Opera Lyrics

Rimsky-Korsakov: Opera Edition (2005) (8 CDs Box Set)  Music

Posted by murena at March 31, 2019
Rimsky-Korsakov: Opera Edition (2005) (8 CDs Box Set)

Rimsky-Korsakov: Opera Edition (2005) (8 CDs Box Set)
EAC Rip | FLAC (Image+.cue, log) | 8 CDs, 08:19:43 min | 1,98 Gb | Scans->64 mb
Genre: Classical, Opera / Label: Capriccio

To listen to these operas is to enter a magical world. Seriously: Rimsky-Korsakov was the grand master of the Russian fairy tale opera, charmingly characterized, brilliantly colorful, eccentrically constructed theater works that exist in their own truly magical musical world. In this four opera set, two of the four works are based on a Russian fairy tale…
Susan Gritton, James Gilchrist, Roderick Williams & Andrew West - Parry: 12 Sets of English Lyrics, Vol. 1 (2016)

Susan Gritton, James Gilchrist, Roderick Williams & Andrew West - Parry: 12 Sets of English Lyrics, Vol. 1
Classical, Opera | WEB FLAC (tracks) & d. booklet | 70:48 min | 274 MB
Label: SOMM Recordings | Tracks: 31 | Rls.date: 2016

This month's new release from SOMM brings exciting news for all lovers of English Song! At long last, Hubert Parry's complete Twelve Sets of English Lyrics are now available, beginning with Volume I. The twelve sets, which also include other songs by Parry, are spread over three volumes which will be released at six-monthly intervals. This has been a close and enjoyable collaboration between SOMM, the excellent pianist Andrew West and Susan Gritton, James Gilchrist and Roderick Williams, three charismatic singers at the top of their profession, all sharing the same fondness for the expressive lyricism and eloquence inherent in Parry's songs.
Philharmonia Orchestra, Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, David Parry - A Hundred Years of Italian Opera (1820-1830) (1995)

Philharmonia Orchestra, Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, David Parry - A Hundred Years of Italian Opera (1820-1830) (1995)
EAC | FLAC (image+.cue, log) | Covers Included | 03:42:15 | 1 Gb
Genre: Classical, Opera | Label: Opera Rara | Catalog: ORCH104

The "100 Years of Italian Opera" series released by Opera Rara is unique in the annals of opera recordings. However, this installment is especially exciting as it documents the evolution of Italian opera during the 1820's, the decade when romanticism truly began to come into its own on the operatic stage. Opera Rara has lovingly compiled a variety of arcana written by composers famous and forgotten. Included is everything from overtures to arias, duets, ensembles, and entire scenes.
Christian Curnyn, Early Opera Company - George Frideric Handel: Serse (2013)

Christian Curnyn, Early Opera Company - George Frideric Handel: Serse (2013)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 736 Mb | Total time: 66:46+60:16+39:27 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Chandos | # CHAN 0797(3) | Recorded: 2012

The opera is based on a libretto adapted by the poet Silvio Stampiglia for Giovanni Bononcini, whose setting was staged at Rome’s Teatro di Torre Nona in 1694. Handel completed his opera in 1738 in little more than a month. However, his typically swift pace and resourceful treatment of musical themes and models should not be misconstrued as complacency, carelessness, or low imaginative powers. The autograph manuscript reveals that Handel invested considerable skill in arias that are perfectly tailored to the dramatic storyline, many of which were meticulously crafted and then redrafted.
Gabriel Garrido, Ensemble Elyma - Opera baroque en Amerique Latine [4 CD] (2001)

Gabriel Garrido, Ensemble Elyma - Opera baroque en Amerique Latine (2001)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 1.36 Gb | Total time: 278:45 | Scans included
Classical | Label: K617 | # K 617 132/4 | Recorded: 1996, 1999, 2000

S'il est un exemple en France d'éditeur indépendant dynamique, c'est bien celui du label lorrain K.617. Depuis le début des années 90, celui-ci, sous la houlette d'Alain Pacquier, explore, défriche des terres musicales jusque-là inconnues de nos contemporains. Il faut dire que le répertoire exhumé est celui d'Amérique latine ; autrement dit, K.617 a fait ici œuvre de pionnier en révélant aux discophiles des merveilles sonores insoupçonnées. Comme en témoignent la réédition de La Purpura de la Rosa et des musiques extraites de la Mission San Francisco Xavier : des pièces issues du riche patrimoine baroque d'Amérique latine, où tout virevolte, où les rythmes s'entrechoquent, où les voix émeuvent par leur prégnance et la richesse de la palette expressive. Des (re)découvertes qui ne peuvent laisser insensible.
Mark Elder, The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House - Donizetti: Dom Sébastien, roi de Portugal (2007)

Mark Elder, The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House - Donizetti: Dom Sébastien, roi de Portugal (2007)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 674 Mb | Total time: 61:56+69:58+44:34 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Opera Rara | # ORC33 | Recorded: 2005

Donizetti considered Dom Sébastien, Roi de Portugal (1843), his final completed opera written for the Paris Opéra, to be his masterpiece. In spite of its relative obscurity, on the basis of this recording, one is inclined to agree with him. The opera has several attributes that in the past have proved to be obstacles to its popularity. The first is its length – it's in five substantial acts and lasts three hours, but that's not so onerous for contemporary audiences accustomed to Wagner and Strauss. Besides, the composer created an abbreviated version for Viennese audiences, who at that time wanted to be out of the theater by 10 p.m., and that version could be used if necessary.
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, James Levine - Wagner: Lohengrin (2010)

The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, James Levine - Wagner: Lohengrin (2010)
EAC | FLAC (image+.cue, log) | Covers Included | 04:33:20 | 1,34 Gb
Genre: Classical, Opera | Label: Met Opera | Catalog: 811357013403

Conductor and pianist James Levine is one of the powerhouse figures of the classical music scene today. As a child he undertook both piano and violin; he was so accomplished on the violin that at the age of ten he played Mendelssohn's second violin concerto at a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra youth concert. He studied piano at various summer music festivals before enrolling at New York's Juilliard School, where he took conducting courses with Jean Morel and continued piano studies with Rosina Lhevinne.
Nicolai Ghiaurov, Sofia National Opera Chorus, Sofia Festival Orchestra, Emil Tchakarov – Borodin: Prince Igor (1990)

Nicolai Ghiaurov, Sofia National Opera Chorus, Sofia Festival Orchestra, Emil Tchakarov – Borodin: Prince Igor (1990)
EAC | FLAC (image+.cue, log) | Covers Included | 03:30:17 | 930 MB
Genre: Classical, Opera | Label: Sony Classical | Catalog: S3K 44 878

Prince Igor is an epic opera,with its wonderful crowd scenes and intimate love music and although it can at times appear more a patchwork of scenes than a coherent work it does contain wonderful music which moves along with great vigour and excitement. This version with mainly Bulgarian singers is most enjoyable with Tchakarov bringing out the dramatic tension,vivid melody and colour with finesse and passion,the orchestra responding admirably to all the nuances in the score,the chorus too so important in this work give an outstanding performance in the Polovtsian music.
Leonard Bernstein, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra - Bizet: Carmen (1991)

Leonard Bernstein, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra - Bizet: Carmen (1991)
EAC | FLAC (image+.cue, log) | Covers Included | 02:39:30 | 727 MB
Genre: Classical, Opera | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | Catalog: 427 440-2

This is a problem recording, and even fans of Leonard Bernstein and Marilyn Horne will find it odd. The Maestro's tempi are weirdly slow, Horne sings the role note-by-note rather than phrase-by-phrase, and when she finally does decide to emote, in the final scene, she sounds like she's gone loony. James McCracken was an artist with a huge but unappealing voice who also had brains and power, but he's no delight for the ear.

VA - Opera Gold: 100 Great Tracks (2016)  Music

Posted by tirexiss at March 26, 2017
VA - Opera Gold: 100 Great Tracks (2016)

VA - Opera Gold: 100 Great Tracks (2016)
EAC | FLAC (image+.cue, log) | Covers Included | 07:15:40 | 2,07 Gb
Genre: Classical, Opera | Label: Decca | Catalog: 002503602

Decca, the opera company, presents a premium collection of the 100 most beautiful opera tracks on 6 CDs. Enjoy classic arias and overtures, performed by the greatest opera stars of all time. This is a fine compendium of opera's "greatest hits" by great singers including Pavarotti, Bartoli, Caballe, Horne and Sutherland from opera's latest "golden age" in the last decades of the 1900s. They're all there on six CDs, from Pavarotti's great "Nessun Dorma" to Sutherland's "Casta Diva."