The Opera Album

Maria Callas (Orchestra), Placido Domingo (Orchestra), Luciano Pavarotti (Artist), Angela Gheorghiu (Artist), Mirella Freni (Artist), Guiseppe Verdi (Artist), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Artist), Giacomo Puccini (Artist), Richard Strauss (Artist), Richard Wagner (Artist), Georges Bizet (Artist), Riccardo Muti (Artist), Tullio Serafin (Artist), Michel Plasson (Artist), Georges Pretre (Artist), Philharmonic Orchesta (Artist), Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala Milan (Artist), London Philharmonic (Artist), London Symphony Orchestra (Artist)

Product Details

• Orchestra: Maria Callas, Placido Domingo
• Audio CD (August 13, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00005YW4M
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,684 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #28 in	Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Baroque (c.1600-1750) > Vocal & Song
  #43 in	Music > Opera & Vocal > Languages > Czech
  #56 in	Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Classical (c.1770-1830) > Composers > Gluck, Christoph W. - Works by Gluck

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
This is a remarkable collection: two and a half hours' worth of opera arias, duets, and a couple of choruses, and nary a dud among them. All the stars are here, from Alagna to Schwarzkopf, with stops at Gheorghiu, Callas, Bjoerling, Dessay, Gedda, Carreras, Popp, Domingo, Norman--and a bunch of others. And the repertoire is wisely chosen: the gorgeous Flower Duet from Lakme, de los Angeles singing Bizet's Habanera from Carmen, the famous Pearl Fishers duet (Gedda, Blanc), Wally's exit into the snow from La Wally (Callas), the Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffmann (Jessye Norman and Ann Murray), "Largo al factotum" with an energetic Thomas Hampson as The Barber of Seville, Domingo in "Celeste Aida," countertenor David Daniels in a Handel aria, the heavenly "Song to the Moon" from Rusalka, sung as in a dream by Lucia Popp, Caballe as Madama Butterfly, and many more--37 tracks in all. Even if you already own some of these, having them all in one place makes for breathless, glorious listening. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nessun dorma!, November 30, 2002

By	Susan Hinojoza "It's a full life." (Union City, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This set of two CDs is a great way to listen to some highlights from many different operas when you aren't in the mood to listen to a full opera. Many of your favorite arias are here, such as Nessun Dorma, Habanera, Non piu andrai etc. But what I liked most about it is that it features many different artists. While I love my Pavarotti and Domingo albums, it is nice to hear other singers.

Also, hearing some pieces that sounded familiar have gotten me interested in operas I haven't heard or seen before, such as the Flower Duet from Lakme. I've heard that before--but where? Probably in some car commercial...

This music will haunt you, and is wonderful for listening to while driving or just sitting. Try it with headphones on so the rest of the world goes away.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heavenly..., April 2, 2007

By	vmzfla "vince819" (Orlando, Fl.) - See all my reviews

I am not particularly a fan of opera but do realize it's merit. I also appreciate the talent of it's artists. This 2 disc set offers a wide, wisely chosen selection from most of the popular operas, performed by most of the world's greatest singers, present and yesteryear. Yes, you will find legends such as Maria Callas to Pavarotti to the up and coming Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu; sharing space on these discs. Economically, I was able to obtain this set for under ten bucks. My research could not find a more varied set with such a stellar roster at any price. It will impress any novice to seasoned collecter. I wish that EMI annotated the set better, a brief synopsis of each track would have tutorial value. The sound reproduction flows seemlessly from track to track.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE OPERA LOVER, September 10, 2002

By	Boris Zubry "Boris Zubry" (Princeton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love opera but I do not like to watch it. I love the opera music but not all of it. So what do I like? I like the specific pieces of the music and I love the voices. I like the dream like state the opera music takes you in. This is magical. This album does it to me every time I put it on. And, I do it quite often.