Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Divas Album

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm sorry I had to give this CD only 4 stars - it really deserves more. I had to subtract a star for the absence of La Divina - Maria Callas - from this disc. If she doesn't qualify as a diva, who does?

That said, this is a FANTASTIC compilation CD. It features all (well, a good sampling) of the great sopranos of past and present. All my favorites are here: Bartoli, Fleming, Battle, Kanawa, and of course, Sumi Jo.

The editors were very careful to include arias which display each soprano's strengths and predilections in repertoire - Bartoli has her bubbly Rossini, Sumi Jo her dazzling coloratura in Mozart, and Renee Fleming, with the most heartrending and beautiful version of Desdemona's "Ave Maria" from Verdi's Otello that I have ever heard. I can't help but catch my breath on the last syllable of "prega" - her tone is that innocent and pure. Kiri Te Kanawa, the consummate Countess, also makes an appearance with a very moving "Dove Sono".

This disc is also teaching me to appreciate the greats of yesteryear like Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson - the legendary Wagnerian sopranos.

PLEASE don't listen to the previous reviewer - Kathleen Battle does not "fall flat" on Durch Zärtlichkeit. Only a beautiful soubrette like hers could pull off a challenging aria like that, and she does it marvelously (as usual ;)

BUY THIS CD!

I heard this CD playing in a music store and immediately bought it. If you are searching for a collection of the finest arias sung by the finest female singers in the world, this is it. My only complaint is that they did not include Maria Callas or Jessye Norman on the recording. If they do not qualify as divas, then who does? All in all, a fabulous album!

The arias on this album are centered around the Classical and Romantic traditions in opera, when beautiful singing was key to expression. The selected performances are among the best and most representative of standard opera repertoire. For newcomers to opera, this album will whet your tastes for more. A more experienced ear will appreciate the collection for its comprehensiveness and the artistry of the performers.

This is a wonderful cd for new fans of opera. It contains a wonderful selection of songs from some of the greatest divas.

Kathleen "The Great" Battle(my personal fav) just steals the show. Her delicate vocals can carry any wary listener into the pearly gates of heaven (bravo, bravo, encore, encore).

Montserrat Caballe, Dame Sutherland and Leontyne Price are also featured.
This part is a new edition to my review: There is a reviewer somewhere on this or the next page who called the GREAT BATTLE an insult! I'm shocked at this and you should be as well! BATTLE does NOT go flat..infact her entire performance was magnificent. So take that!

I don't know much about the technicalities of opera, but I love the art completely. This is one of the best opera collections I've ever heard. The "Queen of the Night's Revenge Aria" is still one of the most beautiful songs ever, and Sumi Jo performs it incredibly well. Bartoli, Horne, Price, von Stade, and Flagstad are some of the greatest Divas ever, and this album proves it. Perhaps the only thing that could make this CD any better would be something sung by Callas, but it is awesome and wonderful without her.

This really is the Ultimate Diva album. I've never heard a better Queen of the Night (Sumi Jo), yet the best recording of all is the ecstatic Isolde Liebestod (Brigit Nilsson). These are just the highlights; all of the Divas represented here are outstanding, not just these two.

I suppose that with one CD they couldn't get all the great singers on record, because it would have been nice to get Jessye Norman and Lucia Popp.

This cd is like the fantasy concert for all of us who love sopranos. Some we can still hear either in recital or on the opera stage but others have either retired or passed on and this is what is left for us to dream about hearing live. Marilyn Horne's sheer power, artistry, and vocal beauty make the hair on the back of my neck stand on end every time I listen to Cruda sorte! Zinka Milanov makes every note of Suicidio! register beautifully on your ear and heavily on your heart all at the same time. Leontyne Price's version of Vissi d'arte is second in my book only to Callas, who oddly is not on this cd. Every woman on this cd makes the music not only vocally wonderful but also emotionally telling as well. There is no need to speak the language in which they are singing to know what they are saying. They are all truly divas of the highest level.

This is an very well compiled selection of "Divas", offering a top-caliber collection for a casual listener like myself. I am glad that the staff in the music store talked me out of the CDs I selected for this one. I have found opera compilations to have very poor recording in general, but this one is fabulous! Highly recommended! 5*

A terrific CD for any new operafan wishing to sample the best that opera divas have produced, or - if you're like me - a great way to listen to an assortment when you're not in the mood for an entire CD's worth of one voice or one composer. I rate it "nearly" perfect not because the selection is any less than wonderful, but for its omissions. Where is Callas? And Moffo? And, for that matter, where are Norman, de los Angeles, and Popp? I hope their absence from this collection means that a volume two may come along where they and other magnificent singers are done justice as the full-fledged divas they are.

SEVENTEEN DIVINE DIVAS IN FAVORITE ROLES.
"Qualifications for divahood may be elusive, but there is little doubt that the 17 artists featured in this collection eminently qualify." George Jeffries. With which I heartily agree! The term 'diva' refers to the goddesses of the operatic world who are loved and endorsed by the media and audiences everywhere. The term has been in use since the early days of opera, and will no doubt continue 'ad infinitum'.

I will focus on a few that I personally like to hear: In Cecelia Bartoli's selection from 'Cinderella', a very much admired role, she exchanges her early life for a bright future with Prince Charming, and does so with expressive and great joy! I especially liked her in Handel's opera "Rinaldo" in which she stars along with David Daniels, American countertenor. She, in fact could be called the successor to Marilyn Horne,the Mezzo of an earlier generation.

In Horne's aria from Rossini's "Italian in Algiers", she unleashes her formidable 2 octave range as the brave Italian lady unfazed by a mere shipwreck and the prospects of an Algerian harem. MAGNIFICENT!

In my conservatory days I was privileged to see Kirsten Flagstad 'live' in several Wagnerian operas. Not only was it a sight to hear her, but to see AND hear her was a memorable and totally unforgetable experience. Her voice was BIG and her body (especially as seen in costume)was equally so, but she sang notes that I'm not sure can really be sung anymore (no doubt,that's an exaggeration)but I'm trying to make a point here, so bear with me.

Now the consummate soprano has to be Kathleen Battle; my favorite role is Handel's "Semele" that includes a star-studded cast that also includes Marilyn Horne; just a great listen!

I'm sure this album is not perfect, but I have had many many hours of listening enjoyment, so go for it!