Very Best of Jose Van Dam

Jose Van Dam (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 26, 2005)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B0006VYEHS
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #445,498 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Le Veau D'Or Est Toujours Debout

2. Vous Qui Faites L'Endormie

3. Si Les Filles D'Arles Sont Reines

4. Voyons: 'Pour Hoffmann'...Dans Les Roles D'Amoureux Langoureux

5. Scintille, Diamant

6. Bien Des Jeunes Gens

7. Lakme, C'est Toi Qui Nous Proteges!

8. Tra La La...Quand La Flamme De L'Amour

9. Elle Ne M'Aime Pas

10. Ah! Malgre Toi, Poete

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. I. Villanelle

2. IV. Absence

3. VI. L'Ile Inconnue

4. Tendrement Enlaces, Ma Chere Bien-Aimee

5. Danse Macabre

6. Clair De Lune

7. Chanson Romanesque

8. Chanson Epique

9. Chanson A Boire

10. Chanson A Dulcinee

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, November 1, 2005

By 

W. N. Hay (Princeton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Very Best of Jose Van Dam (Audio CD)

This collection represents Jose Van Dam at his best. The two arias from Faust are a little low for him but he sings them with great musicality. The aria from Mireille which is a rarity is sung brilliantly. Mr. Van Dam gets up to those high notes so easily. This collection mostly contains French Repertoire which was ideal for his voice. Several of the arias are rarely performed and I think should be performed more often. The few German selections are very effective as well. I think he was one of the finest Brahms Requiem soloists of all time.

Mr. Van Dam is still singing well at age 65. I think he is one of the finest singers and musicians because everything he sings means something to him internally. That is something that defines a great artist for me. I highly recommend this collection because it is a tool for singers to learn how to pronounce French properly. The diction is so clear that you can practically write it down.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A vocal phenomenon, September 6, 2008

By 

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

This review is from: Very Best of Jose Van Dam (Audio CD)

Think about it: this man has been singing beautifully for nearly FIFTY years, having made his debut so young. We opera lovers grew up with his voice as a kind of ideal in many roles, especially those which must be sung with seamless legato and in French - although his sung German and Italian are faultless, too. His one weakness is perhaps that he occasionally sings roles which are manifestly too low for him; he is a bass-baritone with the emphasis upon the latter voice category. I did hear him live - a particularly memorable occasion was Haydn's "Die Schoepfung" in Liege - and was very impressed. There is no qualitative difference between the studio recordings and the live performances featured on this compilation; his discography confirms his supremacy as one of the most versatile and consistently pleasing singers of our era.

Highlights for me are his Jokanaan in the "Salome", his Dutchman - though some prefer a weightier voice - the Brahms "Requiem" excerpt and the aria from "Herodiade". I confess to being less keen on some of the more recherche operatic items and the Poulenc (never my favourite composer) songs, but they are of interest because they are unhackneyed and anything Van Dam sings has beauty and merit.

This is very good value and provides a testimony to a marvellous voice which we are in danger of taking for granted, it has been delighting us for so long.