Vissi d'arte: The Magnificent Voice of Montserrat Caballé [Import]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), Gioachino Rossini (Composer), Giacomo Meyerbeer (Composer), Giacomo Puccini (Composer), Amilcare Ponchielli (Composer), Umberto Giordano (Composer), Arrigo Boito (Composer), Gustave Charpentier (Composer), Gaetano Donizetti (Composer), Vincenzo Bellini (Composer), Richard [1] Strauss (Composer), Colin Davis (Conductor), Lamberto Gardelli (Conductor), Gianfranco Masini (Conductor), Reynald Giovaninetti (Conductor), Zubin Mehta (Conductor), Bruno Bartoletti (Conductor), Riccardo Chailly (Conductor), Peter Maag (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Colin Davis, Lamberto Gardelli, Gianfranco Masini, Reynald Giovaninetti, Zubin Mehta, et al.
• Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, Gioachino Rossini, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, et al.
• Audio CD (February 10, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Decca Import
• ASIN: B00008CLII
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,535 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Montserrat Caballé had one of the great voices, tonally radiant and technically amazing, able to spin the most ravishing pianissimos as well as effortless fortissimo high notes. This well-filled two-disc collection includes a good cross-section of her recordings from the 1970s and early 1980s when she was at her peak. That alone should send admirers of great singing into a feeding frenzy. The set’s title selection, "Vissi d’arte" (from Puccini’s Tosca), is done with such tonal beauty and refinement of detail as to silence any criticism about its being too slow. She’s as magnificent in bel canto arias like those from Lucia di Lammermoor and the Norma duets, where she’s Adalgisa to Joan Sutherland’s Norma, as she is in verismo roles from La Gioconda and Andrea Chenier. This set makes a terrific starter pack for those who may not be familiar with Caballé’s art, and it’s a welcome addition to the collections of those who do. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A CLEAR, BEAUTIFUL, POWERFUL VOICE., March 24, 2004

By 

BERNARDINO (MEXICO CITY.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vissi d'arte: The Magnificent Voice of Montserrat Caballé (Audio CD)

MONTSERRAT CABALLE POSSESES ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, POWERFUL,& UNFORGETTABLE VOICES IN OPERA, HERE WE FOUD THE BEST OF THE DECCA YEARS A VERY GOOD ALBUM, AND IF YOU WANT MORE ABOUT THE MARVELLOUS CABALLÈ (I`M SHURE YOU WILL) GO AND GET "THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION" (RCA YEARS), "THE VERY BEST OF MONTSERRAT CABALLE" (EMI/ANGEL YEARS) AND "ETERNAL CABALLE" A BEAUTIFUL COLLECTION OF SONGS AND OPERA ARIAS. VIVA CABALLÈ!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive collection with a Great Booklet!, January 14, 2010

By 

Claudia N. Davidsen "Claudia Davidsen" (Ruskin, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vissi d'arte: The Magnificent Voice of Montserrat Caballé (Audio CD)

Thanks to all the earlier reviewers for convincing me to buy this Decca issue. Everything they said, and more goes for Vissi d'arte: The Magnificent Voice of Montserrat Caballe.

Instead of repeating what others have said, let me tell you that the 14-page booklet in this product is one of the best I have seen. The critique, A Unique Example of Vocal Versatility, was written by Pedro Gonazalez Mira and translated by Susannah Howe. It is well-conceived and intelligent, and one of the best pieces you will ever hope to see in a CD case! The writer starts out with this sentence: "While the idea that a voice can be a victim of its own success may be misleading and not entirely politically correct, it could perhaps be applicable to that of the greatest female singer to come out of Spain in the last century, Montserrat Caballe." If that provocative sentence, alone, does not--well--provoke you to acquire this 2-CD set, be assured that he goes on, delivers the history we all know, but with a twist, and comes back to tie the whole thing to that first sentence. Sigh. Would that all CDs come with this quality of writing.

The booklet also includes 5 candid shots of Caballe that I have never before seen. At least 4 of these are of the Caballe pencil-and-specs variety. There is a precious shot of her with her pencil-gripping hand wrapped around Dame Joan's neck during the Norma recording sessions. You just must see their expressions--a couple of bad little girl sopranos. There is one of her with ubiquitous pencil behind her ear. There is even one of her with Ingvar Wixell during Tosca sessions, and I don't believe I have ever seen a candid shot of him. Believe me when I say I have never seen Caballe and Wixell in the same frame unless he is either torturing her boyfriend or jumping on her.

The music! Oh, the music! There are 19 cuts on CD 1 and 15 on CD 2.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the very best Caballe recital albums, April 27, 2005

By 

George C. Glass (Ridgeland, MS United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vissi d'arte: The Magnificent Voice of Montserrat Caballé (Audio CD)

Ditto to the other reviewers. I have lots of Caballe's recordings, and yet very little from my LP and CD collection was duplicated on this two-disc set. It is an absolute must-have for Caballe fans. She outdoes Callas for emotion in the Chernier aria, and she is simply spectacular in Salome's final scene, dazzlingly conducted by none other than Leonard Bernstein.