Sogno talor... [Import]

Gaetano Donizetti (Composer), Giovanni Pacini (Composer), Gioachino Rossini (Composer), Federico Ricci (Composer), Simon Mayr (Composer), Peter [Composer] Winter (Composer), Jacques Offenbach (Composer), Giacomo Meyerbeer (Composer), Saverio Mercadante (Composer), Carl Maria von Weber (Composer), Niccolo Antonio Zingarelli (Composer), David Parry (Conductor), Giuliano Carella (Conductor), Maurizio Benini (Conductor), Alun Francis (Conductor), James Judd (Conductor), Philharmonia Orchestra of London (Orchestra), Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (Orchestra), London Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Orchestra of The Royal Opera (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra of London, Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of The Royal Opera
• Conductor: David Parry, Giuliano Carella, Maurizio Benini, Alun Francis, James Judd
• Composer: Gaetano Donizetti, Giovanni Pacini, Gioachino Rossini, Federico Ricci, Simon Mayr, et al.
• Audio CD (September 9, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Opera Rara UK
• ASIN: B00009NJ1X
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #391,068 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure-trove of operatic mysteries, December 11, 2007

By 

N. Freidin "Melomane" (Huntington, WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Sogno talor... (Audio CD)

Do not let the rather silly title, Sogno talor (Sometimes I dream) put you off. This 2-CD set for the price of 1-CD is a real find for lovers of bel canto, with selections from composers like Donizetti and Rossini, but also from many other noted nineteenth century artists, including Meyerbeer and Offenbach, and from some virtual unknowns as Saverio Mercandante and Giovanni Pacini, from the vaults of Opera Rara.

There are overtures, solo arias, duets, trios, and ensembles, of mostly forgotten operas, most of them worth rediscovering based on these excerpts. About 2.5 hours of music. Many surprises here, for example a vocal quintet from Offenbach's 'Robinson Crusoe', sung in English !

And the singers are without exception superb, mostly drawn from the Opera Rara 'stable' of performers. Again, some more treats await, like a young Renee Fleming singing a duet with Bruce Ford from Donizetti's, Rosmonda d'Inghilterra.

The box set commemorates 25 years of Opera Rara's recordings of complete scores of, as the label suggests, rare operas. And the standards are of the highest. The accompanying 108-page booklet includes an introduction of the label itself, libretti of the arias, and many photographs. A quite lush package these days !

This is a real treasure, a palette of operatic colours, inticing the listener to want to hear the masterpieces complete. That presumably was the intention - and it works, delightfully !

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable but not really representative of Opera Rara's best, February 3, 2012

By 

Ralph Moore "Ralph operaphile" (Bishop's Stortford, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sogno talor... (Audio CD)

I am reasonably familiar with the Opera Rara catalogue and have reviewed both individual operas and their anthology discs favourably but I do find that one must be quite selective as not all the operas they choose to record or all the singers they recruit are of the same standard. Some works fall into the "deservedly neglected" category and while you may encounter such stellar voices as those belonging to the likes of a young Renee Fleming, Jennifer Larmore, Bruce Ford, Nelly Miricioiu and Barry Banks, others are less than impressive. Nor do I think that the selection of numbers here is as good as you encounter in other of their compilations such as "Duets to Die For" or "Tyrants and Lovers" (see my five star reviews). There is a welcome novelty value in hearing some forgotten music but too often exposure to it reminds you of why certain works remain on the fringes of the repertoire while others languish. Thus the excerpts from the better known Donizetti operas such as "Maria Stuarda", Roberto Devereux" and "Rosmonda d'Inghilterra" earn their place, while those from works by Pacini and Meyerbeer struggle. There is rather a preponderance of small, bleaty tenor voices and not enough of voices like those of Ford and Marcus Haddock. Little gems include the quintet from Offenbach's "Robinson Crusoe" and the sextet from "Christopher Colombus", both in English, but this is not major music nor do I think that many listeners want to hear overtures and chorus excerpts in a vocal anthology. For me, the most impressive track here is the splendid quartet from Rossini's "Bianca e Falliero", sung by some incomparable singers in Majella Cullagh, Larmore, Banks and Ildebrando d'Arcangelo - but then I bought the complete set and consider it amongst my very favourite Rossini opera recordings. Similarly, I had previously been so impressed by excerpts from Mercadante's "Orazi e Curiali" that I bought the whole thing and never regretted acquiring such original, exhilarating music. Otherwise, I might dip into this two disc set from time to time but it's hardly essential listening.

This is a very lavishly packaged set with a big, chunky box, a thick libretto complete with texts, notes and photographs issued in 2003 to commemorate 25 Years of Opera Rara.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful singing!, November 19, 2010

By 

a Renaissance music lover (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sogno talor... (Audio CD)

I love this double cd, the musicality is gorgeous and the delivery superb. Highly recommended for people who love that style of opera, or even for anyone who loves the human voice.