Sopranos In The Grand Tradition / Zamboni, Pampanini, Dal Monte, et al [Original recording remastered]

Giacomo Puccini (Artist, Composer), Vincenzo Bellini (Performer), Amilcare Ponchielli (Performer), Arrigo Boito (Performer), Gustave Charpentier (Performer), Guiseppe Verdi (Performer), Henry Purcell (Performer), Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Performer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Performer), Georges Bizet (Performer), Richard Strauss (Performer), Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Performer), Maria Zamboni (Performer), Rosetta Pampanini (Performer), Toti Dal Monte (Performer), Gina Cigna (Artist), Pia Tassinari (Artist), Maria Caniglia (Artist), Eleanor Steber (Artist), Ljuba Welitsch (Artist), Margherita Carosio (Artist), Sara Scuderi (Artist), Kirsten Flagstad (Artist), Sena Jurinac (Artist), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Artist), Alda Noni (Artist), Leonie Rysanek (Artist), Joan Hammond (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Vincenzo Bellini, Amilcare Ponchielli, Arrigo Boito, Gustave Charpentier, Guiseppe Verdi, et al.
• Composer: Giacomo Puccini
• Audio CD (August 31, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Angel Records
• ASIN: B00000JZ03
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #323,565 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #28 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Classical (c.1770-1830) > Vocal & Song > Romances

Track Listings

1. Turandot, opera: Signore, ascolta!

2. Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera: Un bel di vedremo

3. La sonnambula, opera: Ah, non credea mirarti

4. La Gioconda, opera in 4 acts: Suicidio!

5. Mefistofele, opera in prologue, 4 acts & epilogue: L'altra notte in fondo al mare

6. Tosca, opera: Vissi d'arte

7. Louise, opera: Depuis le jour

8. Aida, opera: Ritorna vincitor!

9. I Capuleti e i Montecchi, opera: O quante volte

10. La bohème, opera: Donde lieta uscì

11. When I am laid in earth (from 'Dido and Aeneas'), soprano aria (Dido's Lament), Z. 626/38b

12. Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades), opera, Op. 68: Twill soon be midnight

13. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Porgi amor

14. Les Pêcheurs de perles, opera in 3 acts: Comme autrefois dans la nuit sombre

15. Arabella, opera, Op. 79 (TrV 263): Das war sehr gut

16. Die tote Stadt (The Dead City), opera, Op. 12: Gluck, das mir verblieb

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, December 11, 1999

By 

Michael K. Halloran - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sopranos In The Grand Tradition / Zamboni, Pampanini, Dal Monte, et al (Audio CD)

EMI have raided their considerable vaults and come up with a collection that has been sorely needed. Many of the singers on this disc are unrepresented in the current CD catalogue, so it is a real pleasure to have them here at last.

The sopranos chosen certainly fit the description "In the Grand Tradition," although I'd quibble with a couple of choices (it's hard to think of Alda Noni as "grand"). Each is represented by one well-chosen aria, beginning with a 1926 recording by Puccini's first Liu, Maria Zamboni, singing "Signore, ascolta." It is too choked with sobs and overwrought, but what a piece of history! Other highlights are a moving "L'altra notte" by Pia Tassinari (who indulges in one disruptive sob at the end -- you can't accuse the Italians of a lack of passion) and a lovely "Donde lieta" by Sara Scuderi. We also get an authoritative "When I am laid in earth" by Kirsten Flagstad and a lush Marietta's Lied sung by Joan Hammond. Best of all, perhaps, is Eleanor Steber's rapturous rendition of "Depuis le jour," one of the best recordings of that aria ever.

Every track, however, is highly enjoyable and unique. These are singers that left their indivual stamp on the music, from the lyric Toti dal Monte and Margherita Carosio to the dramatic Gina Cigna and Maria Caniglia to the more famous Sena Jurinac, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Leonie Rysanek. Today's focus on superb musicianship above all else has raised technical accomplishment but has eliminated the individuality and overwhelming personality evident in these early recordings. For a glimpse into an older (but hopefully not forgotten) tradition, this disc is invaluable.