Egyptian Helena

On this CD:

1. Die Ägyptische Helena (The Egyptian Helen), opera, Op. 75
Composed by Richard Strauss
Performed by Helen Field, Stefania Donzelli, Julia Oesch
Conducted by Gerard Korsten

Tracks:

Der Freischutz, Act 3: Und Ob Die Wolke
Der Freischutz, Act 3: Wie Nahte Mir...Leise, Leise
Die Zauberflote, Act 2: Ach, Ich Fuhl's
Tannhauser, Act 3: Allmacht'ge Jungfrau
Tannhauser, Act 2: Dich, Teure Halle
Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg, Act 3: O Sachs, Mein Freund
Die Walkure, Act 1: Du Bist Der Lenz
Ariadne Auf Naxos: Es Gibt Ein Reich
Die Agyptische Helena, Act 2: Zweite Brautnacht
Daphne, Closing scene: Ich Komme...
Die Tote Stadt, Act 1: Gluck, Das Mir Verblieb

Customer Reviews:

¡Decepcionante!.......2005-04-16

Sin lugar a dudas, Kiri Te Kanawa es una de las grandes sopranos líricas del siglo anterior, pero creo que este disco no refleja el arte canoro de la artista. Si bien podrían citarse muchísimos atributos y fortalezas vocales, resaltan en todas las arias un excesivo vibrato que afecta la línea musical.

Great recording.......1999-03-09

My favourite Kiri Te Kanawa CD...sensitive, beautiful and breath taking...typical Kiri! Especially her rendition of Ach ich fuhls. Just gorgeous.

Jane Eaglen - Mozart & Strauss / Zubin Mehta

Average customer rating:

Jane Eaglen Is A Force Not To Be Reckoned With
Unidiomatic singing
Jane - A Force of Nature
Weakness exposing attempt
Than you God for Jane Eaglen!

Jane Eaglen - Mozart & Strauss / Zubin Mehta
Richard Strauss , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Israel Philharmonic Orchestra , Zubin Mehta , and Jane Eaglen
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Eaglen, Jane | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Jane Eaglen - Italian Opera Arias
Jane Eaglen - Bellini & Wagner

ASIN: B000008A4Y
Release Date: 1998-05-19

Tracks:

Salome: Final Scene
Guntram: Fass' ich sie bang
Lucio Silla: Ah, corri, vola... Quest'improvviso tremito
Don Giovanni: Crudele? Ah no, moi bene...Non mi dir
Adriane auf Naxos: Es gibt ein Reich
Idomeneo: Oh smania! Oh furie! D'Oreste, d'Aiace
Arabella: Mein Elimer!
Don Giovanni: Or sai chi l'onore
Idomeneo: Idol moi
Die Agyptische Helena: Zweite Brautnacht!

Customer Reviews:

Jane Eaglen Is A Force Not To Be Reckoned With.......2005-05-18

Contrary to the previous review, I find that Jane Eaglen is the very definition of the dramatic soprano. Her voice is a Niagra Falls of vocal artistry- full or rich fullness and soaring upper register, generous mezzo di voce, and soothing pianissimi. Her voice is fine in this studio recording album. Eaglen has sung through the 90's and her voice is in its prime in this album. She comfortably takes on the demanding dramatic roles of Strauss Ariadne, Mozart's Dona Ana, Strauss' Salome, Strauss Arabella, the heroine in Guntram and Die Egytpian Helena and the heroine in Mozart' Idomeneo. She is an apt interpreter of bel canto and Wagner, her voice reminding me of such versatile sopranos as Edda Moser, who could sing both Wagner and Mozart.

Please give this album a chance and ignore any bashers' remarks. Her rendition of the Finale in Salome blew me away. She sends chills down my spine, with a voice that is a hurricane, full of storm and glory. Her Dona Ana is a steely victim, her Arabella a determined woman and her Ariadne very noble. Eaglen has a number of great diva roles under her belt- Tosca, Norma, Brunhilde, Isolde, each a magnificent portrayal. Look for her other albums, which are also available on Amazon.com, which continues to be a great source of opera for me, even rare and hard to find albums. Though that critic before me blindly criticized her Strauss method, I find that she is terrific as a singer of Strauss, finding herself the equal to Leontyne Price and Jessye Norman. In fact it would seem Jane Eaglen has a powerfully lunged black woman inside her!! I love this album and also recommend her Wagner/Bellini album, in which she sings the heck out of Casta Diva from Norma and other bel canto arias, as well as a fine Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde and Brunhilde's Immolation Scene. Also look for Strauss' Four Last Songs sung to perfection by Jane Eaglen. She can also be heard singing Tosca in English under the Chandos label as well as a towering Turandot.

Unidiomatic singing.......2003-11-06

Eaglen's performances of Mozart and Strauss are generally disappointing, for her singing doesn't have the simplicity for Mozart and the lustrous quality for the Strauss. It's far too over-generalised and the result is insipid.

Jane - A Force of Nature.......2002-01-25

Listening to Jane Eaglen is being caught in the midst of a wonderful storm of music. Each bell-like note is perfection, nothing strained, nothing overly melodramtic, just marvelous singing. The sweetness in her voice comes through again and again. I will borrow from another reviewer to say "BRAVA JANE! And thank you for reminding us that Wagner,and Strauss don't have to be screamed to be sung well."

Weakness exposing attempt.......2001-11-11

I'm afraid Jane Eaglen doesn't quite know of her own capabilities and limitations. Opera singing is not just a matter of beautiful sound. There has to be emotion, drama and charisma, none of these Eaglen has. Her Mozart is at least competent, though far from outstanding. But her Strauss definitely doesn't work! Just pull down any (yes, any) recording of Strauss by any (yes, any) soprano and you'll at once note how deficient Eaglen's interpretations are. No, she definitely is not for such repertoire. Besides, her top register isn't glorious at all - a liability in Strauss. This is just an ill-considered attempt which exposes her weakness as an artist.

Than you God for Jane Eaglen!.......2000-02-17

Words fail me when trying to describe the awe one gets after listening to this singer. Live or on Disc few can match Jane in Talent, musicality, or beauty of tone. What a blessing she is to those who love opera. I Love this CD and all the wonderful excerpt featured here. I would love to hear a complete recording of every opera sung from here. It is so refreshing to hear the Egyptian Helen sung so beautifully, listen to how she soars over the orchestra, and listen to how easily her voice manages the high notes. AHHH! How enchanting, and the excerpt from Guntram WOW! . And then she tops it off with an excerpt from a different type of Strauss opera Arabella. This is how Strauss should be sung. Forget Ljuba, Birgit, or Hildegard Jane is your woman!

Average customer rating:

Splendor in the Skies: Leontyne Price sings R. Strauss
An American Diva Sings German
PRICE IS ALWAYS NICE
Better than even Leontyne suspects!

Leontyne Price sings Strauss Arias

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Price, Leontyne | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Agnes Baltsa sings Rossini
Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs

ASIN: B000003EZU
Release Date: 1990-05-25

Tracks:

Die Frau Ohne Schatten: Empress' Awakening Scene
Der Rosenkavalier: Marschallin's Monologue
Die Agyptische Helena: Awakening Scene
Guntram: Fass' Ich Sie Bang
Ariadne Auf Naxos: Es Gibt Ein Reich
Salome: Interlude
Salome: Final Scene

Customer Reviews:

Splendor in the Skies: Leontyne Price sings R. Strauss.......2006-05-21

America's "diva di tutte le dive" soprano Leontyne Price rarely sang the German operatic repertoire onstage - "Die Kluge" "Die Zauberflaute"/"Ariadne auf Naxos" - throughout her illustrous and brilliant career. Thankfully, she included arias and scenas in her concerts and recitals, Richard Strauss' "Awakening Scene" (Egytian Helen) and Salome's "Final Scene" most often. Both are included in this vocally sumptuous RCA studio recorded CD collection of Strauss arias. Recorded in '72/73, Leontyne Price's "juicy lyric" soprano had developed into a formidable spinto with a stronger, darker middle, and a powerful, sterling upper register that seemed positioned to delve into the heavier musical waters of R. Wagner & Strauss. However,the American diva resisted the temptation to abandon the glorious legacy of her Italian-based repertoire(where she reigned supreme). In this concert, Leontyne Price's essaying of the "Frau" scene is simply stunning - dramatically urgent - with requisite power in the middle of the voice off-set by the thrust and freedom of her upper register. Indeed, her thrilling high Dflat has not been bettered(equalled by Leonie Rysanek). The Rosenkavalier monologue is sung sensitively with lovely vocal shadings, but lacks the ruminative quality that informs the finest of the Marschallins. Ms. Price sang the role of "Ariadne" onstage with the San Francisco Opera and at the MET successfully (if not definitely). Ariadne's "Es gibt ein Reich" is sung here with a majesterial, dark-toned beauty that glows in the penultimate section of the aria. Strauss' Salome is a 16 year-old woman-child, usually sung by "drammatische sopran" like the great Birgit Nilsson, due in part to the heavy orchestration. In Ms. Price's hands, Salome's tragically premature and short journey to adulthood is vividly captured, the voice cast in silver rather than steel, alternately viperish, kittenish, perplexed, and finally triumphant. The soprano's vibrant tone is lyric in nature, throbbing with appropriate girlishness, largely missing from more noted Salomes. Leontyne Price was the first artist to record the "Guntram" aria. The quasi-Wagnerian music, complete with heavy orchestration, poses no apparent terror for her, as she sings it with remarkable abandon, plush, creamy tone in the middle yielding to a gleaming, ringing climax of laser-like high notes. The excitement is palpable throughout. Finally, we are treated to a Price specialty, "Zweite Brautnacht", an aria that showcases the full arsenal of this magnificent voice. The exquisite vocalism throughout this entire collection reminds the listener of the incomparable soaring beauty, throb, and ease that made Leontyne Price the reigning Verdi soprano of her generation - and a sterling constellation in Strauss' rarified firmament.

An American Diva Sings German.......2005-11-25

In this album, the first international black diva Leontyne Price sings German arias by Richard Strauss, a repertory she is not usually associated with. Leontyne Price will forever be lauded for her Verdi and Puccini Italian opera repertoire. But Price sang a wide variety of works, from Samuel Barber, Gershwin, Baroque works, French composers and German composers. Her versatility is prominently showcased in the album "Prima Donna". These arias are virtuosic interpretations and the New Philharmonia does an oustanding job. Erich Leinsdorf championed Leontyn Price more than any other conductor and knew how her voice can be transferred beautifully into recording. The first track is a dramatic and lyric aria from Strauss' last opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten (Woman Without Shadow). From the beginning, she shows command for the German diction and the melodic tone is rich, dark and dramatic. If I'm not mistaken this album was made in the 70's, a period of time that found Leontyne singing with a bigger voice and louder fortissimi, and this without sacrificing the beautiful pianissimi. This is quite evident in the Marschallin's Monologue from Der Rosenkavalier, which Leontyne Price essays with queenly grace, and with an even bigger voice than the more lyric Schwartzkopff, the most famous Marschallin. This is a beautiful aria in which the Marschallin expresses her sadness about growing older. Leontyne has a dark, mature voice that is wholly suited to the character and Price totally gets the part. Her voice is dark chocolate. The rare operas The Egyptian Helena and Guntram are not performed today but demonstrate a powerful musicality and theatrical prowess. Price sings the high tessitura of Helen's aria without any strain. It is smoothly sung and supremely dramatic. It is a fiendishly difficult aria and few singers have actually sung it (Today only Jane Eaglen in the Mozart and Strauss Album sings it). The final scene from Salome is hair-raising and Leontyne's voice raises above the staff and above the orchestra with thunderous power. She never performed Salome (only Maria Ewing is the only black singer to sing the role) and perhaps for good reason since in Price's time the reigning Salome was Birgit Nilsson and it was still very risque to dance in semi-nude costume. While Leontyne Price does not lighten her tone to sound girlish (Salome is a teenager) like some sopranos have done, but she is powerful, visceral and sexually charged. It is a masterpiece. Unfortunately, they didnt add Wagner arias to further show off Price's German repertoire. But Price has sung magnificent Wagner pieces - Sieglende from Die Walkure, the Liebestod from the final scene in Tristan and Elisabeth's Prayer Aria and Hall Aria from Tannhauser. Overall, this is one of Leontyne Price's better recording albums. I would recommend this one along with the Prima Donna Album.

PRICE IS ALWAYS NICE.......2003-03-02

A LIITLE OUT OF HER ELEMENT HERE. THE GERMAN ISN'T ALWAYS GERMANIC BUT MISS PRICE ALWAYS GIVES 100% IN MUSICIANSHIP AND CARE. IF YOU LOVE PRICE YOU NEED THIS CD. 5 STARS BECAUSE SHE HAD SOME OF THE MOST GLORIOUS UPPER REGISTER SOUNDS. SHE IS NEVER PHONY. SHE WORKS IT !ES GIBT EIN REICH IS A LITTLE SLOW FOR ME BUT WHO CARES. IT'S THE AMERICAN DIVA ASOLUTTA.

Better than even Leontyne suspects!.......2000-08-29

A great recording often manifests silently from inside the genuine humility, even doubts, of the artists laboring to create it. I suspect that is as apt a characterization as any of the effectiveness of this album. Leontyne Price has always been, to my mind, a marvelously transparent singer; one feels immediately her approach, and indeed her own trepidation on the high wire, as it were. This collection of Strauss is a model of that transparency. She is outside her safe zone here, albeit willingly and with customary copious voice, but it is, at least for those intimately familiar with Leontyne Price's voice, a land of no coasting and no boasting. And it is a remarkable triumph, with a fetching choice of material, and an incomparable version of the final scene of "Salome". The quixotic magic of Price's Salome is something to experience, her work with Leinsdorf has never been more collaborative, and the Boston Symphony really sizzles! The superb aria from "Ariadne" is a perfect 'calling up' of the Salome, directly preceding it as it does and alerting the countryside of the imminent eruption of Salome's arresting disintegration to come. Absolutely splendid work from a prima donna of deservedly legendary status, with the additional treat of first-rate orchestral playing.

Average customer rating:

Strauss' Most Obscure Opera....for good reason!
Great Score,Fine Singers,Reticent Conductor
Fine live performance of Strauss' unfairly neglected opera
Not impressive at all
Good Voigt

R. Strauss: Die Ägyptische Helena
Deborah Voigt , Leon Botstein , Jill Grove , Elizabeth Batton , and Christopher Robertson
Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Strauss - Intermezzo / Popp, Fischer-Dieskau, Dallapozza, Fuchs, Finke, Moll, Raimund Grumbach, Hirte, Wilsing, Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sawallisch
Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs
Richard Strauss: Die ägyptische Helena
Renée Fleming - Strauss: Daphne
Puccini - Il Trittico / Alagna, Gheorghiu, Guelfi, Guleghina, Gallardo-Domás, Manca di Nissa, Palmer, Shicoff, van Dam, Pappano

ASIN: B00009NHAA
Release Date: 2003-06-24

Tracks:

Einleitung: Das Mahl Ist Gerichtet
Sause Hin, Sturm! Flieg Hin Wie Der Blitz!
Wo Bin Ich?
Bei Jener Nacht, Der Keuschen Einzig Einen
Ein Becher War SuBer Als Dieser
Ihr Grunen Augen
Ohne Zaudern
Wer Bist Du?
Ai!
O Engel, Fur Elfen
Das Notigste Nur

Tracks:

Zweite Braut Nacht!
Wo Ist Das Haus?
Aus Flirrender Stille
Eilig Zusammen Geraffte Gaben
Denn Es Ist Recht, DaB Wir Kampfen
Ich Werde Neben Dir Reiten!
So Schon Bedient
Aithra! Liebe Herrliche!
Habet Acht!
Hute Dich Furst
Mein Geliebter! Menelas!
Die Wir Zum Feste Dich Laden
Weib, Tritt Hinweg!
Bei Jener Nacht, Der Keuschen Einzig Einen
Tot-Lebendige!
Zu Mir Das Weib!
Vater, Wo Ist Meine Schone Mutter?
Gewogene Lufte, Fuhrt Uns Zuruck

Amazon.com

Strauss and librettist Hoffmannsthal planned a light opera on themes of marital relations and reconciliation. They imagined the rescued Helen of Troy traveling home with Menalaus, who now wants to kill her for her infidelity that led to the carnage of the Trojan War. Despite some comic writing early on, they failed to produce the requisite lightness, stuffing the libretto with clichéd symbolism including singing seashells, elves, magic potions, and more. But Strauss' score, if not wholly successful, does have some terrific moments, including Helen's spectacular big aria that opens Act Two. This again proves that even lesser Strauss operas shouldn't be missed. Deborah Voigt invests Helen with vocal radiance and power. She makes this recording a must-have. Her colleagues include mezzo Jill Grove's big-voiced Sea Shell and Celena Shafer's fine lyric soprano in the role of the enchantress Aithra, and tenor Carl Tanner who valiantly gets through the impossible part of Menaleus. All must contend with Leon Botstein's rough-and-ready conducting, but only Voigt effortlessly rides over the huge orchestral climaxes that sometimes bury the others. The fine orchestral playing gives Strauss' brilliant colors their full due. Telarc's engineering of this live concert performance is first class, helping to make this the preferred recorded version of the opera. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Strauss' Most Obscure Opera....for good reason!.......2007-04-07

As a diehard R. Strass fan, I eagerly looked forward to hearing this opera, having never heard it and also having to teach it to my opera class. I must admit that if I never hear this opera again, that's fine with me. The plot is totally nonsensical and very hard to comprehend. Musicologists claim the second act to be the stronger of the two, and they are correct, as at least there is some character development. The first act, to be honest, is simply stupid. Hoffmansthal and Strauss really slipped on this one.

The movement of the drama, therefore, must fall on the shoulders of the singers, and here they fall short. Debra Voight is in exquisite voice, but she has only two volumes: loud and louder. Her touches of nuance are few and far between, and this opera begs for a lot of them to give it any shape. She attacks the incredibly demanding range with a vengeance, but after a half hour her voice ceases to fall graciously on the ear.

The tenor, Carl Tanner, sounds totally out of his league, valiantly trying to sing his lines in a tessitura that simply is too high for him. His lower notes show warmth and a normal vibrato, but once above the staff (where much his part lies), the vibrato slows alarmingly and his tone becomes tight and forced, giving the impression that he's right at the limits of his vocal capacity.

As a through-composed opera (a nod to Wagner), there are precious few parts that can be removed as an aria per se. The most viable section is the famous Awakening Scene at the beginning of Act II. Here Debra Voight scales the taxing range with relative ease, but her delivery is pretty void of any emotion. [I suggest listening to Leontyne Price, or, better yet, Leonie Rysanek for a comparison.]

What really redeems this recording is the orchestra and conductor. The under-rated American Orchestra brings the music to life with clear and in-tune playing: a fabulous feat considering all the dissonances strewn with seeming abandon throughout. Conductor Leon Botstein is to be commended for maintaining a cohesive ensemble and keeping the opera moving, with careful attention to musical details and instilling a sweeping vivacity that keeps the opera alive.

If you can locate Leonie Rysanek's live 1956 performance, buy it! The sound is iffy at times, but she and her colleagues bring the weak libretto to life much more so than this recording.

Great Score,Fine Singers,Reticent Conductor.......2005-02-12

I felt some unfair judgements concerning this recording,by reading controversial rewiews below.First of all,"Helena" is an unquestionable fine score,a kind of a "Die Frau" opera twin,in spite of the overfanciful plot and its historical and ficticious mix characters.Mostly,the music is intricate just like the libreto,heavly orchestrated and singers have a really hard job to do,especially the tenor(Menelaus).Of course,if one expect an immaculate singing of this part,this listener must go to a studio recording because Menelaus must sing a couple of hours with very little breaks.This live "Helena" has an youth,brave Carl Tunner singing the deceived husband and his performance is a very respectable one.He was strength enough to his seductive partner,Deborah Voigt.If you don't know what is a truly straussian soprano voice,just hear Voigt's radiant and flexible tones.About those singers,I think all of they increase energy and brightness to this recording.I like a lot Christopher Robertson(Altair),a baritone I never heard before.But,this cd-set brings out a serious problem;a conductor that doesn't have affinities with music he's performing.Prologue and Act One(the singers,as well)suffer due to reticent,cowardly Botstein's conducting and I remember that moment when Helena says to her suitor,Da-ud;"-Boy,take care around the fire,or you'll melt like wax!".In my opinion,in despite of all that gorgeous singing,fine digital sound,fire was fairly I miss here.However,this set is an indispensable one to Strauss' opera lovers.

Fine live performance of Strauss' unfairly neglected opera.......2004-07-09

Since I never heard any other recordings of this opera before, I came to it unprejudiced, with a fresh mind
and ear. I was skeptical at first, the opera being rarely performed, if at all, and generally referred to as the composer's least successful work. Be it as it may, I found the score ravishingly beautiful, owing somewhat to that other mythological opera, Ariadne auf Naxos, and just as gorgeous, but without its commedia dell'arte silliness.
Here we have a stunning new recording, a live concert performance from New York's Avery Fischer Hall and there is an electricity and excitement about it that cannot usually be found in studio recordings. An all American cast of young singers, all in fine voices, adds enthusiasm to the proceedings and Deborah Voigt, perhaps today's greatest of Strauss sopranos , is finest in the performance , but the other singers
are also very satisfactory.The American Symphony Orchestra, founded by Leopold Stokowski, now led by Leon Botstein, plays very well indeed, creating many magical orchestral effects, colours and sonorities and coping well with the enormously rich,intricate score. The finales to acts one and two were superbly done and sent shivers up my spine. I am sure the audience felt the same way and went home satisfied and spiritually enriched.
Perhaps it is unfortunate that none of the singers are German and therefore the pronunciation suffers and the words tend to be blurred out.
TELARC here created a perfectly well balanced , natural and very dynamic sound , bringing out Strauss' magnificent orchestration. It will please the most critical listener and will leave all previous recordings behind as far as sound is concerned.
This may not be the finest recording of this opera, but let's face it, this is the 21st century and Solti, Keilberth and Krips are dead and so is Leonie Rysanek (fortunately their recordings are still available). One is free to choose of course, but I recommend this recording very highly . It comes in a handsome box-set , a full trilingual libretto and an exhaustive essay by Botstein, who is also a fine Strauss scholar.

Not impressive at all.......2004-06-14

This opera stands or falls with the soprano singing the title role, and I'm afraid Debbie Voigt isn't a good exponent of the part. Her voice sounds thin at the very top, and she sings without much feeling. One wonders how such a dull Helen can kick up all that fuss!

Good Voigt.......2004-04-23

In the interest of full disclosure I must state I have been a fan of Deborah Voigt ever since I first heard her in a semi-staged production of Verdi's "Un Ballo" in Palm Springs, CA. That must be close to twenty years ago. She was impossibly young and impossibly talented.

Vocally, she has seldom failed to impress ever since.

This recording is no exception, with one or two small caveats: Ms. Voigt is about voice, voice and more voice. A friend of mine used to refer, in awe, to Dame Joan Sutherland as producing "piles of sound". Much the same can be said of Voigt. She produces piles of sound that can simply leave one speechless. It can be a thrilling experience.

However, it can also be said she does not necessarily base her art on an exceptional ability to interpret her roles dramatically. That simply is not what she is all about.

Because of that, and because of what I find to be somewhat unconvincing conducting, I would say this recording is awfully good, but perhaps not great.

I wouldn't be without it, because I find those "piles of sound" impossible to resist.

However, I would strongly suggest one also give a listen to the contemporaneous recording by Korsten. He seems to have a better take on what Strauss is up to here and his soloists are pretty exciting stuff as well.

Customer Reviews:

WHAT?!!.......2007-06-03

Re. Mark Farrington's review:
What? Anrea Bocelli as Menelaus?? God forbid!

The Voice That SHOULD Have Launched HELENA.......2004-10-19

First off, if you're one of those timid souls
who shies away from "certain works by certain composers" because
"received opinion" frowns upon them,
then don't even bother with this...

But if you can muster a little exploratory courage, it will go amply rewarded, in the case of this Opera D'Oro release: the legendary 1956 Munich production of DIE AEGYPTISCHE HELENA, with Joseph Keilberth's masterly conducting and Leonie Rysanek's prime-period, creamy Helena...

DIE AEGYPTISCHE HELENA deals with the marriage of Helen & Menelaus...After the Trojan War, which was motivated by Helen's beauty and infidelity, HOW were she & Menelaus reconciled? This opera is often dismissed as something which went against the grain of Strauss's temperament, imposed on him by his librettist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal...Don't you believe it. With Strauss's operatic fixation on the issues of betrothal and marriage, his deep love for classical antiquity, his penchant for sensuous, self-possessed soprano roles, and with Helen being "the most beautiful woman in the world,"
it would have been odd if Strauss hadn't tackled this subject SOMETIME in his life.

The music of HELENA (composed from 1923 to '27) is a return to, and in some ways an advance on, the intoxicating nocturnal ambience of the Bacchus-Ariadne scene in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS. And Helena is a more human, more sensual Ariadne- albeit with Aethra (the paramour of the sea-god Poseidon) helping her at every turn. And right away, one notices that THIS role (Helena) is different, even rarified: the other characters carry almost all of the "exposition" and "recitative," leaving Helena's lines to levitate and glow in the dark, whenever she opens her mouth. (Compare this with Strauss & HvH's next and final heroine, Arabella: in her very first entrance, she courteously dismisses a hotel chambermaid.) Of course, this will only "come off" if "Helena" is a Straussian soprano of the caliber of Maria Jeritza (for whom the role was composed) or her heiress apparent, Leonie Rysanek- which may explain why HELENA never really became "repetoire." The highest praise I can bestow upon Leonie Rysanek is that, in this extraordinary role, she does not disappoint. Bernd Adlenhoff's sometimes woolly tone actually enhances the befuddled, then passionate nature of Menelaus - better than the more BEL CANTO voices of Fritz Wunderlich or Wolfgang Windgassen might have done.

But the really intruiging, the really "modern" thing about this work is how Helena, the "admired much and much reproved" cause of so much trouble, risks her life by submitting to the truth, but WILL NOT apologize for her presence and sensuality...In other words, she's no Leonora...Her tormented husband, Menelaus, must take her or leave her, as is...Wisely, he takes her, and they ride off to become King & Queen of Sparta.

Blessings upon Bavarian Radio for preserving this, possibly the only major production of HELENA during the post-war Golden Age of Straussian singing and conducting: at that time, this work was NEVER going to get recorded otherwise. This performance WAS available on Orfeo, in somewhat muffled sound and at over three times the price. Careful sampling of both sets reveals that this Opera d'Oro ain't no "tweeked-up" pirate; they MUST have got hold of a better tape source. AND it's transferred beautifully enough to behold the inner gleamings and colors of the orchestra, and the divine gift of Leonie Rysanek's voice and presence (less than one year after she recorded the Empress in the 1955 Bohm FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN, another once-in-a-lifetime performance).

And in spite of several recent HELENA sets, the 1956 Munich may be the closest we will ever get to the true aura of this work. That is, unless my college classmate Renee Fleming (Bonjour, Renee ! ) could be persuaded to do it. There is some hope, in that she HAS agreed to sing DAPHNE (which should give Straussians and ALL lovers of music an extra reason to LIVE). A present-day, dream-HELENA would have Renee's Helen, Andrea Bocelli's Menelaus, and Sir Andre Previn conducting, say, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra. (No doubt it's all contractually impossible, but I can dream, can't I?)

Still, for once, the multitudinous vagaries and twisted ins-and-outs of the classical recording industry have worked to the consumer's advantage. That is to say, BUY this one !

Rysanek in Spectacular Voice.......2003-04-21

This label has done it again: issued a recording available on another label at premium price in MUCH better sound. For those who love Rysanek and Strauss, this is heaven. The conducting and other singers are excellent. This is a recording to be treasured.

Average customer rating:

Average performance
Mixed Bag
Great Voice
Great Voice
Welcome back, Alessandra!

Opera Gala

Manufacturer: Delos Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

American Diva: Verdi, Puccini

ASIN: B00004TKHD
Release Date: 2000-05-30

Customer Reviews:

Average performance.......2003-11-08

This disc contains three orchestral tracks, six aria tracks, and one choral track. It was recorded during three days of concerts in Dallas in September 1998. The recorded sound is clear and spacious.

The Dallas Symphony plays the three orchestral tracks well, but they do nothing spectacular with the music. Puccini's early work, Preludio Sinfonico, is quite beautiful and is worth a listen. The contribution from the Dallas Symphony Chorus in the "Guerra, guerra" chorus from "Norma" and in "In questa reggia" from "Turandot" is excellent. Their enunciation of the text is exemplary. However, they could have been better in "Casta diva".

The featured soloist is soprano Alessandra Marc. She has a huge, darkly-hued voice that can be easily heard over the orchestra. I, however, find the timbre of her voice to be heavy and matronly. Her rapid vibrato, magnified by her voice's large size, is quite annoying. Her diction is not ideally clear. Her consonants need to be crisper. Her voice has the right color for singing "Casta diva", but her breath control needs more work. It was quite disconcerting to hear such a heavy voice negotiating the delicate bel canto lines of this aria. She smudges the chromatic scales in the aria. Her small contribution to the "Guerra, guerra" chorus is not sufficiently angry. She is completely out of her element in Anna Bolena's Mad Scene. Her voice is far too heavy for Anna Bolena. In the Mad Scene recitative and aria, her dramatic commitment is non-existent. In "Al dolce guidami", she manages several respectable trills, but the final series of ascending trills is beyond her technically. The requisite nostalgia in this aria is just not there. In Helena's great aria, Marc sings well and enunciates the German competently, but her consonants need work. She is a native speaker of the language, English being her second language. In "Give me my robe", she is quite fine. She completely identifies with Cleopatra's character and she sings the high notes very securely. Her English is intermittently intelligible. Her rendition of "Vissi d'arte" starts with a scooping of pitch and is uneven in quality, but nothing goes terribly wrong. "In questa reggia" is given a powerful account, but she and the conductor are not always together.

This disc is definitely not a failure, but Ms. Marc could have been better.

Mixed Bag.......2003-03-10

I agree with the other reviewers: What a Barber! What a Turandot! A glorious sumptuous enormous voice and one of the great Elktras of our day. I have to disagree with the other reviewers on some points: The slow introductions of both the Norma and the Anna Bolena arias are indedd beautiful, but she completely fudges her way through the passagework towards the end of both arias.

It is not an issue of my not liking the style, or some concept of Bel Canto that is a matter of opinion as with Fleming's recent disc, it's simply a matter of not singing the correct notes. She is a great singer and a great artist. So why then perform repertoire that is not really suited to her? This album would have been better with some Wagner, more Strauss, or some more American opera.

As for the Chorus in the Norma excerpts: they perform the dotted rhtythms in "Casta Diva" as if it were a strict march and it all sounds terribly unnatural asif they had been dilled to death by an overzealous chorusmaster.

To sum up: 3 or 4 fantastic tracks, 2 or 3 that are in my opinion an insult to the audience, and some well-played overtures to fil it out, if you like listening to overtures

Great Voice.......2000-10-26

I am prejudiced, let me say. I think Alessandra Marc has one of the most gorgeous voices I have ever heard. Some don't enjoy her mannerisms. I'm afraid I do. She does not appear on every selection, and there are the occasional disappointments (the breaths she must take in the climax of Helena's Awakening Scene, for example). The Barber is spine-tingling. Makes me want to hear her do Andromache's Farewell! If her style doesn't appeal, fine. She gives me more pleasure than any opera singer since my beloved Leonie Rysanek. A big, sumptuous voice! It would rate five stars except for the fact that the orchestra/choal episodes are fine, not great. And Marc is not totally comfortable in all the repertoire.

Great Voice.......2000-10-26

Welcome back, Alessandra!.......2000-08-07

After hearing Ms. Marc two years ago in Turandot in Turin, Italy and after having heard this CD, I cannot wait to hear her once again at this Met in this season's Turandot. What a fantastic voice. The Strauss alone is reason enough to buy this CD. She has it all: power, beauty of tone and truly thoughtful singing. Why do we even bother with the laziness of Eaglen when we have a dramatic soprano like this around?

Strauss - Die ägyptische Helena / G. Jones, J. Thomas, Gruberova, Glossop, Schreier, Wiener Staatsoper, Krips

Average customer rating:

In reference to the spotlight review above
Stunning performance by Gwyneth Jones
Fantastic, but flawed
Impressive live performance
Too generous to miss: don't skip, buy !

Strauss - Die ägyptische Helena / G. Jones, J. Thomas, Gruberova, Glossop, Schreier, Wiener Staatsoper, Krips
Richard Strauss , Wiener Staatsoper , Josef Krips , Gwyneth Jones , Edita Gruberova , Peter Glossop , Mimi Coertse , Peter Schreier , and Jess Thomas
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

R. Strauss: Die Ägyptische Helena
Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs
Handel - Giulio Cesare / Jacobs
Curtains (2007 Original Broadway Cast)
Spring Awakening (2006 Original Broadway Cast)

ASIN: B00002ZZ5F
Release Date: 2000-01-25

Tracks:

Einleitung: 'Das Mahl Ist Gerichtet' - Mimi Coertse
'Ist Es Wirklich Helena?' - Mimi Coertse
'Wo Bin Ich' - Gwyneth Jones
'Ihr Grunen Augen' - Mimi Coertse
'Wer Bist Du? - Wem Ist Dies Haus?' - Mimi Coertse
'Ai!' - 'Im Weissen Gewand' - Mimi Coertse
'Zerspalten Das Herz' - Jess Thomas
'Menelas, Gedenkst Du Des Tages' - Mimi Coertse
'O Engel' - Mimi Coertse

Tracks:

'Zweite Brautnacht!' - Gwyneth Jones
'Wo Ist Das Haus?' - Gwyneth Jones
'Aus Flirrender Stille' - Peter Schreier
'So Schon Bedient, Du Reizende Nymphe' - Gwyneth Jones
'Aithra! Liebe Herrliche!' - Mimi Coertse
'Wer Kommt?' - 'Der Begnadete Vogelsteller' - Gwyneth Jones
'Mein Geliebter! Menelas!' - Gwyneth Jones
'Weib, Tritt Hinweg' - Mimi Coertse
Tot-Lebendige! Lebendige-Tote!' - Mimi Coertse

Amazon.com

This double-CD set is part of a series of remastered historical recordings called "Wiener Staatsoper Live." Richard Strauss's inexplicably neglected Egyptian Helen had not been seen at the Staatsoper for 36 years by the time this production was mounted to great acclaim in 1969. The director assembled a dream team--Gwyneth Jones in glorious, full-throated powerhouse mode, Jess Thomas giving new meaning to the word heroic as the heroic tenor, a young light-voiced Edita Gruberova in fine form in the supporting role of Hermione, and Peter Schreier as silvery and shining as ever. This is an archive recording, so there are authentic coughs and squeaks, and an unevenness of depth to the proceedings--but on the plus side, there's also a fantastic sense of the atmosphere and tension of a real-life performance. For those who don't know the work, listening to this recording will be a revelation: more concise than Der Rosenkavalier, it is its equal in richness of melody and orchestration. In a word: sumptuous. --Warwick Thompson

Customer Reviews:

In reference to the spotlight review above.......2006-06-08

This opera is something else--I'd hesitate to compare it to Rosenkavalier since it doesn't quite project itself as the blazing masterpiece that particular, um, blazing masterpiece happens to be, but it's certainly neglected for no sensible reason. Rosenkavalier, even for Strauss, is in a special gold-gilt snuff box all by its lonesome.

Not a super strong recommendation for many since it's live and you can hear dehydrated Austrians coughing and the infrequent chorus girl in Tyrolean boots clomping around, but the engineering on this one is very good (1970--they knew what they were doing then) and the singing across the board is really enjoyable. Other reviewers point out the excitement inherent in a good live recording and they're right to. Krips swings through this music well; he's always a surprise.

For those who've got a head start on all the usual stellar Strauss opera recordings (Nilsson Elektra, Von Karajan Rosenkavalier--you know, the best-of list) this is a great place to start expanding your Straussian horizons.

About that antique review hanging there over my head: giving a very commendable opera recording one-star and suggesting looking elsewhere simply because the libretto isn't included is just plain--I'm at a loss for a printable word--OK, peevish?--and it was a miserable con-sarn insult to the many talents who contributed to this recording and had no involvement whatsoever with RCA's decision--like it or not--to leave the libretto out three decades later. There's also not much else to choose from and the modern Telarc recording is very good but not dazzling. Anyway, that's one "spotlight" with a burned-out bulb. Who at Amazon decides to stick these things in the front window?

Stunning performance by Gwyneth Jones.......2003-07-31

While this live recording has its flaws, it preserves a stunning performance by Gwyneth Jones. Yes, there is some excess vibrato in the voice, and occasionally there're minor pitch problems. Yet, to hear such a grand voice sailing and soaring through Strauss's rich orchestration with imperious might is a unique experience that other singers can't provide. Thomas's Menalaus is suitably heroic and the other roles are well-filled. Krips conducts with a sure hand. Although the recording is made in live conditions more than 30 years ago, the sound is quite good. I found this recording very enjoyable.

Fantastic, but flawed.......2002-10-30

As one of the few recordings of Strauss' Egyptian Helen available, this set has a lot going to recommend it. This is an opera which lives or dies both by the conductor and the main singers. Krips' conducting is both clean and impassioned, the ideal mix for Strauss; he manages to keep the incredibly thick orchestral texture balanced, while creating a shimmery and full sound. Gwyneth Jones is in truly superb form as Helen. She is convincing vocally as the most beautiful woman in the world, and is only slightly squally and off-pitch, faults which do admittedly plague many of her other recordings. But really, when she takes the ending note of 'Zwiete Brautnacht' up an octave to end on a high B, a lot of vocal faults can be forgiven. Jess Thomas is also excellent in a truly brutal role. He has the ease on the top end which any Menelas must have to functionally sing the role. The other roles, especially Aithra, are handled well, and there's even a very short cameo by Gruberova.

Why the downgrade for flaws, then? Knowing both versions of the opera (the original 1928, and the 1933 revision), I find the 1928 version (which is the edition published in the Complete Stage Works, and available in a live recording, conducted by Korsten--it's available on Amazon) rather superior to the revision. Particularly jarring is the ending of this recording, which sounds tacked together--and it should, because the fantastic ending duet for Menelas and Helen is inexplicably cut. The lack of a libretto is a handicap as well, as Strauss wrote his music very much in tune with the words, and the focus of this opera is on a psychological plot. It loses a lot without an understanding of exactly what the characters are thinking and worrying about.

In summary, for sound and singing, this is a fantastic recording. But for anyone seriously interested in the opera, I recommend the complete recording on Dynamic, conducted by Korsten; get to know it, with the libretto, and then come to this recording to hear the music in its full splendor.

Impressive live performance.......2001-12-06

The music of this rather obscure opera is extremely difficult (though beautiful). It's a wonder therefore that it is performed to such a high standard in a live performance. Gwyneth Jones is almost perfect as Helen. Her voice is gorgeous. Although there is some unsteadiness, few sopranos both past and present can match the power and gleaming tone of her voice. The other singers are also very good and the orchestral sounds are most alluring.

Too generous to miss: don't skip, buy !.......2001-10-15

On reading the headline "too incomplete to satisfy" below, I expected to find an indictment, by a Strauss specialist, of the choice of the "compact" score for this Viennese performance of Helena in 1970. The reviewer seems, instead, to be a Hofmannstahl fan and condemns the lack of a libretto.

Skimpy packaging is the only ungenerous thing about this set. I would agree with Vincent Lau from Hongkong that this is a very welcome addition to the Strauss opera catalogue, and have nothing to add to his full and fair review of the performance. I had the good fortune to hear Gwyneth Jones in one of her last accounts of Elektra at the Bastille in Paris, and well remember her opening "Agamemnon" - for the first time in my experience, that vast auditorium was filled with thrilling vocal sound. The same seems to have been true in Vienna - you can hear the voice quite clearly resonating round the house at the end of Zweite Brautnacht, and can imagine the effect her opening lines in Act One had on the Viennese audience: she either silenced their coughing (this was December) or at any rate drowned it out.

Some listeners may have trouble, as Mr Lau suggests, with Dame Gwyneth's ample vibrato and her inimitable (well, it would be best not to imitate it) way of swooping up to notes from a semitone below. As a friend of mine put it, "you may not be able to tell exactly what note you're hearing, but what a generous voice." (So generous, you might say, that you get a choice of notes for the price of one.) Some may also find her tempi slow (compared, say, to Rose Pauly in 1928, the year of the premiere, once available as a filler on Melodram). But what a performance, what an exciting evening it must have been.

Whether or not most of us need the libretto is an open question. This is one of Hofmannstahl's farthest-fetched efforts. Those who already know Die Frau ohne Schatten might comment "From the man who brought you flying, frying fish and a chorus of unborn children... now, the omniscient mussel," for indeed an all-knowing mussel figures in the cast of Helena. We may or may not want to hang on its lips. The synopsis might be enough.

Tracks:

Aida: Act I: Ritorna vincitor!
Aida: Act I: E l'amor mio?
Aida: Act I: I sacri nomi di padre, d'amante
Aida: Act III: Qui Radames verra!
Aida: Act III: O patria mia
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: (Prelude)
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: Ecco l'orrido campo
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: Ma dall'arido stelo divulsa
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act III: A tal colpa e nulla il pianto
Un Ballo in Maschera: Act III: Morro, ma prima in grazia
Il Trovatore: Act I: Che piu t'arresti?
Il Trovatore: Act I: Tacea la notte placida
Il Trovatore: Act I: Di tale amor che dirsi
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Siam giunti
Il Trovatore: Act IV: D'amor sull'ali rosee
Ernani: Act I: Surta e la notte
Ernani: Act I: Ernani! Ernani, involami
Ernani: Act I: Tutto sprezzo che d'Ernani
La forza del destino: Act II: Son giunta! Grazie, o Dio!
La forza del destino: Act II: Madre, madre, pietosa Vergine
La forza del destino: Act II: La Vergine degli angeli
La forza del destino: Act IV: Pace, pace, mio Dio

Tracks:

Cosi fan tutte: Act I: Come scoglio immoto resta
Madama Butterfly: Act II: Piangi? Perche?; Un bel di vedremo
Madama Butterfly: Act III: Tu? tu? piccolo Iddio!
TOSCA: Act II: Vissi d'arte
Manon Lescaut: Act II: In quelle trine morbide
Manon Lescaut: Act IV: Sola, perduta, abbandonata
Dialogues des Carmelites: Act III: Mes filles, voila que s'acheve
Don Giovanni: Act I: Don Ottavio, son morta!
Don Giovanni: Act I: Or sai chi l'onore
Don Giovanni: Act II: Crudele? Ah, no, mio bene!
Don Giovanni: Act II: Non mi dir
Turandot: Act I: Signore, ascolta!
Turandot: Act III: Tu che di gel sei cinta
Ariadne auf Naxos: Es gibt ein Reich
Antony And Cleopatra: Act III: Give me my robe

Tracks:

Otello: Era piu calmo?
Otello: Mia madre aveva una povera ancella (Willow Song)
Otello: Ave Maria
Fidelio: Act I: Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?
Suor Angelica: Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morto!
Carmen: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera)
La Traviata: Act I: E strano, e strano !
La Traviata: Act I: Ah, fors' e lui
La Traviata: Act I: Sempre libera
Le nozze di Figaro: Act III: E Susanna non vien!
Le nozze di Figaro: Act III: Dove sono
Die Agyptische Helena: Act II: Awakening Scene
La rondine: Ore dolci e divine
Salome: Finale

Tracks:

Eugene Onegin: Act II: Puskai pogibnu ya
Eugene Onegin: Act II: Ya k vam pishu
Eugene Onegin: Act II: Net, nikomu na svete
Eugene Onegin: Act II: No tak i byt'!
La rondine: Act I: Chi il bel sogno di Doretta
VANESSA: Act I: He Has Come, He Has Come!
VANESSA: Act I: Do Not Utter A Word
Carmen: Act I: Pres des remparts de Seville (Seguidilla)
Manon: Act II: Allons! il le faut!
Manon: Act II: Adieu, notre petite table
Macbeth: Act IV: Sleepwalking Scene: Vegliammo invan due notti
Macbeth: Act IV: Sleepwalking Scene: Una macchia e qui tuttora
La Boheme: Act IIII: Addio. Donde lieta usci (Mimi's Addio)
Die Frau ohne Schatten: Act II: Empress's Awakening Scene
Dido and Aeneas: Act III: Thy Hand, Belinda!
Dido and Aeneas: Act III: When I Am Laid In Earth
Don Carlo: Act V: Tu che le vanita conoscesti del mondo

Tracks:

Otello: Act I: Gia nella notte
Otello: Act I: Quando narravi
Otello: Act I: Venga la morte!
Cosi fan tutte: Act I: Ah, guarda, sorella
Madama Butterfly: Act I: Bimba, bimba, non piangere
Madama Butterfly: Act I: Bimba dagli occhi
Madama Butterfly: Act I: Vogliatemi bene
Requiem: Recordare
Porgy And Bess: Act II: Bess, You Is My Woman
Norma: Act III: Me chiami, o Norma
Norma: Act III: Mira, o Norma
Ernani: Act II: Tu, perfida!
Ernani: Act II: Ah, morir, potessi adesso
Cosi fan tutte: Act II: Sorella, cosa dici?
Cosi fan tutte: Act II: Prendero quel brunettino
Aida: Act IV: La fatal pietra sovra me si chiuse
Aida: Act IV: Presago il core della tua condanna
Aida: Act IV: Vedi? Di morte l'angelo
Aida: Act IV: O terra, addio

Tracks:

Un Ballo in Maschera: Act II: Teco io sto!
Aida: Act III: Ciel! mio padre!
Aida: Act III: Rivedrai le forest imbalsamate
Aida: Act III: In armi ora si desta il popol nostro
Aida: Act III: Padre! a costoro schiava non sono
Requiem: Angus Dei
Manon Lescaut: Act I: Oh, saro la piu bella!; Tu, tu, amore?
Cosi fan tutte: Act I: Soave sia il vento
Porgy And Bess: Act II: I Loves You, Porgy
Aida: Act II: Silenzio! Aida verso noi s'avanza
Aida: Act II: Fu la sorte dell'armi
Aida: Act II: Pieta ti prenda del mio dolor
Aida: Act II: Alla prompa che s'appresta
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Udiste?
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Mira, di acerbe lagrime
Il Trovatore: Act IV: Vivra! Contende il giubilo
Madama Butterfly: Act II: Scuoti quella fronda di ciliegio (Flower Duet)
Carmen: Act IV: C'est toi! - C'est moi!
Carmen: Act IV: Ou vas-tu? - Laisse-moi!

Tracks:

Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Villanelle
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Le spectre de la rose
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Sur les lagunes
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Absence
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: Au cimetiere (Clair de lune)
Les nuits d'ete, Op.7: L'ile inconnue
Four Last Songs: Fruhling
Four Last Songs: September
Four Last Songs: Beim Schlafengehen
Four Last Songs: Im Abendrot
Clair de lune, Op.46, No.2: Clair de lune
Notre amour, Op.23, No.2: Notre amour
Au cimetiere, Op.51, No.2: Au cimetiere
Au bord de l'eau, Op.8, No.1: Au bord de l'eau
No.1, Cinq melodies de Venise, Op.58: Mandoline
Main dominee par le coeur
Miroirs brulants No.2: Je nommerai ton front
Miroirs brulants No.1: Tu vois le feu du soir
Ce doux petit visage

Tracks:

Knoxville: Summer Of 1915, Op.24: Knoxville: Summer Of 1915
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Seit ich ihn gesehen
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Er, der Herrlichste von allen
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Ich kann's nicht fassen
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Du Ring an meinem Finger
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Helft mir, ihr Schwestern
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Susser Freund, du blickest
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust
Frauenliebe und -leben, op.42: Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan
Widmung (No.1, Myrthen, Op.25): Widmung
Mignon (No.28, Liederalbum fur die Jugend, Op.79): Mignon
Volksliedchen, Op.51, No.2: Volksliedchen
Schone Wiege meiner Leiden (No.5, Liederkreis, Op.24): Schone Wiege meiner Leiden
Er ist's (No.23, Liederalbum fur die Jugend, Op.79): Er ist's
Heiss mich nicht reden (No.5, Lieder und Gesand aus Wilhelm Meister)
Lust der Sturmnacht, Op.35, No.1: Lust der Sturmnacht
Allerseelen, Op.10, No.8: Allerseelen
Schlagende Herzen
Freundliche Vision, Op.48, No.1: Freundliche Vision
Wie sollten wir geheim, Op.19, No.4: Wie sollten wir geheim
Der Gartner (Morike-Lieder No.17)
Lebe wohl (Morike-Lieder No.36)
Morgentau (From An Old Songbook)
Geh, Geliebter, geh jetzt (Spanisches Liederbuch No.34)

Tracks:

Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees - Various Artists
His Name So Sweet - Various Artists
'Roun' About De Mountain - Various Artists
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - Various Artists
Sit Down, Servant - Various Artists
Were You There - Various Artists
He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Various Artists
Deep River - Various Artists
Honor! Honor! - Various Artists
My Soul's Been Anchored In De Lord - Various Artists
On Ma Journey - Various Artists
A City Called Heaven - Various Artists
Ride On, King Jesus - Various Artists
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free - Various Artists
Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass - Various Artists
Sweet Little Jesus Boy - Various Artists
There Is A Balm In Gilead - Various Artists
Let Us Cheer The Weary Traveler - Various Artists
Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit - Various Artists
My Way Is Cloudy - Various Artists
Nobody Knows The Touble I've Seen - Various Artists
I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray - Various Artists

Tracks:

Holy, Holy, Holy
Lead, Kindly Light
Blessed Assurance
Ave Maria
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Amazing Grace
The Lord's Prayer
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour
The Church's One Foundation
Bless This House
I Need Thee Every Hour
Fairest Lord Jesus
I Wonder As I Wander
Ave Maria
Porgy And Bess: Summertime
America The Beautiful
Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Battle Hymn Of The Republic

Tracks:

Chants tziganes, Op. 103: He Zigeuner
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Hochgeturmte Rimaflut
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Wisst ihr, wann mein Kindchen
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Lieber Gott, du weisst
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Brauner Bursche
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Roselein dreie in der Reihe
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Kommt dir manchmal in den Sinn
Chants tziganes, Op. 103: Rote Abendwolken
Adriana Lecouvreur: Act I: Io son l'umile ancella
This Little Light O'Mine
Interview With Leontyne Price By John Pfeiffer

Amazon.com

This 11-CD set, one might say jokingly, contains all the music ever written for the soprano voice and a bit for mezzo as well. And indeed, it's a staggering collection: In addition to her great Verdi heroines (the two Leonoras, Aida, Amelia, and Elvira in Ernani), Price is heard in her Puccini roles--Manon Lescaut, Butterfly, Tosca--and at least two dozen other roles, most of which she never sang on stage. Here are her heroic, secure Leonore in Fidelio, Strauss's high-flying Egyptian Helen, Purcell's Dido, Barber's Cleopatra, Bellini's Norma, Ariadne, Verdi's Violetta and Desdemona, Bizet's Carmen, Mozart's Countess, and Fiordiligi. Some are, naturally, more successful than others; almost none are embarrassing (Carmen comes close). In addition, she sings songs by Schubert, Schumann, and Strauss--none of them as well as say, Janet Baker or Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Barber's Knoxville, etc.--quite beautifully. Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été is not very good, but a group of spirituals is. In all, however, this is an amazing display by one of the century's greatest sopranos. There may be no new depths plumbed here, but the singing is a knockout. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

A Long Time Coming..........2006-03-30

This compilation of Ms. Price's career is almost as complete as anything I've ever come across!!
An American Icon....I will forever be a loyal fan and admirer!!

Her Best Album.......2006-01-01

Along with the equally extensive "Prima Donna Collection" this is Leontyne Price's best album. Anyone who wants to become familiarized with her vocal technique and her art on record should own this album. It features her best work ever recorded. A lot of these arias and their respective soprano roles were not roles she sang on stage. Leontyne Price was not only a consummate artist, but a cautious one. The reason these arias, Lieder, Gospel and spirituals sound so beautiful and technically brilliant is because Leontyne was smart enough to sing them infrequently and in concert form. She did not take on new roles other than her repetitive Aidas, Leonoras, Butterfly, Toscas and Madame Lidoins, etc, because she was afraid of ruining her glorious voice too soon as many of her contemporary sopranos. Like soprano Zinka Milanov, Leontyne Price preserved the freshness and vitality of her voice through "operatic abstinence". Thus, the Norma, Salome, Manon, Lady Macbeth and even Traviata we hear on this album are well-rendered because she did NOT sing them on stage. She would have worn out her beautiful voice if she sung so many roles.

This collection is overwhelming. Leontyne Price proves herself to be a masterful artist of diverse repertoire. Pity she didn't really sing these on stage because she would have put Maria Callas and all the reigning divas before and after her to shame. Listen to her remarkable, unsurpassed Mozart repertoire. This she did sing in opera houses, probably because Mozart does not require a true lyrico-spinto heavyness and smaller opera houses can accomodate Mozartian voices that do not often rise above the staff/orchestra. She sang exquisite Fiordiligis at the Met. The arias from Cosi Fan Tutte here - Soave sia il vento, O Guarda Sorelle and the fiendishly difficult vocal showcase "Come Scoglio" with its vertiginious scales are all fine samples of Miss Price's artistry. She sang Susanna and Donna Anna with beauty and bravura. The Salome excerpt is quite thrilling. She would have made a terrific Salome but the role is quite difficult and it would have surely killed her voice. Leontyne Price was the number one Verdi soprano. Every opera cognoscente will tell you that. When you hear the excerpts from Verdi operas here - Lady Macbeth's Sleepwalking Scene, Aida's arias, Leonora's arias from Trovatore and Leonora's arias from Forza Del Destino, particularly La Virgine Del Angeli and the ravishing Pace Pace Mio Dio- are the best renditions of Verdi soprano singing. Anyone who wants to study how to sing in the letter-to-letter Verdi lyrico spinto style should hear these arias. A voice like Leontyne cannot be easily imitated. Maria Callas's own voice can be imitated as Romanian diva Angela Gheorghiu has proven. Leontyne was in a class of her own, a voice that is both dramatic and beautiful to hear. However, most people find fault in her lack of dramatic interpretation. I say they're not hearing hard enough. Yes, there is excessive beauty in her singing but she understood that the opera heroines should sound beautiful because they are beautiful and though I never saw her on stage, from the recordings I hear she sounds dramatic and character-driven enough for me to be satisfied. For a devoted fan of Leontyne Price, this album is the Holy Grail. She sings the most beautiful Norma, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Aida, Violetta, Madame Lidoin, Suor Angelica, Susanna, Dona Ana, Gilda, Fiordiligi, Desdemona and countless other heroines. The last cd is a collection of Gospel, spirituals and patriotic songs. These "American", non-opera selections find her in beautiful voice and she is actually paying tribute to her roots. She was not only African-American, but a Southerner from Mississippi. Her voice must have been heavenly to hear in Church! This is the album that made me love Leontyne.

Price At Her Peak.......2005-05-02

Originally a Gospel singer, Leontyne Price rose to the heights of operatic superstardom in the 60's and 70's. She enjoyed the same success Maria Callas did in the 50's. Although Callas will forever be most people's idea of the greatest soprano of the 20th century, Leontyne Price was not a force to be reckoned with. In my opinion, and this is just me, she outshone Callas and was the greater singer as far as techinicality and musicianship. Leontyne Price's best work is recorded in this album. It is her best album, together with the Prima Donna Collection. The price is expensive but it's worth every penny. Prepare to be riveted and blown away by the dynamic strength and passion of her voice as it blasts through yours stereo. While many often point out that Leontyne Price was not much of an actress, from a purely operatic/vocal level, her voice was faultless and virtuosic, powerful, passionate, beautiful, lyrical, soulful. Never have I heard a soprano so richly endowed with strong chest register- she could sing the low octaves that are found in the roles of mezzo-soprano voices or contralto voices. But she was a dramatic soprano and that's dramatic with a capital D- all the high C's were there, perfectly in place, and she was a thrilling singer when reaching for the stratosphere with her voice.

This album contains arias from operas that I didn't even know she performed- La Traviata (yes, Leontyne Price as Violetta is a moving and powerful interpretation, executed with sublime beauty. She finds herself the equal to Callas in the role- for Callas had a big voice for a role that calls for the "dying" effect. Thus, Price, like Callas, could sing roles that call for beauty and not just dramatic vigor. It's unfortunate that unlike the stars that were rising in her time- Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills and Montserrat Caballe- Price never mastered the bel canto repertoire - Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini (although she sang a sensational Norma, excerpts are found in this recording). But her strongest suit was Verdi. She had the voice Verdi was looking for in a soprano- rich, dramatic, beautiful, able to fill up the lines with smoky and velvety hues and a gleaming high top. Check out her Amelia in Un Ballo In Maschera, her Leonora in Trovatore, her Leonora in La Forza Del Destino. Of course, her greatest role, her signature role, and one which she connected with on a personal/ancestral level was that of Aida. The first selections in this recording are from that masterpiece. As Aida, she was at her best. It was easy for her somehow, when most other sopranos tackle the role with difficulty. She conveys grace, nobility, passion and spirituality in the role of the tragic Ethiopian princess.

Further roles she excelled in that are on this recording is Desdemona in Otello, which she sung opposite Placido Domingo. Their masterful voices blend together harmonically and gloriously in the Act 1 Love Duet. She's quite the ground-breaking artist. Most Violettas in Traviata or Desdemona in Otello are Caucasian lyric soprano (Desdemona was white, Otello was black, that was Shakespeare's intention) but in opera, race does not matter and Leontyne Price's voice made her a star in a time when it was incredibly difficult for a black woman to sing opera. From the start of the century, opera was always associated with white Europeans and later on Americans. But Leontyne Price followed the inspirational example of the gutsy contralto Marian Anderson, who suffered a lot of rejection in opera due to skin color in pre-Civil Rights Movement 30's, 40's and 50's. Finally in the late 50's, Anderson, after a lifetime of singing only in private concerts and recitals, debuted at the Met as Ulrica in Un Ballo. Leontyne Price immediately picked up where she left- singing all the soprano diva roles typically associated with white singers - especially Tosca. Her Tosca is second to her Aida. As Tosca, she encompasses the diva who dies for love in the most thrilling way.

Other than Tosca, Puccini heroines were just as magnificent vehicles for her voice. She sang Madame Butterfly to great acclaim. I dont know how she did it but she suddenly ceased to be herself and became the frail, naive, lovesick Japanese Geisha. Softness and fragility is also mixed with the maturity of a woman in love, with passion and dramatic vocal color. She sang La Rondine with equal success, though this role is more along the lines of Violetta/Traviata. She sang Suor Angelica, she sang in modern works such as Barber's Antony and Cleopatra- in that infamous Zefferelli production- she sang Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, she sang in Dialoge of the Carmelites. All these are on here, along with her Baroque specialties- Dido in Dido and Aeneas. Her Mozart voice is also the best I've heard, really, even with a more dramatic and beautiful charm than other singers I've heard. She sang the acrobatic role of Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte, both Dona Ana and Donva Elvira in Don Giovanni. I prefer her as Dona Ana, she is all fire, despair, intensity and repressed desire, but she sings a hysterical and lovesick Elvira with a passion as well. She even sang the Countess in Le Nozze Di Figaro. But the sky was the limit to Price. She even sang, in a Jessie Norman way, the Wagner role of Isolde. Her "Liebestod" is the greatest I've heard since Birgit Nilsson, with a passion that stemmed from her religious Gospel heart.
This is a great album and I recommend it to any fan of Price and any fan of opera in general. If you have never heard Price and want to start somewhere, start with this one. This one or the Prima Donna Collection.

of course world class.......2000-08-14

Price is amazing. I will have to also mention that Joan Sutherland in the 1960 is even more incredible, if that's possible. Check Dame Joan out, you will not be sorry. But Price is a D flawless diamond set by Cartier, in my opinion.

the greatest american soprano of the 20th century.......1999-12-12

This collection of arias, art songs, and spirituals is truly amazing for the sheer breadth and depth of this soprano's artistry. It is hard to imagine any Verdi soprano after Ms. Price who could offer us the smoky richness of her vocal color, and there are so many wonderful selections, many of them being roles she did not perform on stage. Among my personal favorites are her scene from Dialogues of the Carmelites, the Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin, and the drama of her Lady Macbeth. For those of us who heard Ms. Price over the years in opera and concert, this collection brings back wonderful memories...It is truly a must-have for any serious opera lover.