“Jonas Kaufmann as Cavaradossi sings perhaps one of his greatest roles: E lucevan le stelle is unbelievably moving, and his cry of "Vittoria! Vittoria!" is guaranteed to make your hair stand on end! Angela Gheorghiu is a passionate Tosca, and Bryn Terfel unctuously oozes sleaze in a chilling portrayal of Scarpia.” (James Longstaffe)
Tosca has been well-served on CD, with excellent stereo versions by Renata Tebaldi and Leontyne Price, as well as the definitive monophonic Maria Callas interpretation on EMI. What lifts this new Tosca from the pack of also-rans is Angela Gheorghiu's intense portrait of the heroine. She sings with sweep and passion, convincing you of Tosca's varied emotional states, from love and jealousy to honor and desperation. Her stabbing scene is chilling; she spits out the repeated word "Mouri" (die) with terrifying power.
A greatest-hits album ought to stick to the middle of the road, playing to what an artist does best. Yet it ought not simply wallow in past glories: this collection from Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, arguably the best-known soprano of the present day, hits the spot and can safely be recommended to newcomers. Netrebko is at her best in core Italian repertory like Casta Diva from Bellini's Norma or Libiamo ne 'lieti calici from Verdi's La Traviata.
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."
Diva is an entertaining and attractively packaged compilation of Angela Gheorghiu's EMI recordings made between 1996 and 2002. All of the selections have appeared on previous releases, but some of them only in the context of complete operas. As a one-disc snapshot of Gheorghiu's career so far, Diva does pretty well, and it would make a good first choice for anyone looking to get to know her work.