 20th Century. She possesses a glorious highflying voice that is agile, full bodied and she has the uncanny ability to oscillate from smoky lows through rich middle tones to ethereal highs. When you combine all that with the passion she projects and the thoughtfulness she imbues to the lyrics, you get, something like, heaven on earth. I saw this compellation, jumped for joy, and bought it; it since has given me ecstatic pleasure. There are many excerpts from her famous roles. What is fascinating are some of the arias from operas she didn't perform or didn't record complete. If you want to know what a great Verdian singer she is listen to what she does with La Traviata, a role she never performed or recorded, and compare that to any Violetta. For years I had been looking for a CD version of her "Blue Album", Puccini and Verdi arias, and I was delighted that some of the tracks are here, like the riveting death aria of Butterfly's. I am not a musical expert, don't know the ins and outs of performance technique, but I love her Mozart. Some people have said that she is romantic, too warm and passionate for him. Interestingly, Maria Callas in The Master Class (the 3 CD set), said that most singers are too careful with Mozart, and Leontyne definitely goes full throttle. All the takes from Cosi Fan Tutti are beautiful. There are two CDs here of duets with the likes of Domingo, Horne, and Corelli. It can also be read "Operas Greatest Moments". A section of the spirituals, accompanied by the Rust College Choir, with no orchestra, is very powerful though it is quite understated. The mood, rhythm, and expression in I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free haunts me in my dreams. Were You There, sung acapella, is something I experience very... still, very quite in my soul. There is a difference between Leontyne's Spirituals and the live performance of Spirituals with Norman and Battle. The latter have the feeling of bravado in their singing, but Price has pathos, and something fastidious-like, even though she is singing for us there here is something private. Lieder is not my "cup of tea", but I think that is mostly because they are intimate songs where the words matter a great deal, and there is less musical drama. But when I understand what she is singing, like the Barber's Knoxville, it's a very moving experience. Obviously, I am a fan. But this collection is not easy; it takes time to assimilate it all, but then, think what it took to make it. Its really a small price to pay for Leontyne's dedication and genius, and isn't fantastic that such music and such a voice can be had on CD.

This collection of arias, art songs, and spirituals is truly amazing for the sheer breadth and depth of this soprano's artistry. It is hard to imagine any Verdi soprano after Ms. Price who could offer us the smoky richness of her vocal color, and there are so many wonderful selections, many of them being roles she did not perform on stage. Among my personal favorites are her scene from Dialogues of the Carmelites, the Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin, and the drama of her Lady Macbeth. For those of us who heard Ms. Price over the years in opera and concert, this collection brings back wonderful memories...It is truly a must-have for any serious opera lover.

Leontine Price es una de las cantantes mas fascinantes del siglo. Su dominio técnico, sus enormes cualidades de intérprete, la belleza sinigual de su timbre (cálido, como un terciopelo rojo cubierto de rubíes), la enorme potencia de su voz, siempre al servicio de un temperamento y una personalidad únicos, la convierten en una de las mayores cantantes-actrices que hayamos conocido. La presentación de los once discos está tan bién hecha que ya nos hace presentir lo que vamos a escuchar: una presentación personalísima y adecuadísima como las interpretaciones que de las diferentes arias, dúos,fragmentos de opera, canciones, himnos, etc. oímos en la voz de Leontyne. Probablemente estamos escuchando a una de las tres o cuatro cantantes que merecen el calificativo de ARTISTA desde que se conoce el sonido grabado. Por desgracia nunca he podido ver a Leontyne Price en un escenario; si hubiera podido creo que habria sido una de las experiencias mas extraordinarias de mi vida. Si me preguntaran cual es el tesoro mas grande de todos los Estados Unidos, no tendría duda: Leontyne Price.

The present collection, phenomenal in extent and depth, is a gift to human history. Certainly the Verdi, Mozart, Puccini and Strauss inclusions are to be expected since Leontyne has made them her own, but listen to the Berlioz, extraordinarily vibrant and haunting, melodious and beautiful beyond belief. Her Schumann is a glory of warmth and humanity, rather than the usual German soprano-ice of a Schwartzkopf, for instance. However, speaking of Strauss, the Four Last Songs speaks again to Price's extraordinary humanity, and her performance of these pieces is made for the lover in the voyage of life. Her Carmen is a dream of seductive beauty. There is so much of such extraodinary quality that one is dumbfounded trying to take it all in. Choose anything, her glorious Egyptian Helen, an exquisite, sublime and believable Norma (at last) and, of course, her Bess, the perfect measure for any soprano. Finally, her Traviata works very well in such a big voice, although it may be a vehicle too handsome, too beautiful for the role, and then one must listen in wonder to her Knoxville Summer, Ave Maria, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Holy, Holy, Holy, Ride On King Jesus and Were You There?! Truth to tell, she is the singer against whom all other singers are measured, male and female, and in every vocal category, voice and song type. One aria from her is worth more than an entire opera from any other singer. She is truly the singer of singers, the contemplative diva and, in a word, God's soprano.

I've been a Leontyne Price fan every since her magnificent performance in the CBS television broadcast of Tosca in 1955. The 11-disc set captures the greatest soprano voice of the 20th century in some of her most memorable and unforgettable roles. This set is certainly the jewel of any classical collection.

This 11 CD set makes one realize the incredible extent of Ms. Price's vocal gifts. Frrom Puccini to Verdi to Barber, she handles numerous vocal styles from many periods and in a number of languages. It is hard to pick a favorite selection from all the gems here.....perhaps the Sleepwalking Scene from Macbeth, or her rendition of the Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin or the long Farewell aria from Dialogue of the Carmelites.....this is a must for any opera lover!!

Along with the equally extensive "Prima Donna Collection" this is Leontyne Price's best album. Anyone who wants to become familiarized with her vocal technique and her art on record should own this album. It features her best work ever recorded. A lot of these arias and their respective soprano roles were not roles she sang on stage. Leontyne Price was not only a consummate artist, but a cautious one. The reason these arias, Lieder, Gospel and spirituals sound so beautiful and technically brilliant is because Leontyne was smart enough to sing them infrequently and in concert form. She did not take on new roles other than her repetitive Aidas, Leonoras, Butterfly, Toscas and Madame Lidoins, etc, because she was afraid of ruining her glorious voice too soon as many of her contemporary sopranos. Like soprano Zinka Milanov, Leontyne Price preserved the freshness and vitality of her voice through "operatic abstinence". Thus, the Norma, Salome, Manon, Lady Macbeth and even Traviata we hear on this album are well-rendered because she did NOT sing them on stage. She would have worn out her beautiful voice if she sung so many roles.

This collection is overwhelming. Leontyne Price proves herself to be a masterful artist of diverse repertoire. Pity she didn't really sing these on stage because she would have put Maria Callas and all the reigning divas before and after her to shame. Listen to her remarkable, unsurpassed Mozart repertoire. This she did sing in opera houses, probably because Mozart does not require a true lyrico-spinto heavyness and smaller opera houses can accomodate Mozartian voices that do not often rise above the staff/orchestra. She sang exquisite Fiordiligis at the Met. The arias from Cosi Fan Tutte here - Soave sia il vento, O Guarda Sorelle and the fiendishly difficult vocal showcase "Come Scoglio" with its vertiginious scales are all fine samples of Miss Price's artistry. She sang Susanna and Donna Anna with beauty and bravura. The Salome excerpt is quite thrilling. She would have made a terrific Salome but the role is quite difficult and it would have surely killed her voice. Leontyne Price was the number one Verdi soprano. Every opera cognoscente will tell you that. When you hear the excerpts from Verdi operas here - Lady Macbeth's Sleepwalking Scene, Aida's arias, Leonora's arias from Trovatore and Leonora's arias from Forza Del Destino, particularly La Virgine Del Angeli and the ravishing Pace Pace Mio Dio- are the best renditions of Verdi soprano singing. Anyone who wants to study how to sing in the letter-to-letter Verdi lyrico spinto style should hear these arias. A voice like Leontyne cannot be easily imitated. Maria Callas's own voice can be imitated as Romanian diva Angela Gheorghiu has proven. Leontyne was in a class of her own, a voice that is both dramatic and beautiful to hear. However, most people find fault in her lack of dramatic interpretation. I say they're not hearing hard enough. Yes, there is excessive beauty in her singing but she understood that the opera heroines should sound beautiful because they are beautiful and though I never saw her on stage, from the recordings I hear she sounds dramatic and character-driven enough for me to be satisfied. For a devoted fan of Leontyne Price, this album is the Holy Grail. She sings the most beautiful Norma, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Aida, Violetta, Madame Lidoin, Suor Angelica, Susanna, Dona Ana, Gilda, Fiordiligi, Desdemona and countless other heroines. The last cd is a collection of Gospel, spirituals and patriotic songs. These "American", non-opera selections find her in beautiful voice and she is actually paying tribute to her roots. She was not only African-American, but a Southerner from Mississippi. Her voice must have been heavenly to hear in Church! This is the album that made me love Leontyne.

Ms Price has continously proved that she is unique and in a class of her own. Her surpremecy on the US operatic scene remains unchallenged and her voice stands out as a magic instrument given by the higher realms for us to love and be inspired by. Ms Price's renditions of sacred music is in a league of it's own. Her Verdi and Puccini renditions State of the Art as is the immense repertoire of composers rangning from Poulenc to Barber. There is none to whome she may be compared, it is completely useless. There have been other magnificent singers in this field. What makes ms Price so special is a mixture of true sensousness and virtousity in a magical blend that no one has been able to reproduce. Ms Price is unforgetable and is yet to hypnotize audiences for decades to come, Douglas Modig, Kristianstad, Sweden.

Leontyne Price is the glory of opera. There are not any singers today who can come any where near her level. This album is the documentation of a great artist's best work. Even though the set is expensive, BUY IT. It is essntial to any opera lover's collections.

This compilation of Ms. Price's career is almost as complete as anything I've ever come across!!
An American Icon....I will forever be a loyal fan and admirer!!