Building a Library, Early 20th Century (era)
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Puccini: Madama Butterfly
RecommendedAngela Gheorghiu (Butterfly), Jonas Kaufmann (Pinkerton), Enkelejda Shkosa (Suzuki), Fabio Capitanucci (Sharpless), Gregory Bonfatti (Goro) & Raymond Aceto (Bonzo)
Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
In many respects Gheorghiu's singing reminds me of Callas's: in Act I they both adopt a 'little girl' voice, and in Act II they both sound more mature… so that by the tragic climax they present... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd March 2009
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Gramophone Awards, 2009, Winner - Opera
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Opera, April 2009, Recording of the Month
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Building A Library, March 2024, Recommended Recording
2 CDs
$19.75Downloads
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Britten: Symphony for Cello and Orchestra
RecommendedPaul Watkins (cello), Robert Murray (tenor)
BBC Philharmonic, Edward Gardner
Three elements stand out: firstly, the dramatic intensity of purpose he finds in all pieces; secondly, the sizzling soloistic detail he draws from the BBC Philharmonic and, thirdly, the depth... — More…
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, April 2011, Disc of the month
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Building A Library, June 2022, Recommended Recording
CD
$16.75Downloads
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Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex & Apollon Musagète
RecommendedJennifer Johnston (Jocasta), Stuart Skelton (Oedipus), Gidon Saks (Creon) & Fanny Ardant (narrator)
Gentlemen of the Monteverdi Choir & London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Johnston's superb interpretation lifts the whole performance up a couple of notches...But John Eliot Gardiner's conducting somehow misses the work's elusive power. — More…
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 7th April 2014
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Building a Library, May 2018, Recommended Recording
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There is a feeling of one-ness between orchestra and conductor which is the hallmark of a great recording. But it is surely the adagio that will convert the listener with Jack Brymer's clarinet... — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, February 2012, First Choice
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Building a Library, June 2012, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1970s
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Building A Library, June 2022, Also Recommended
CD
$10.25Downloads
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Offer,
Puccini: Turandot RecommendedJoan Sutherland (Turandot), Luciano Pavarotti (Calaf), Montserrat Caballé (Liù), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Timur), Tom Krause (Ping), Pier Francesco Poli (Pang), Piero De Palma (Pong), Peter Pears (L'imperatore Altoum), Sabin Markov (Un mandarino)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, John Alldis Choir, Zubin...
Sutherland gives an intensely appealing interpretation, while Pavarotti gives a performance equally imaginative. Mehta directs a gloriously rich and dramatic performance. Still the best-sounding... — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1970s
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Offer,
Puccini: Turandot RecommendedJoan Sutherland (Turandot), Luciano Pavarotti (Calaf), Montserrat Caballé (Liù), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Timur), Tom Krause (Ping), Pier Francesco Poli (Pang), Piero De Palma (Pong), Peter Pears (L'imperatore Altoum), Sabin Markov (Un mandarino)
John Alldis Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin...
Turandot is a psychologically complex work fusing appalling sadism with self-sacrificing devotion.
The icy Princess of China has agreed to marry any man of royal blood who can solve three riddles... — More…Awards:
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Building a Library, July 2012, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1970s
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Offer,
Puccini: La fanciulla del West RecommendedRenata Tebaldi (Minnie), Mario del Monaco (Dick Johnson), Cornell MacNeil (Jack Rance)
Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Franco Capuana
both Tebaldi and del Monaco were at their finest, and Tozzi as Jake Wallace proved another outstanding asset. The Decca producers, James Walker and Christopher Raeburn, again demonstrated Decca's... — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, December 2016, Also Recommended
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Fritz Reiner conducts Rimsky Korsakov & Stravinsky
RecommendedChicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner
Reiner's magnificent (1956) Scheherazade stands out among the many superb RCA recordings made in Chicago in the 1950s...Sidney Harth, the orchestral leader, naturally balanced, plays most seductively...The... — More…
Awards:
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Building A Library, October 2023, Also Recommended - Scheherazade
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Awards:
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Building a Library, March 2006, First Choice
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BBC Music Magazine, April 2005, Disc of the month
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Britten: The Turn of the Screw
RecommendedIan Bostridge, Joan Rodgers, Julian Leang, Caroline Wise, Jane Henschel, Vivian Tierney
Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Daniel Harding
This performance captures the sense of dislocation essential to this chilling ghost story. — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, November 2013, First Choice
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2002, Editor's Choice
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Gramophone Awards, 2003, Winner - Opera
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