Le Roi Soleil [Cast Recording] [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Details
The Original French Cast Recording of Very Successful Musical Comedy Le Roi Soleil.

Tracks:

Ah! Tout Est Bien Fini... O Souverain
Enfin, Manon... En Fermant Les Yeux
Oui, Ce Qu'elle M'ordonne... Lorsque L'enfant Revient
L'amour! L'amour!... Ah! Leve-toi, Soleil
Source Dcieuse
Faiblesse De La Race Humaine!... Inspirez-moi, Race Divine
Voix Qui Me Remplissez D'une Ineffable Ivresse
Je Suis L'oiseau
Traduire... Pourquoi Me Riller
Anges Du Paradis
Salut, Tombeau
Salut, Demeure Chaste Et Pure
Je Suis Seul!... Ah! Fuyez, Douce Image
Je Vais La Voir!
Ah! Parais!

Amazon.com

Rolando Villazon's follow-up CD to his sensational debut recital of Italian arias is devoted to music by Gounod and Massenet: some as familiar as Faust's, Romeo's and Des Grieux's arias, some as rare as pieces from Gounod's Polyeucte and La Reine de Saba and Massenet's Roma and Le Mage. But almost more important than the interesting repertoire, familiar or otherwise, is Villazon's handling of the music. In Werther's passionate Act II outburst to God about suicide, which is almost never excerpted, Villazon manages, in four minutes, to create a complete character, with all his neuroses, mania, and desperation--and he caps it with a ringing high B natural which is as beautiful as it is heartfelt. He sings both of Des Grieux's arias with feeling and tenderness (aided in "Le reve" by Natalie Dessay!). An aria from La Reine de Saba turns out to bequite a showpiece, with a drop-dead high C at its close. As singing and as interpreting, this CD is a must-have. Villazon's dark-hued, expressive tone is always used in the service of the music, and following his career will be a joy for all lovers of great tenorizing. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

the way teens are to Britney or Madonna...........2007-01-04

Villazon brings out the teenybopper in me. I could wear the grooves out!~just as I did with my early heros at 12 and 13 years of age. Seriously, his sound, phrasing and timbre are transcendent and ethereal. May the music never end.

Villazon finds his niche...go French.......2006-02-25

Rather than beefing up his voice for the big (money-paying) Italian roles that are one size too large for him, Rolando Villazon naturally excels in these roles from Gounod and Massenet. The narrow French vowels add a needed edge and vibrancy to his voice, the placement of the music in the head tones brings out Villazon's best timbre, and he seems temperamentally suited to refined heros. In fact, it's remarkable to hear the transformaiton here when comparing him in the recent DG La Traviata, where his Alfredo was convincing but hard work. French opera is rhtorical and poetic rather than visceral and passionate. I think Villazon fits that mold, as nearly eery aria here domonstrates.

Bad diction, engineering gimmicks besot otherwise noble effort.......2006-02-02

A tenor very quickly on the rise, this is Villazon's second recital disc, one devoted to arias by Gounod and Massenet, all in sets of three, three for Massenet, and two for Gounod. While still showing great promise, some concerns that were mildly serious with the first disc are even more so, in the French repertoire, in part because diction comes up so short here.

"O souverain" from Le Cid continues to show Villazon's command of line and squeezed but adequately forceful upper register, so that the volume boosts from the control room are really unnecessary. Diction here is already an issue, as many `u' vowels get dipthonged, especially when Villazon's sound is placed back for added weight and volume. `La reve' from Massenet's Manon is comfortably floated, with support from Natalie Dessay as Manon enhancing the intimacy of feeling to this number. Would Villazon been able to sing the short aria by Alain (who appears to the heroine at first to perhaps be little more than an apparition - shades of Frau ohne schatten perhaps? - in almost a chamber opera), from Massenet's Griselidis (track 8), at least as softly and lightly, as both the music and dramatic situation require, this could have also been very successful. He instead turns the ABA shape of this mere chanson inside out and makes a wreck of it.

The less often excerpted "Lorsque enfant" from Werther closes out the first Massenet set, as does "Pourquoi me reveiller" the second. Villazon's identification with the distraught main character of this opera is abundantly clear in both. He capitalizes well on the quixotic emotions and dreamy tendencies of the distraught main character especially well in the first selection, and he is also less intruded upon by the producers or sound engineers there as well.

It is quite curious how the control room follows the tenor up a crescendo on a line that closes out the first section of the excerpt here from Massenet's Roi de Lahore, featuring a hero (from Hindu myth) that bound to certain stipulations, has literally returned from the dead. Not quite as ostentatious as Massenet's near remake of Lohengrin, Esclarmonde (but with female protagonist instead), it is one of Massenet's most colorful scores. It has only been recorded complete once commercially, with Joan Sutherland, Luis Lima, and appearing only ten minutes apart, James Morris, and for the part of General unfortunately eliminated from this scene here, John Tomlinson, along with one other cut to Villazon's part. It would've been more valuable to have all this complete instead of one or two other arias. He captures the incipiently worried tone of Alim well, but his coloring up the vowel sounds makes it seem that he has come from a place as remote from French culture as where the opera takes place.

Most successful of the Gounod selections are two of the three rarities. The first is Source delicieuse from Polyeucte, based on the Corneille play. It opens very well with a minute of orchestral cortege. It perhaps has only been recorded once before and well, by Roberto Alagna ten years ago; Villazon conveys the heroism of the piece somewhat well, if not as securely as Alagna. Anges du paradis from Mireille (which Mirella Freni championed and recorded complete for EMI), is third, perhaps a study for Ah leve toi, soleil (Romeo), several years down the road. The second Gounod rarity on this disc is "Inspirez-moi, race divine," said to be a Caruso favorite, from Reine de Saba. Its text indicates King Solomon's prize hired builder, Adoniram, to be a very confident, if mildly haughty chap. Villazon's interpretation seems to portray a hero that constantly has to look behind his back, with all the incipiently yet controllably vibrato ridden throb and backphrasing Villazon engages in here. The high C at the end, however, is convincing. Such device as in the above, also accents and colors most phrasing in the tomb scene from Romeo et Juliette.

"Ah! leve toi soleil" opens the first Gounod set, and is sung with the right ardor, conventionally marked by tiny captured scoops, coming off phrases. Villazon's entrance and two later lines catch for having placed so far back in the throat, and intonation gets momentarily derailed. "Salut, demeure" from Gounod's Faust quickly becomes expressively leaden and monochrome.

Recitative and the beginning of the aria, "Ah! fuyez" from Manon begin well nuanced enough, and for the aria, truly softly as a change from so much else on this disc, but all-purpose bench pressing and volume boosts intrude before long. That leaves two truly atmospheric selections from two Massenet rarities, to close this recital - first, an aria from Roma, Massenet's swan song for the lyric theater and "Ah! parais" from Le Mage, opera with plot line similar to that of Verdi's Aida, following. The melody, introduced by the cellos at the outset for the latter, somewhat takes after "Pays merveilleux" from Meyerbeer's Africaine, but in more voluptuous color, such as in Thais, and Villazon and Pido both capitalize well on its opulence. Pido's work, on numerous other numbers on this disc, seems heavy, lumbering, cloying, or just simply out of his idiom, so to speak.

Word has it that Villazon, while not having a big voice, is dramatically exciting on stage and probably more immediately engaged with the content of what he is singing. How this picked up a major award from Gramophone, for the specific problems this disc has, and over two more qualified nominations (Ciofi/Di Donato Handel Duets and a Florez album) is mystifying. So much digression here is over the very specific demands that French opera makes on singers. There's much reason for hope for this tenor, but this disc, for two-thirds of it, does little to help fulfill it.

Bean sings?.......2006-01-05

A friend lent me Villazon's debut album as an introduction to the man. I loved it - but this is the one I have bought. If, like me, you have tired of the comparisons between Villazon and others (esp Domingo) fear not, this artist is an original. I must confess that on seeing the cover I wondered if Brit comedian Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean / Black Adder - now there's a new comarison!) had strayed into the wrong studio, but a few tracks into either disc and you'll know you're listening to the real thing. True, he has baritonish notes in the lower register, and an easy reach for the upper notes but I honestly have not heard anyone quite like him before. His is a warm voice with an early maturity that should ensure he has a long career ahead of him. His diction is excellent, without the staccato enunciation or lack of French interpretation abilities that mar lesser singers' performances. Such vocal ease makes the sung word seem as natural as the spoken word is to us lesser mortals. That his song selection moves away from the 'usual suspects' of the tenor repertoire is to his great advantage; he knows what suits him and he brings each piece to new life. The overly familiar tracks of which there are thankfully few serve only to highlight through comparison to those we know Villazon's unique timbre and interpretation. This collection includes inspired music choices, incomparable renditions, marvellous orchestration and leaves the listener keenly anticipating his next release. The recording and production are impeccable (worth ***** in their category). It does not get much better than that. Atkinson may make you laugh (or not) - Villazon will make you smile and keep you feeling that way.

A fine romantic interpreter.......2005-12-20

If not quite a poet in the manner of, say, Edmond Clément, Rolando Villazón is a first rate romantic interpreter. His French is surprisingly good and he really understands how this school of writing needs to be lived and phrased, so that he doesn't summarily yell through all phrases like some "Italian" second-rater: he shades and molds the music in the elegant style of great French tenors of a bygone era: Clément, Franz, Dalmorès, Beyle, Vaguet, Scaremberg, D' Arkor, Thill...

Just like the damned record companies to give us a mere CD of Rolando Villazón's lovely art, whilst recording the above "Italian" second-rater in every complete French rôle under the sun!

Villazón's voice itself is more like a Spanish tenor's in timbre, none too pellucid, but a manly, resonant instrument of middle weight, which he never forces.

I don't know who Evelino Pido is, or how he got through school with that name, but he is a damned sight better than the much-touted Pappano (as in EMI's horrible latest Manon.) There are no metronomic run-throughs [RUIN-throughs!] on this disk.

If you adore Gounod and Massenet as I do, this CD will be very good news indeed to you.

Jean-Baptiste Lully: L'Orchestre du Roi Soleil

Average customer rating:

A very exciting recording
"Marche pour la Cérémonie Turque" 10 thumbs up!
Gorgeous Swing for Le Roi-Soleil
The Sun King's Most Beloved Composer Really Shines in this Performance!
Recommended highly

Jean-Baptiste Lully: L'Orchestre du Roi Soleil

Manufacturer: Alia Vox Spain
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Tracks:

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Premiere Ste 'Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme': L'Entree Des Scaramouches, Trivelins Et Arlequins
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Deuxieme Ste 'Le Divertissement Royal': Danse De Neptune
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Deuxieme Ste 'Le Divertissement Royal': Rondeau Du Mariage Force
Deuxieme Ste 'Le Divertissement Royal': Second Air ('Le Mariage Force')
Deuxieme Ste 'Le Divertissement Royal': Bourree Du Mariage Force
Deuxieme Ste 'Le Divertissement Royal': Bourree Du Divertissement De Chambord
Deuxieme Ste 'Le Divertissement Royal': Sym Des Plaisirs
Deuxieme Ste 'Le Divertissement Royal': Les Esclaves
Deuxieme Ste 'Le Divertissement Royal': Menuet Pour Les Trompettes
Troisime Ste 'Alceste': Marche Des Combattans
Troisime Ste 'Alceste': Menuet
Troisime Ste 'Alceste': Loure Pour Les Pecheurs
Troisime Ste 'Alceste': Echos
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Troisime Ste 'Alceste': 2eme Air, Les Demons
Troisime Ste 'Alceste': Marche Des Assiegeants
Chaconne De L'Amour Medecin

Customer Reviews:

A very exciting recording.......2006-09-23

This is a marvellous introduction to the French Baroque music, 17th century music and the music from the operas of Jean-Baptiste Lully. I bought this CD because I love Lully and because I am a fan of Jordi Savall and his Concert des Nations.

So what is on this CD?

Well, for your money you get some excellent recordings of orchestral movements from the operas of Jean-Baptiste Lully. These movements are in the various dance forms popular in the French court in the 17th century. The music is colourful, rhythmic and stylish. Lully was a great tunesmith and he had a great feel for dance.

Please, if you buy no other CD of Lully's music in your life, please consider this one.

"Marche pour la Cérémonie Turque" 10 thumbs up!.......2006-08-17

If you love Lully's music you will give it 10 stars. Great recording too!

Gorgeous Swing for Le Roi-Soleil.......2006-03-25

Although I used to study music and I knew his name, I hadn't listened Jean-Baptiste Lully's music. I listened to music of Ramaeu, Vivaldi, Purcell, J.S.Bach, and Handel but no Lully's.
First time I listened his music was from French film "Le Roi Danse" which was a story about Lully's life with Louis XIV and Moliere. Music impressed me so much that even I thought it was not by Lully, but it was.

So I bought this CD to listen in a complete way to "la musique pour le roi-soleil (the music for the sun king)". I would say, the music is like as gorgeous as Château de Versailles. The first suit "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (The Bourgeois Gentleman)" is called as the masterpiece of Lully and Moliere collaboration. I love fourth piece, Marche pour la C?r?monie turque (March for the Turkish ceremony)" which was also used in the film, and 13th melancholy piece is also my favorite.

My impression of Lully's music is swing, suppose French baroque style upright swing. Lully himself danced balley and he composed many pieces for ballet for Louis XIV dances. "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme" is also a ballet, a comedy-ballet. Listening to his music, tapping feet, I wonder the ballet at that time focused on jump rather than turn, step, or movement.
Performance by Le Concert De Nations is also impressive and commentary by Philippe Beaussant is interesting as a view of music history.

One another I like about this CD is the package. It is paper three-fold and put the music score inside, very fashionable. The front picture if the King family is gorgeous too. Usually I drop packages to change to thin plastic cases but I will keep this package.

The Sun King's Most Beloved Composer Really Shines in this Performance!.......2005-10-13

As the main reviewer mentions, the French Baroque style is completely original in its sound so that even one with little familiarity in Baroque styles will recognize instantly. Jean-Baptiste Lully's music is probably the most regal, warm, and literally gay of all the Baroque music composed in France, but also one of the least performed. Lully is actually a very underrated composer and this album is probably the best example of how underrated he has remained which is unfortunate because his work is highly original and as complex as any other contemporary Baroque work. Jordi Savall and Le Concert Des Nations are undisputably a very few the very best performers of French Baroque pieces and each use 17th-18th century authentic instruments. The recording quality of this album is also stupendous. This album is a gem for anyone looking to expand their horizons in Baroque music or curious about French Baroque specifically.

Jean-Baptiste Lully was actually of Italian origins and his French style was influenced in some parts by his native Italy but mostly by French Late Renaissance and very early Baroque folkloric styles. Lully was active in the mid-17th century in the court of Louis XIV, The Bourbon Sun King and founder of Versailles who, in addition to having reigned for about 75 years, was the greatest patron of the arts and sciences in Europe during his time. This is of course music for the Sun King and so the pieces usually have a regal Baroque weightiness to them in trying to portray the absolute monarch as the mighty Jove who appeared as thunder but who moved on in his royal procession as regally and lightly as a cloud. Such techniques in the strings were mostly imitated and refined by contemporaries and used in later German Baroque concerto works such those of Bach, Telemann, and Handel. This regal weightiness is also carried by a lot of brass but Lully always presents his brass arrangements lightly unlike his heavier German and especially English Baroque counterparts. Accentuating its classicist themes, the music simultaneously conveys both the typical aristocratic fluff of the Bourbon court as well as its weighty Olympian pageantry demonstrated in his Turkish procession. In other parts, some of the ballad pieces make one feel as if they have just left the stuffy aristocratic halls of Versailles to join some jovial musketeers merrily drinking in a common nearby tavern instead. Lully's music is highly unique, expressive, and generally jovial with a lot of tonality: he uses a lot of period dances for his pieces such as sarabandes, gavottes, etc. There's also a lot more use of the viola da gamba, lute, and various percussion than other contemporary Baroque pieces but somewhat typical in French ones. The most moving pieces in these arrangements might just be those for solo Baroque violin and lute or a small accompaniment: they are very expressive and as hauntingly beautiful and divine as any of Biber's comparable works or those of Marais. Lully was simply a genius in very evocative music that seemed to defy its own excess demands for pomp and frivolity. He is certainly one of the most innovate composers of the Baroque period. Lully is actually the main founder of both modern ballet and opera as forms of art which he first performed in the court of Versailles as distinctive musical repertoires incorporating theatrical and dance forms. Louis XIV was indeed so enamoured with Lully's majestic works that he ignored Cardinal Mazarin's resentments and France's own capital laws against homosexuality so that he could keep him under the patronage of his court. Although tragic, Lully's death is somewhat ironically as fatalistic as many of the classicist subjects of his ballets and operas: as if he had been a gifted muse who rendered Apollo jealous and so was struck down by Fate. While passionately conducting a piece using a heavy set staff weighing several pounds, he accidentally crushed his foot and died of gangrene soon after. He was an artist who died from his passion in a true sense and this is always a touching end for an artist in terms of posterity. He was replaced by Marin Marais as court composer whose pieces are also exquisitely performed by Jordi Savall solo on the viola and with Le Concert Des Nations for his orchestral works.

Lully was definitely an accomplished master of music and very original. A composer who is more obscure simply for the fact that he's not played as much as Bach or Vivaldi and that the French Baroque is not as common in performance circles. Lully however was certainly no less accomplished in his genius than any other of the great Baroque masters. Although many French composers such as Marais and Rameau would imitate his expressive style throughout the 18th century particularly in their operas and ballets, none of them could ever match it. In terms of French Baroque, I strongly recommend you get every piece you can by Jordi Savall and Le Concert Des Nations as they are few of the very foremost experts on performing in the French style. Another decent group is Les Arts Florrisants who have done various French Baroque performances. There are few other groups and artists that perform Lully or any French Baroque besides the latter anyway and most of them that do don't even compare to them. Their CDs are typically more expensive than the common labels and might have to be ordered but the quality of the performances and the recordings are really worth every penny believe me. Many of Savall's earlier performances are also starting to become hard to find.

Recommended highly.......2002-04-16

I am not as familiar as some with the music of Lully, but enough to know where Handel must have taken some of his points when he himself became the master splendour and majesty in music!

The music is astounding to say the very least. Though I am still quite partial to the 'Handelian' brand of grandeur, Lully also seems to have stolen my heart with this most royal and dignified collection of pieces, a fascinating and important compilation. I commend warmly the performers and conductor for an astounding example of excellence in interpretation, and recommend highly this recording to all.

Average customer rating:

The Top Music in France 2006
Le Roi Soleil=Magnifique!
Je fais de ce CD mon essentiel!
Le Roi Soleil - the newest great musical from France!
Awesome!!!!!

Le Roi Soleil

Manufacturer: Wea International
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Repartir

Album Details

The Original French Cast Recording of Very Successful Musical Comedy Le Roi Soleil.

Customer Reviews:

The Top Music in France 2006.......2006-10-23

This is a great pop/rock/musical/variete francais album mixed with amazing classical vocals, acoustics, supported by a Baroque style base. This is the CD based on the musical that first showed at Le Stade de France in Paris to rave reviews. It is a great album to sing along to and for all those, like me, who follow the French music scene very closely, this is a must have. Top songs include: "Ca Marche", "Un Geste de Vous", "La Vie Passe", and "Tant qu'on reve encore".

My personal favorites include all of the above plus, "Contre ceux d'en haut", "Etre a la hauteur", and "Repartir". Enjoy!

Le Roi Soleil=Magnifique!.......2006-09-05

I love this soundtrack! I listen to every single song every time I go through the discs, which is rare for me-- one might say I have music ADD. The music itself is great and well-written, while the wordplay in the lyrics adds another level. But you don't have to be well versed in french to enjoy this wonderful CD. Highly recommended!

Je fais de ce CD mon essentiel!.......2005-12-09

I saw the musical in Paris, I've seen the music videos on French cable, and I'm hooked on this soundtrack. I'm a huge fan of musicals (seen them on/off Broadway, and in London) and now this is on my list of favorites. (The set, costumes, EVERYTHING was phenomenal.) And this CD is no less impressive.

It's a great tale of the struggles of Louis XIV, as a king and as a man, as well as the struggles of his people during his costly(in more ways than one) construction of Versailles.

My favorite character is the flamboyant brother of Louis XIV, Monsieur. His singing of "Ca Marche" and "Et Vice Versailles" are among my favorites.

But you cannot forget the public's favorites, especially "Mon essentiel" and "Tant qu'on reve encore"! Even if you don't understand the French, you'll find yourself singing these songs.

I recommend it, especially if you understand French, because you'll catch the wordplay a bit more. But regardless of your language skills, this is a great soundtrack.

Le Roi Soleil - the newest great musical from France!.......2005-10-14

This musical is simply fantastic. When I first got the CD I thought, "well, it's nice", but with every listening, it grew more and more on me. Now I absolutely LOVE this musical and I never take the CD out of my CD player anymore! There is not one song on this CD I don't like.
The songs on this CD range from mellow to pop-like (at times combined with baroque-like music), and there surely is something for everyone. What struck me about this musical is that there is not really an ensemble, but the whole CD is made up of songs from the cast, which consists of seven people.
The CD was definitely worth my money and I can only recommend it.
I have a lot of other French musicals that are worthy of being checked out, like "Romeo & Juliette", "Autant En Emporte Le Vent", "Notre Dame de Paris", "Graal", and "Les Enfants de Soleil", just to name a few. "Le Roi Soleil" is definitely one of my favorites.

Awesome!!!!!.......2005-10-01

This cd is really great! Even if you don't know French, the music will captivate you! I LOVE the songs "Etra la hauteur" and "Mon Essentiel". They're sweet. The musical is based on the life of the "sun king" Louise the 14th in France. It's romantic, and the tunes are catchy. The vidoes are cool too!for those of you who love musicals, and are fans of Phantom of the Opera, this is a thumbs up! The costumes and setting are amazing.

Go to the official site at: (...)

and watch the music vidoes. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Average customer rating:

Superlative collection
Great value for the money
Great for the money and a good starter on opera....
Amazing Value

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Une Puce Gentille - Gabriel Bacquier
Je Vais Mourir...Adieu, Fiere Cite - Regine Crespin
Mon Coeur S'Ouvre A Ta Voix - Rita Gorr
Wie Todesahnung...O Du Mein Holder Abenstern - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Johohoe! Traft Ihr Das Schiff Im Meere An? - Anja Silja
In Fernem Land - Chor Der Wiener Staatsoper
Heil Dir, Sonne! - Siegfried Jerusalem
Mild Und Leise - Helga Dernesch

Tracks:

Che Faro Senza Euridice? - Agnes Baltsa
Der Vogelfanger Bin Ich Ja - Walter Berry
Finch'Han Dal Vino - Nicolai Ghiaurov
E Susanna Non Vien!...Dove Sono - Barbara Hendricks
Abscheulicher! - Christa Ludwig
Ne M'Abandonne Pas, Espoir De La Vengeance...Asile Hereditaire - Nicolai Gedda
Largo Al Factotum - Tito Gobbi
Ella Giammai M'Amo! - Ruggero Raimondi
La Donna E Mobile - Alfredo Kraus
Di Quella Pira - Franco Corelli
Esultate! - James McCracken
Dio! Mi Potevi Scagliar - Placido Domingo
Vissi D'Arte, Vissi D'Amore - Maria Callas
In Questa Reggia - Ghena Dimitrova
Tanto Amore - Janine Micheau
O Mio Babbino Caro - Montserrat Caballe
Ed Anche Beppe Amo - Luciano Pavarotti
Poveri Fiori - Maria Callas
Come Un Bel Di Di Maggio - Roberto Alagna

Tracks:

Les Grands Seigneurs...Ah! Je Ris De Me Voir Si Belle - Victoria De Los Angeles
Marie, Avec L'Enfant Jesus - Jules Bastin
Heureux Petit Berger - Janine Micheau
Connais-Tu Le Pays - Jane Rhodes
Elle Ne Croyait Pas Dans Sa Candeur - Nicolai Gedda
Votre Toast, Je Peux Vous Le Rendre...Toreador - Victoria De Los Angeles
Les Oiseaux Dans La Charmille - Mady Mesple
Maintenant, Chantons...Devant La Maison De Celui Qui D'Adore - Gerard Souzay
Depuis Le Jour - Beverly Sills
Da Geht Er Hin - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Einsam In Truben Tagen - Regine Crespin
Dich, Teure Halle - Hildegard Behrens
Leb Wohl, Du Kuhnes, Herrliches Kind - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Hojotoho! Hojotoho! - Ute Walther

Tracks:

Non Piu Andrai - Thomas Allen
La Ci Darem La Mano - Graziella Sciutti
Duo: Pa-Pa-Pa - Andreas Schmidt
Soave Sia Il Vento - Delores Ziegler
Mira, O Norma - Maria Callas
Il Dolce Suono - Edita Gruberova
Com'e Gentil - Alfredo Kraus
Una Voce Poco Fa - Maria Callas
Libiamo Ne' Lieti Calici - Alfredo Kraus
Gualtier Malde!...Caro Nome - Michele Pertusi
Ritorna Vincitor - Birgit Nilsson
Ave Maria - Katia Ricciarelli
Nessun Dorma - Franco Corelli
Che Gelida Manina - Nicolai Gedda
Ebben? Ne Andro Lontana - Barbara Hendricks

Tracks:

Mes Amis, Ecoutez L'Histoire - Nicolai Gedda
Mieux Vaut Mourir...Amour Sacre De La Patrie - Alfredo Kraus
Ah! Je Veux Vivre Dans Ce Reve - Mady Mesple
Puisqu'on Ne Peut Flechir...Vainement, Ma Bien-Aimee - Henry Legay
Suis-Je Gentille Ainsi?...Je Marche Sur Tous Les Chemins - June Anderson
Belle Nuit, O Nuit D'Amour - Jessye Norman
La Fleur Que Tu M'Avais Jetee - Jose Carreras
C'est Toi!...Au Fond Du Temple Saint - John Aler
Werther, Werther, Qui M'Aurait Dit...Ces Lettres! - Tatiana Troyanos
Viens, Mallika - Mady Mesple
Ah! Je Suis Seule Enfin...Dis-Moi Que Je Suis Belle - Beverly Sills
Alerte, Alerte!...Anges Purs, Anges Radieux - Nicolai Ghiaurov
Boris's Farewell - Boris Christoff
Schreckensschwur! - Gary Lakes
Die 'Selige Morgentraum-Deutweise'...Selig, Wie Die Sonne - Peter Schreier
Was Am Besten er Kann...Nothung! Nothung! - Siegfried Jerusalem

Customer Reviews:

Superlative collection.......2006-10-11

A collection of 100 individual arias and ensembles from the EMI catalogue of complete works recorded between 1955 and 2003. It includes selections from operas by Italian, Austrian, German, Russian and French composers. The French composers are especially well represented unlike most such anthologies. And there are several more obscure contributions, such as an aria from Catalani's La Wally. A well-judged balance of musical periods and styles, and the very best singers of the last half of the last century. And remarkably, the whole collection of 6 CDS, over 7 hours of music, is being sold for the cost of only 1 CD !

Great value for the money.......2006-04-23

This is simply the best collection of opera arias that I have seen. It's not 100% in that there are a few well-known arias that are not here, but what is here is simply a treasure. The organization is a bit strange, but there's some logic. For example, Disk 6 is mostly from French operas. A seemingly endless amount of glorious music. Just fabulous. You won't be disappointed.

Great for the money and a good starter on opera...........2006-01-07

This cd is a splendid collection of songs, and the price is unbeatable; I have but a few minor complaints about the overall product. The cd would have been much more enjoyable if they had put the music in some sort of order, rather than jumping around from artist to artist sporatically. My only other complaint would be that they could have chosen some better vocalists to play some of the songs. For example, in CD 6, track 3: Romeo et Juliette, the singer was not nearly as strong and definative as she should have been and I've definately heard in various other versions that were way better than this. This disappointed me greatly. But even with these few small complaints, this collection is still great and the price is amazing. It includes MOST of the famous opera pieces, as well some great songs that are often overlooked such as the beautiful song from Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (CD 6, track 16) along with others.

Amazing Value.......2005-08-23

I am so impressed by this collection that I must share my joy at getting so many beautiful arias, duets, et al in one collection. It captures many of the great operatic voices in stellar performances spanning the last 50 years. If you are enchanted by beautiful operatic highlights, removed from their operatic storylines, this set is for you. Hours of gorgeous music for practically pennies!

The Ultimate Aria Collection ~ A Passion for Opera

Average customer rating:

OPERA HEAVEN
Incredibly Beautiful . . .
Ultimate Aria
Ultimate indeed

The Ultimate Aria Collection ~ A Passion for Opera
Georges Bizet , Giuseppe Verdi , Giacomo Puccini , Gaetano Donizetti , Ruggero Leoncavallo , Gioachino Rossini , Gustave Charpentier , Leo Delibes , Vincenzo Bellini , Christoph Willibald Gluck , Pietro Mascagni , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Francesco Cilea , Edouard Lalo , Camille Saint-Saens , Arrigo Boito , George Frideric Handel , Alfredo Catalani , Amilcare Ponchielli , Charles Gounod , Jules Massenet , Ambroise Thomas , Fritz Wunderlich , Rome Opera Theater Orchestra & Chorus , Maria Callas , Elisabeth Schwarzkopf , Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala , Wiener Philharmoniker , Orchestre de Paris , Carlo Maria Giulini , Tullio Serafin , Sir Charles Mackerras , Francesco Molinari-Pradelli , Riccardo Muti , and Leone Magiera
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Caballe, Montserrat | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Callas, Maria | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Freni, Mirella | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Most Famous Opera Arias
The Most Famous Opera Duets
Aria: A Passion for Opera
Aria II: A Passion for Opera
Rapture: Opera's Most Heavenly Moments

ASIN: B000009OQL
Release Date: 1998-08-11

Tracks:

Carmen: Quand je vous aimerai? ...L'amour (Habanera)
I Pagliacci: Recitar!... Vesti la giubba
Madama Butterfly: Un bel di vedremo
L'Elisir d'Amore: Una furtiva lagrima
Nabucco: Va pensiero (Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves)
Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro
Rigoletto: La dona e mobile
The Barber Of Seville: Largo al factotum
Louise: Depuis le jour
Lakme: Flower Duet
Turandot: Nessun dorma
Norma: Casta diva
Gianni Schicchi: A vete torto!
TOSCA: Vissi d'arte
TOSCA: E lucevan le stelle
La rondine: Chi il bel sogno di Doretta
Il Trovatore: Di quella pira

Tracks:

L'Elisir d'Amore: Quanto e bella, quanto e cara!
Orphee et Eurydice: J'ai perdu mon Eurydice
La Boheme: Che gelida manina
La Boheme: Si, mi chimano Mimi
La Traviata: Di Provenza il mar
L'amico Fritz: O amore, o bella luce del core
Le nozze di Figaro: Voi che sapete
TOSCA: Recondita armonia
Adriana Lecouvreur: Ecco, respiro appena...lo son l'umile ancella
Le Roi d'Ys: Puisqu'on ne peut... Vainement, ma bien-aimee
Samson et Dalila: Mon coeur s'ouvre a'ta voix
Mefistofele: Dai campi, dai prati
Manon Lescaut: In quelle trine morbide
Serse: Ombra mai fu
Turandot: Signore, ascolta
Manon Lescaut: Donna non vidi mai
La Wally: Ebben? ne ando lontana
La Gioconda: Cielo e mar

Tracks:

Aida: Se quel guerriero io fossi...Celeste Aida
Romeo Et Juliet: L'amour, l'amour...Ah, leve-toi soleil
Mefistofele: L'altra notte in fondo al mare
Werther: Toute mon ame est la...Pourqui me reveiller
Barber Of Seville: Una voce poco fa
Cosi Fan Tutti: Un aura amorosa
Le Villi: Se como voi piccina
Un Balle en Maschera: `Se come voi piccina`
Carmen: La fleur que tu m'avais jette
La forza del destino: Pace, pace mio Dio
Adriana Lecouvreur: L'anima ho stanca
La Gioconda: Suicidio
Don Giovanni: Dalla sua pace
La Traviata: De' miei bolenti spiriti
La nozzi di Figaro: Porgi amor
Turandot: Non piangere, Liu
Mignon: Elle ne croyait pas dans sa candeur naive

Amazon.com

Put together in evident haste, this collection is nevertheless a surefire, appetite-whetting starter kit both for the budding operaphile and for the simply intimidated. The samplings include some of the greatest voices from EMI's vaults: here you'll find the polar opposites Callas and Caballe, the golden wonder of Wunderlich and early Carreras, and a host of other singers who've made their stamp on this century. Emphasis is on the soprano and tenor range, while the lower voices are given short shrift, and the selections cleave predictably to standard Italian and French repertory (with an occasional surprise, such as an aria from Lalo's Le Roi d'Ys). Still, the nearly three and a half hours of music represented will make a ready convert of anyone who hasn't experienced the specially heightened, time-stopping expressivity--beyond the power of mere song--that is the aria's function and will likely spark a desire to explore the larger operatic context in several cases. And though the lack of a booklet with texts or at least bios of the artists is frustrating, this is a good place to begin for an overview of the mesmeric power extraordinary voices can wield. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

OPERA HEAVEN.......2002-12-13

Probely this is a good buy for someone who is gest getting into the world of OPERA.Still a very good purchaes with fimiluar songs.

Incredibly Beautiful . . ........2001-10-27

If you love opera - this collection of some of the lovliest arias ever sung by artists from Caballe to Freni, from Delibes to Puccini - will inspire you. It is a wonderful gift for friends or for yourself.

Ultimate Aria.......2001-08-03

In my small operetic mind, this set of Cd's has completely captured me for the Opera. I was a young and upcoming musician in my youth. I'v been around the block "as it were" with the Classics. This collection is indeed, the benchmark upon which all others would hope to aspire.

Congradulations EMI for an incredible vision of the greatest opeatic moments recorded.

Gosh what's next?

Ralph Hassman

Ultimate indeed.......2000-08-02

If you don't like the idea of buying whole operas, or if you're a newcomer to opera - this is an extremely good collection / introduction, worth every single cent. The collection features many of the worlds greatest singers, giving their interpretations of some of the world's greatest arias. The compilation itself is very tasteful and covers a wide range from Handel to early 20th century composers. You won't miss any important stuff from the history of opera, except maybe Wagner and the most modern operas - I'll come back to that fact later. The compilers have actually put some lesser known, although no less beautiful, arias here, that oftenly are neglected on ordinary opera-collections, why the name `ultimate collection' is more than correct in that aspect.

EMI have a enormous archive to pick their recordings from, and that of course makes it easy to find first rate interpretations of all the arias included in this collection, and I do think that almost all of the arias are wonderfully sung here. It may be possible to find better performances of single numbers here and there, but I've not yet heard a more complete, wellmatched, and so thrillingly sung collection.

Well then, is there nothing wrong with this compilation? You might find it a little odd that there are so many soloarias and so few duets, terzettos a.s.o, especially since the drama in operas oftenly is greater in numbers with more than one singer. You might also wish that some of the recordings had been a little more modern (most of these recordings were made during the 50's, 60's & 70's) giving place to younger performers that still are singing on the stages, but those are minor objections when the over all quality is so high.

Tracks:

La Marseillaise (French National Anthem) - Placido Domingo
Dome Epais Le Jasmin (Flower Duet) - Joan Sutherland
L'amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle - Regina Resnik
C'est Toi...Au Fond Du Temple Saint - Gregory Cross
Belle Noit, O Nuit D'amour - Joan Sutherland
Apres Un Reve - Renee Fleming
L'invitation Au Voyage - Gerard Souzay
Cantique De Jean Racine, Op.11 - Choir Of St. John's College, Cambridge
Rachel, Quand De Seigneur - Leopold Simoneau
O Vin, Dissipe La Tristesse - Sherrill Milnes
Je Suis Titania - Beverly Sills
Ah, Ou Va La Jeune Indoue - Joan Sutherland
Les Filles De Cadix - Angela Gheorghiu
Mon Coeur S'ouvre A Ta Voix - Marilyn Home
Alerte! Alerte!...Anges Pur - Nuccia Focile

Tracks:

Frere Jacques - Rita Streich
Air De Letter: Mon Chet Amant - Regine Crespin
Marthe Dieu Soit Loue...Deposons Les Armes (Soldiers' Chorus) - Robert Massard
In Paradisum - L Union Chorale de La Tour De Peliz
Villanelle - Regine Crespin
Je Veux Vivre - Joan Sutherland
Chanson A Boire - Gerard Souzay
L'Enigme Eternelle - Suzanne Danco
Sur Le Pont D'Avignon - Hilde Guden
Phidyle - Gerard Souzay
Les Gars Qui Vont A La Fete - Gerard Souzay
Notre Amour - Sylvia McNair
Beau Soir - Elly Ameling
C'est L'extase Langoureuse - Sylvia McNair
Puisqu'on Ne Peut Flechir Ces jalouses Gardiennes-Vainement Ma Bien-Aimee - Alfredo Kraus
Il Est Doux, Il Est Bon - Angela Gheorghiu
Hotel - Gilles Cachemaille
Petite Dinde, Ah! Quel Outrage - Maggie Teyte
Bailero - Kiri Te Kanawa
Brezairola - Kiri Te Kanawa
Malurous Qu'o Uno Fenno - Kiri Te Kanawa