I can claim possibly some very small influence on this record. Some years ago Jessye Norman broke the last and very difficult phrase of Ganymed with a breath. I then pointed out in a review that Gerald Moore (in Singer and Accompanist London: 1953) had urged singers to phrase it in one as Norman has done in recitals, and now on record, ever since. Cause and effect? I don't know. This is, in any case, one of the most rewarding performances on the record, sung with conviction and, throughout, with long-breathed phrasing.
Jessye Norman is known as an opera singer. And yet, opera was just one of the genres of music in which Ms. Norman excels. "Lucky to be Me" shows another side of her, a side of her which is equally comfortable as a jazz singer. I love all the songs she sings. I'm a singer myself and I also love the way she interprets the songs in her own special style. Her accompanist is also outstanding and, in spite of the fact that he often doesn't play the melodies of the songs she sings, she holds her own. This is one of my favorite CDs… I probably will play it so often that I'll have to replace it soon. I highly recommend this CD for people who enjoy popular music with an operatic flair.
Decca Classics is proud to present Jessye Norman – The Unreleased Masters, showcasing never-before-heard recordings of one of the greatest classical singers of all time. The set includes Wagner and Strauss song cycles, and a live recording of an eclectic programme of cantatas by Haydn, Berlioz and Britten.
Lovers of the Four Last Songs have come to take good recordings of the set for granted. Jessye Norman's early digital account with Kurt Masur and the Leipzigers is one of the best–powerful, sensuous, and very well recorded. Strauss may have conceived the songs with an ideal voice in mind, but he made a point of asking that Kirsten Flagstad give the first performance of the set. Since then, no comparably endowed soprano, in possession of both the tonal richness and the extraordinary amplitude that were Flagstad's, has recorded the Four Last Songs, save for Norman.
Kiri Te Kanawa does well by these songs, avoiding the billowing excesses of sentiment that in other hands (or vocal chords) can make them sound much too soggy. Although Berlioz gathered them all together under the present title, all of the songs were composed at different times for different singers, so they aren't really a cycle at all. I seldom listen to all of them at once, and you should feel free to take them in any order that suits you. "The Death of Cleopatra" is an early cantata that perfectly suits Jessye Norman's stately delivery. She's always at her best playing royalty, and if they're dying in mortal agony, so much the better.
Taken from Jessye Norman’s contribution to the Lieder volume of Deutsche Grammophon’s complete Brahms Edition (alongside Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau), this CD presents many favourite Brahms songs including the gypsy-influenced Zigeunerlieder. The singer is caught in her absolute vocal prime. Sung texts and translations are included.
An enthralling production from the Metropolitan Opera under James Levine, with an unbeatable performance from Jessye Norman as Ariadne, and spotless coloratura from Kathleen Battle as Zerbinetta. James King offers sterling support in the taxing role of Bacchus. (James Longstaffe)
Sir George Solti's renditions of Wagner's operas often defined the standard interpretation practice in the post-World War II musical world, and he is at his best in this late 1980s digitally mastered recording partnered with his long-time collaborators, the Vienna Philharmonic–perhaps the most emotionally satisfying orchestra in the world for these challenging scores. Domingo, in the title role, shows himself as a true Heldentenor (i.e. a baritone with high notes), and his earlier weakness in German diction is not apparent. Norman's Elsa is musically perfect though at times a bit chilly and distant. The mature compassion of the role of Henry the Fowler is admirably captured by Sotin.
Not the least of the remarkable features of this album is Norman's German pronunciation. It can hardly be faulted. If there are tiny slips, as once or twice with an American rolled "r" or the soft "ch", they are no more serious than the occasional intrusions of dialect by native German singers' into their vocalisations. Not all of them sing in perfect High German (even though the Kammersänger title demands it!). The tone is set right from the outset with a vivacious and big-voiced "Ständchen". Praise must be accorded to Geoffrey Parsons, too. He is the ideal foil to Norman's approach.