Ballads of Opera

On this CD:

1. Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera Un bel di vedremo
Composed by Giacomo Puccini
Performed by Montserrat Caballe

2. Rodelinda, regina de' Langobardi, opera, HWV 19 Ombre, piante
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Joan Sutherland

3. Don Giovanni, opera, K. 527 Crudele!... Non mi dir, bell'idol mio
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Leontyne Price

4. Macbeth, opera Vieni! T'affretta!
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Maria Callas

5. Il Pirata, opera Sorgete, e in me dover
Composed by Vincenzo Bellini
Performed by Montserrat Caballe

6. Ernani, opera Surta e la notte...Ernani, Ernani, involami
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Leontyne Price

7. Tristan und Isolde, opera, WWV 90 Liebestod
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Maria Callas

8. Rodelinda, regina de' Langobardi, opera, HWV 19 Ritorna o caro
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Joan Sutherland

9. Il Pirata, opera Lo sognai ferito
Composed by Vincenzo Bellini
Performed by Montserrat Caballe

10. Armida, opera D'amore al dolce impero
Composed by Gioachino Rossini
Performed by Maria Callas

11. Alcina, opera, HWV 34 Di cor mio, quanto t'amai
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Joan Sutherland

Tracks:

Overture
Summertime
I Wants To Stay Here
My Man's Gone Now
I Got Plenty O'Nuttin'
Buzzard Song
Bess, You Is My Woman Now
It Ain't Necessarily So
What You Want Wild Bess?
A Woman Is A Sometime Thing
Oh, Doctor Jesus
Medley: Here Come De Honey Man/Crab Man/Oh, Deh's So Fresh And Fine (Strawberry Woman)
There's A Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon For New York
Bess, Oh Where's My Bess
Oh Lawd, I'm On My Way

Amazon.com

Getting the two most personable voices in jazz to sing an hour's worth of George Gershwin's opera Porgy & Bess (Ella doing all the female parts, Satchmo all the male) was a good idea, but not quite as great as it sounded. Armstrong savors the down-and-dirty Charlestonisms that inspired the cadences of the music and lyrics, and they fit his happy rasp like an old shoe; Fitzgerald, conversely, sounds almost prissy every time she has to sing the word "ain't," though her melodic genius gets Gershwin's bold, supple tunes over. The arrangements are full-throttle Broadway, with a few leaps into Dixieland (including some fine Armstrong trumpet solos), but the disc works best when the vocalists break character and let their jazz side out. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely peerless.......2006-11-17

"Porgy and Bess" has just opened (with some controversy) in London's West End, though as a musical and not as an opera as it was originally conceived. Reviews have been promising and I aim to go down and see it soon. I decided to listen to this CD to put myself in the mood. I hadn't listened to it for years and I'd completely forgotten how good it actually is. Ella's voice blends with Louis' perfectly and Russell Garcia's orchestration gives them a dreamy landscape to perform against. I have one or two other CDs by Louis and Ella but this one is by far my favourite. The CD opens with "Overture" and its orchestral performance of classics like "Summertime", "I Wants To Stay Here", "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'" and "It Ain't Neccessarily So" set the tone nicely, leaving one ever so keen for the vocal versions. Louis Armstong has a very rough tone to his voice but the emotion he packs with it is moving, most especially on the mournful "Bess, Oh Where's My Bess?" And we get all this and Louis' wonderful trumpet playing too?

Gershwin and Gershwin must be among the top composers of the last century and this opera showcases their talents more than anything I've heard. Ella and Louis are peerless as a vocal duo and though I doubt the West End performance will capture the magic in the same way they did, I still remain very keen to go see it. Is it opera or is it a jazz performance? I don't really know. I just know that I love it. And strongly recommend it.

once-in-a-lifetime greatness.......2006-10-06

Two thousand five hundred musicians have recorded "Summertime" --- it's a classic. (I bet most Americans can name Janis Joplin and no other singer.) As for "Porgy and Bess," the folk opera from which "Summertime" springs, it's such a classic that it's hard to believe anyone ever had a harsh word to say about it.

But after its premiere in 1935, no less than Duke Ellington said, "It has grand music and a swell play, but the two didn't go together. It does not use the Negro musical idiom --- the times are here to debunk Gershwin's lampblack Negroisms."

A quarter of a century later, the producers of the film version had trouble assembling a cast. Harry Belafonte rejected their offer to play Porgy. Sidney Poitier took the part --- and wished he hadn't. Poitier later wrote that the movie insulted black people; when he chose clips of his best performances for his tribute at the American Film Institute, he picked nothing from "Porgy and Bess."

And in 1985, when Grace Bumbry was a sensation as Bess in a Metropolitan Opera production, she slammed the opera: "I thought it beneath me, I felt I had worked far too hard, that we had come far too far to have to retrogress to 1935."

All that may be. All I know is that I have, in a long life, rarely been confronted with more genius than in the Fitzgerald/Armstrong recording of "Porgy & Bess." Set aside the achievement of George and Ira Gershwin in transforming DuBose Heyward's novel into a folk opera. Let's just focus on Armstrong and Fitzgerald, who were at the peak of their popularity when this record was made in 1957.

"Summertime" --- the first song --- sets the tone. A baleful horn figure, then violins. And then Armstrong's trumpet: slow, steady, dignified. But wait --- here comes a slurred note. And a cool little improvisation. Just enough of each. Very tasty.

Fitzgerald sings a verse. She is cool and formal. A lady. Not to be taken lightly. Now it's Armstrong's turn. Tender, but let's not kid ourselves --- this is not singing as others define it. This is melodic speech: rough, gutteral. And thus he is ideally cast: His Porgy may have his charms, but he'll have to stretch to keep Bess.

And so it goes throughout the CD. Trumpet mastery --- Armstrong has dazzling control. His tone is bright, but never shrill; there's a warmth in his playing no one else could produce. And Fitzgerald is just a study in inevitability; to hear her is to wonder how anyone could sing these songs any other way.

"I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'." "Bess, You Is My Woman Now." "A Woman Is a Sometime Thing." "There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York." "Bess, Oh Where's My Bess?" "Oh Lawd, I'm on My Way."

All brilliantly conceived, orchestrated and recorded.

The greatest trumpet player in this history of jazz.

The father of scat singing.

The queen of the jazz vocal.

There are no-brainers, and then there is this Ella Fitzgerald-Louis Armstrong collaboration --- music that imprints on your soul.

We love this album.......2006-08-22

We hope they will someday bring this beautiful story back to the stage

Simply great.......2006-03-04

The fusion between the great two voices and the orchestra is just brilliant. Very good brass and violins that accompany Fitzeralds and Armstrongs magic voices leaves you with your mouth open.

A must have for everyone!

Porgy and Bess.......2005-10-14

Could not find this anyway locally. It is a great recording

Mario Lanza ~ Opera Arias & Duets, from Andréa Chenier · La Bohème · I Pagliacci · Madama Butterfly · Otello

Average customer rating:

Mario Lanza Opera
Outstanding
Unsurpassed!
BMG Needs to hire Folks in the Know
Mario Lanza WAS a trained opera singer

Mario Lanza ~ Opera Arias & Duets, from Andréa Chenier · La Bohème · I Pagliacci · Madama Butterfly · Otello

Manufacturer: RCA
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Mario Lanza: At His Best!
The MARIO LANZA Collection
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Mario Lanza Sings Songs From The Student Prince & The Desert Song / Romberg
Live at Hollywood Bowl: Historical Recordings (1947 & 1951)

ASIN: B00000JMH3
Release Date: 2001-10-08

Tracks:

Celeste Aida
Amor Ti Vieta
Di All'azzurro Spazio [From "Andrea Chenier]
O Soave Fanciulla
Fleur Que Tu M'Avais Jetee
O Paradiso
Tal Giocco/Vesti la Giubba
Stolta Paura l'Amor - Mario Lanza,
Donna E Mobile
Vesti la Giubba
M'Appari
Nessun Dorma
Testa Adorata
Come un Bel Di Maggio
Lamento Di Federico
Dio Ti Giocondi - Licia Albanese, Mario Lanza

Customer Reviews:

Mario Lanza Opera.......2007-05-12

This CD of mario is absolutely fabulous. It is the only recording I have managed to find of him singing Nessum Dorma. It is not to be missed. One of operas greatest.

Outstanding.......2006-11-06

Hey, this is Mario Lanza, it can't get any better. A great collection of the best Arias!

Unsurpassed!.......2005-12-13

I am sick and tired of all these technical reviews and critical remarks leveled against everything Mario Lanza did in his short life!

True, musically Mario made some mistakes....but so has every other great tenor in history....from Caruso to Pavarotti and beyond!
And perhaps he sang some arias with too much fortissimo....so what?
Every single song on here, be it among his best or worst work, is a masterpiece when compared to renditions of the same arias by other, more legit and operatically acclaimed tenors.

In order to "get" Lanza one must discard all notions of "finesse", "grace" and " elegance" for Lanza operated, and sang on raw, unadulterated, gut wrenching emotion.
THAT was the genious of Mario Lanza.

We can argue for another 40 years as to his operatic legitimacy...for nought!
Lanza was a VOCAL master and his approach to song was as unconventional and idiosyncratic as was his life.
That's what makes these songs so special and unique.

No one other than perhaps Corelli had the voice and the balls to sing with such uninhibited emotion and that's what this CD is all about.
It is a testament of a great voice.
The fact that Lanza did not have the benefit of a great conductor or teacher guiding him through most of his career, makes these recordings all the more great.

He sang the music as he felt it and that's a big no-no in the stuffy, overbearing and self-righteous world of opera.
Lanza earned millions of dollars because his voice touched all who heard it. His art brought more people to opera than all the leading tenors of his day combined....and this during the golden age of tenors and opera as a whole!

The only word of lesser praise I can offer is the inclusion of the duets. Mario did not have the temprament for duet singing, and subsequently he ended up drowning his partners out, or engaging in a sort of vocal warfare which was the case with much of what he and Grayson recorded during his MGM days.
The arias are great....the duets are medicore on all accounts.

In closing, I apologize for not having spen time on the actual songs. It's been done to death.
All I can say is that, if you wish to hear opera arias sung in a way such as will never be heard again in our lifetime, then this is a CD for you.
If you want proper, technically proficient opera, sung by some big name opera jerk, then stick to that....you'll only end up feeling like all the other good people who have so much negative to say about this CD.

BMG Needs to hire Folks in the Know.......2004-06-15

There are several cuts on this CD that Lnaza did in fact record much better at other times. I have all his records LPs, 78s and movies and I wish BMG would consult a Lanza fan,or me,for the cuts would make the perfect CD. I think its great that we have such a wonderful collection of recordings of Lanza and this one warts and all is still one of the best. The best Lanza set was the RCA LP 2 record set put out in the 70s with Lanza on the cover in M. Butterfly. Where oh where can it be??? Long live Mario Lanza!

Mario Lanza WAS a trained opera singer.......2003-11-13

To the reviewer from Michigan who said Mario never performed an opera on stage, you are wrong. He did two performances as Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly before going off to Hollywood.

Mario had extensive operatic training from some top teachers. He was sought after by many opera companies, including the Met in New York.

Tracks:

Funiculi Funicula
Dicitencello Vuie
Maria Mari
Voce 'E Notte
Canta Pe' Me
O Surdato 'Namurato
Comme Facette Mammeta?
Santa Lucia Luntana
Fenesta Che Lucive
Tu Ca Nun Chiagne
'Na sera 'e maggio
Passione
Drinking Song
Some Day
Love Me Tonight
Only A Rose
Tomorrow
Nocturne
Song Of The Vagabonds
Finale

Customer Reviews:

Few Could Sing Neapolitan Songs like Lanza.......2007-03-13

Neapolitan music is very special and unique. It requires singing from the soul and heart and a voice that articulates the language and its many nuances

Mario Lanza was not Neapolitan but he mastered the dialect and the music and the lyrics in a way that few have been able to articulate. As always, Lanza gives a wonderful performance on this album which does not need or deserve the pieces from the Vagabond King.

The greatest voice of this century and the twentieth century comes out in this splendid work. Just having the Neapolitan songs sung by Mario is worth the cost. I recommend it highly for lovers of the best and brightest, like Lanza was.

Canto Neapolitane.......2006-02-08

This was the last album Lanza recorded in which he was able to muster all his vocal splendor and create what remains perhaps the most passionately interpreted set of Neapolitan songs ever recorded by any tenor in history ( a close second being recordings by di Stefano, Corelli and Sergio Franchi).

Lanzas diction is uncannily Neapolitan, which is no mean feat considering that the Neapolitan dialect is all but impossile to duplicate by anyone not born and raised in the region. Even such greats as Corelli and del Monaco had problems with it and the much over-rated Pavarotti never even came close.
Lanza nailed it!

The song selection is great with the exception of Funicula...that song doesn't work no matter who sings it.
My personal favs are Dichitenchello Vuie, Voce la Notte, and Passione...Canta'p'me being a close second.
Lanzas gift for pouring his every emotion into his singing really comes forth on these songs. Moreso even than on any of his operatic selections which are peerless in their own right.
However; in my mind, Lanza always did his best work on the Neapolitan songs.

The songs from the soundtrack of the film "The Vagabond King" are about as lame as can be. They are right along the usual line of Hollywood junk which Lanza recorded too much of in his short career.
Thus the 4 star rating. I turn the CD off once the Neapolitan stuff is over with.

The only other major distraction here is not due to anything Mario could have controlled or done differently. It's in that that RCA decided to release this album in this then newly discovered "stereo surround" format, which was nothing more than overblown reverb effects. This worked well for a thin voiced Elvis, but it didn't fare to well with this type of material or Marios larger than life voice.

In the end, this is, and always will be a collection of the finest sung Neapolitan songs ever recorded.

Bravo Commendatore Lanza! Bravo!

GREAT!!!!!.......2005-11-26

If your gong to get one Mario Lanza CD or CD Set get the Mario Lanza Collection, But if you want to get one more, get this one, Mario Lanza At His Best. This is one CD (not a set like the collection) which contain many beautiful Italian folk songs and then competes with the songs from Lanza's Movie, The vagabond king. Lanza sings wonderful renditions of Funiculi Funicula, Dicitencello Vuie (just beautiful), Maria Mari (my Grandmothers favorite song), Voce e' Notte, Canta pe' Me, O Surdato Namurato, Comme Facette Mammeta?, Santa Lucia Luntana, Fenesta Che Lucive, Ta Ca Nun Chiagne, 'Na Sera 'e Maggio, and Passione (Which is just beautiful. Then the CD moves to the songs form the vagabond King; Drinking Song, Some day, Love Me Tonight, only A Rose, Tomorrow, Nocturne, Song of the vagabonds and Finale all well done. Judy Rasking sings with Mario on Some day, Only A Rose, Tomorrow, and Finale.

world's greatest tenor.......2005-10-29

Mario Lanza was a singer who possessed an absolutely glorious voice. soaring and beautiful, with a deep rich tone. He sings exclusively in his native Italian language on these recordings and the record is in two parts. the first 12 songs are more operatic in structure, containing moody, solemn passages in which Lanza's voice excels in the passion and romantic solitude that this kind of music is so well at expressing. the remaining eight tracks are a series called The Vagabond King and it's song structures are a little bit more of the old Hollywood variety, beginning with the cheery "Drinking Song" (which was a high rated hit in the u.s.). Mario is joined by soprano Judith Raskin on 4 of the songs and his singing is in English for these songs. this is a great introduction to the world of this fabulous singer.

I've fallen in love again.......2003-01-12

I had this as a LP record many years ago, and was absolutely thrilled to find the CD. I had always loved Lanza's voice, but I now realize that he was without a doubt one of the best tenor voices of the century. His ability to sing so many different types of songs is astounding. His voice is strong, filled with emotion and in some of the songs you can hear that he is hugely enjoying himself. What an incredible pity that he died at such a young age and was never able to fulfill all that he could have been.

Average customer rating:

made Mom dry happy tears!

Best of Mario Lanza

Manufacturer: Bmg Int'l
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Lanza: Greatest Hits
Mario Lanza Sings Songs From The Student Prince & The Desert Song / Romberg
Sixteen Most Requested
Christmas with Mario Lanza
You'll Never Walk Alone

ASIN: B000050XIT
Release Date: 2000-12-12

Tracks:

With a Song in My Heart
Be My Love
Because You're Mine
Loveliest Night of the Year
Because
Temptation
Beloved
Song Is You
Student Prince/Serenade [From The Student Prince]
New Moon/Lover Come Back to Me [From the New Moon]
My Wild Irish Rose
More Than You Know
Younger Than Springtime
September Song
On the Street Where You Live
Only a Rose
Falling in Love With Love
And This Is My Beloved
My Romance
This Nearly Was Mine
All the Things You Are
I'll Be Seeing You

Customer Reviews:

made Mom dry happy tears!.......2007-01-04

She was so pleased she thanked me over, & over!! :) she thinks he's dreamy

For the First Time/Mario Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites

Average customer rating:

Impressive performances from Lanza's final years

For the First Time/Mario Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites

Manufacturer: Collectables
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The MARIO LANZA Collection

ASIN: B00005B523
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Tracks:

Come Prima
Tarantella
O Sole Mio
Neapolitan Dance
Hofbrauhaus Song (Wir Einmal Nur in Munchen War]
O, Mon Amour (Je Nen Connais Pas la Fin)
Mazurka
Pineapple Pickers
Pagliacci: Vesti la Giubba
Otello: Finale
Aida: Act I
Ich Liebe Dich (I Love Thee)
Ave Maria
Vieni Sul Mar
Senza Nisciuno
Musica Proibita
Vaghissima Sembianza
Serenata - Mario Lanza,
Lolita
Luna d'Estate
Alba Separa Dalla Luce l'Ombra
Pour un Baiser
Mia Canzone
Ideale
Santa Lucia

Customer Reviews:

Impressive performances from Lanza's final years.......2004-12-18

This CD contains most of the soundtrack from Lanza's final movie, the 1958 For the First Time, together with the 1959 album Mario Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites.

By 1958 Lanza's lirico spinto tenor had darkened significantly, acquiring a baritonal richness in its middle and lower registers, while still retaining the celebrated top notes for which he was justly famous. On his best days, he was also a more sensitive singer than he had sometimes been in his Hollywood period. This is immediately noticeable on the operatic selections included here: Vesti La Giubba; the Otello Death Scene (Niun Mi Tema); and the Grand March from Aida. On the first two numbers, Lanza phrases beautifully and avoids marring these arias with the hammy histrionics that many more celebrated names have indulged in elsewhere. Dark with haunting overtones, his voice is by now ideal for both Canio and Otello.

The Grand March scene is also impressive, with Lanza delivering some staggering B flats over the deafening Rome Opera Orchestra and chorus. All three operatic selections from For the First Time were recorded (and subsequently filmed) at the Rome Opera House, and the effect that Lanza had on the musicians present was extraordinary. "A very musical tenor of enormous possibilities, with an exceptional timbre" was the verdict of the theatre's then Artistic Director Riccardo Vitale.

The first half of For the First Time is much lighter, and includes the pleasant title song, Come Prima, along with a sweet and all-too-brief O Mon Amour. There is also the novelty of hearing Lanza singing in German in the rousing Hofbrauhaus Song, as well as a ridiculous rock and roll number called Pineapple Pickers. (Typically, BMG place this next to Vesti la Giubba on the CD, with no thought for the massive jump in musical style and content between the tracks.) O Sole Mio sounds a little laboured here, and rings out much more thrillingly in the movie. But with the exception of the videotape of the actual film (reviewed elsewhere on this site), many of these selections have never sounded better. There is still the ever-present sandiness that mars all of Lanza's stereo releases, but at least this is an improvement on the soundtrack's earlier outing on the Double Feature CD.

My only gripe is that the delightful Cosi Fan Tutte trio - E Voi Ridete - has been omitted. Instead we have three uneventful (and irritating) non-Lanza musical interludes. *Mercifully* missing, however, is the tenor's La Donna 'e Mobile. Uncharacteristically strained, it was his least impressive performance of the aria, and the only vocal lapse in the entire film.

The final twelve selections from the Caruso Favorites album also feature Lanza in mostly fine form. As with all the tenor's 1959 recordings, however, the reproduction of his voice (though curiously *not* the orchestra) is less than ideal, and the ever-present distortion - particularly on his top notes - mars some of the best moments. Gripes aside, this is an important album in the Lanza canon. Among the highlights are the Neapolitan song Senza Nisciuno; a tasteful Vaghissima Sembianza, replete with two beautiful High As; the daunting Serenata; and three exquisite Tosti songs: L'Alba Separa Dalla Luce L'Ombra, Pour Un Baiser and Ideale.

L'Alba Separa dalla Luce l'Ombra deserves special mention. Lanza is appropriately operatic on this miniature masterpiece, and although his voice sounds a little heavy at times, the impact of his performance is very moving. From "Chiudimi, O notte, nel tuo sen materno," (Envelop me, O night, in your maternal [...]) onwards, Lanza is in full control of the song, faltering only slightly on the climactic note on "eterno" (though this may, in fact, be due to the distortion). Lapses aside, L'Alba Separa is a fine example of Lanza's artistic maturity.

Among the few lesser moments, Mario runs out of steam in the second half of La Mia Canzone, and is subjected to an overly boisterous arrangement on Santa Lucia, which sounds more akin to a march than a lilting ode to the Bay of Naples! At times Lanza does sound tired, and as one perceptive reviewer has noted, we miss the characteristic smile of his earlier voice. Ironically, critics and habitual Lanza-knockers are much more likely to praise this album for the very reason that the tenor *is* so subdued.

Caruso Favorites and For the First Time - together with the brilliant Neapolitan album Mario! Lanza At His Best (also reviewed on this site) - represent the tenor's most impressive singing from the final period of his life. As Lanza authority Lindsay Perigo has noted, the tenor's voice on all three albums is often "hauntingly ethereal." In short, these are not performances that are easily forgotten.

Kiri Te Kanawa - Danny Boy (Folk Songs & Ballads)

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THIS DAME CAN SING!...
British Folk Songs And Ballads Sung by Dame Kiri

Kiri Te Kanawa - Danny Boy (Folk Songs & Ballads)
Enoch (Easthorpe) Martin , Research Composer , Thomas Moore , Anonymous , Frank Lambert , Lady Jane [Alicia Anne Spo Scott , English Traditional , Thomas Bolton , F. Weatherly , National Philharmonic Orchestra , Kiri Te Kanawa , Medici Quartet , and Douglas Gamley
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002RN2
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: Come To The Fair
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: Early One Morning (Traditional)
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: The Last Rose Of Summer
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: An Island Spinning Song (Traditional)
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: The Ash Grove (Traditional)
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: She Is Far From The Land
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: The Keel Row (Traditional)
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: Comin' Thro' The Rye
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: Annie Laurie
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: O Can Ye Sew Cushions (Traditional)
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: Greensleeves (Traditional)
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: The Sally Gardens (Yeats)
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: The Gentle Maiden
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: I Have A Bonnet Trimmed With Blue (Traditional)
Danny Boy - Folk Songs & Ballads: Danny Boy

Customer Reviews:

THIS DAME CAN SING!..........2004-03-09

Singing a collection of folk songs and ballads of Great Britain, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa puts her glorious soprano to interpreting these simple favorites. As a result, an astonishing recording has emerged for those who favor folk songs. Simply arranged and accompanied by members of the National Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as by the Medici String Quartet, the songs resonate with the mark of Dame Kanawa upon them, making them more memorable than ever.

The use of a small orchestra and the prominence of the harp is most effective, rendering the accompaniment an appropriate backdrop for the most important instrument of all in this recording, the magnificent voice of Dame Kanawa. There are fifteen glorious tracks on this cd that are sure to delight the discerning listener, particularly those who are attuned to the folk tradition in music. My particular favorites are "Early One Morning", "Annie Laurie", "Greensleeves", and "Danny Boy".

British Folk Songs And Ballads Sung by Dame Kiri.......2003-01-26

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa presented to her listeners with 'Danny Boy (Folk Songs & Ballads)' a wonderful collection of folk songs and ballads from the British Isles. I've always loved folk songs and the tracks of which this album is comprised are very well loved and in all cases classics, whether they are credited to anonymous composers or not. All of these songs appeal directly to the listeners's ear, at least this is certainly valid in my case as these songs forever dwell in a corner of my heart. Dame Kiri's beautiful, lyrical soprano is perfectly suited to these simple and appealing songs and on this album she is in truly glorious voice. With tenderness, humour, warmth Dame Kiri delivers a beautiful, superb and poetical performance of these songs. Effortlessly she brings out every shade and nuance of these songs. The members of the National Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Douglas Gamley and The Medici String Quartet lend her a very strong and solid support. The booklet contains liner notes and the texts of the songs.

Tracks:

L'Elisir DAmore: Una Furtiva Lagrima
Andrea Chenier: Un Di All'Azzurro Spazio
TOSCA: E Lucevan Le Stelle
La Traviata: Parigi, O Cara
Madama Butterfly: Vogliatemi Bene, Un Bene Piccolino
La Boheme: O Soave Fanciulla
Funiculi Funicula
My Song My Love
Diane
Thine Alone
A Vuchella
Toselli's Serenade
Because You're Mine
The Loveliest Night Of The Year
O Paradiso
The Rosary
If
They Didn't Believe Me
The Lords Prayer
Be My Love

Customer Reviews:

The Young Lanza impresses.......2007-04-11

I am a singer and have been a Mario Lanza fan since becoming interested in opera in my teens. The quality of his singing varied a great deal, especially in his later years. But this Hollywood Bowl concert, at age 26, shows him with a freshness and ease of production that failed him later in life. Highlights for me were the Boheme Duet - I don't know of any of the current tenor stars who would dare to hold the High A for so long and then jump right to the High C and be able to sustain it. The Andrea Chenier demonstrates his spinto side and the beauty of his middle and lower voice. One weeps for what might have been. But I will put this recording against Mr. Alagna any day of the week.

A Rare Find!.......2002-12-19

The "Live From London" is my favorite cd and this is a close second. I usually listen to the Bowl selections only and save the Coca-Cola radio program for another time. The recording quality is not the best, but this is a wonderful sourvenir of the young singer in excellent voice and delivery at the begining of his career. The selections with soprano Frances Yeend are a wonderful addition since there are few recorded "live concert" Lanza duets available outside of this venue (there are recordings of his later Bowl appearances you may want to check out). Mario's introductions show his warmth and humor. It was at this concert that MGM took notice and his career moved to the movie studios. We are fortunate to have this recording. One of the highlights of the Coke show program is Mario's introduction to the "Our Father". Disregard the liner notes. For value delivered, this cd rates five stars!

One of the great performances of all time.......2002-05-12

The first six tracks of this CD capture Mario Lanza's legendary 1947 Hollywood Bowl debut. These recordings, by themselves, would rate 7 stars in my book. (The rest of the CD would probably merit about 2 stars, but those live tracks are worth the ridiculously low price of this collection many times over.) Renowned baritone George London, Lanza's frequent singing partner, later said he never heard Mario sing better than he did that night, and it would be hard to disagree with him. Lanza, on the eve of signing his contract with MGM, was at the peak of his vocal discipline, fresh off 15 months of training with Enrico Rosati. And while his interpretive abilities may have not reached their full potential, then or ever, the voice itself was magnificent: brilliant, rich and indescribably glorious. The concert opens with "Una furtiva lagrima," by Donizetti, which, if somewhat raw, is certainly more refined and lyrical than his later studio recording. His phrasing of "Cielo, si puo morir" can bring tears to my eyes. Next up is a thrilling rendition of "Un di all'azzuro spazio" from ANDREA CHENIER. Lanza's performance of this aria is as good as any I've ever heard, including Caruso's. He positively caresses the phrase "Su dalla terra a la mia fronte veniva una ca'rezza viva," then passionately spits out the aria's middle section: "un uom vi calunniave bestemmiando il suolo che l'erario a pena sazia e contro a Dio scagliava, e contro a li uomini le lagrime dei figli!" Lanza's vocal tone, in this performance, was more focused than it was in his later recording of this aria, and his later recordings in general, and the effect is very impressive to those who have only heard his studio recordings. Then, for an encore, he sings "E lucevan le stelle," from TOSCA by Puccini, another aria which, in my opinion, Lanza sang as well if not better than anyone. True, he does not sing the pianissimo like Gigli or Di Stefano, but then neither did Caruso or Domingo. In fact, to my way of thinking Lanza's interpretation is more in character with a man who is about to die: it is not a simple love song but a cry of desperation. Next come three gorgeous duets with Frances Yeend, a singer with limited interpretive abilities but a rich, full voice. On the duet from LA TRAVIATA, Lanza showcases a wonderful legato line, and the timing of the two singers is nearly perfect. By this time in the concert, Lanza's voice had reached its peak of richness and beauty. The love duet from MADAME BUTTERFLY that follows is a positive tour de force: I have never heard a more exciting and musical performance: neither singer allows interpretation to get in the way of the melody, which is always a good idea with Puccini. Lanza is at his most passionate here, and his high C at the end is devastating. Yeend would later say that Lanza's singing was "Always thrilling. . .he never spared the horses," and this duet is a good example. Finally, a tasteful and lovely rendition of the duet from LA BOHEME closes out the show, with the richness of each singer's voice on full display. Lanza sings the line "Dammi il braccio mia piccina" as romantically as anyone, and the interplay between the two singers is nearly perfect. This is a performance for the ages: anyone who loves Italian opera and especially great tenor singing should love this album. The rest of the album is pretty much a waste, except for an interesting version of "A Vuchella" in which Lanza does his best Gigli impression. Notably, this album contains possibly the worst version of any song I have ever heard: an English language rendition of "Funiculi funicula" that is positively dreadful, although you can't really blame that on Lanza's singing.

Buy this for the first six tracks only!.......2001-08-22

This CD contains both the very best and the very worst of the vastly underrated Mario Lanza. First things first, ignore the absurdly inaccurate liner notes. Lanza did NOT have a small voice - indeed fellow musicians who sang with him often remarked that it was a huge and powerful instrument. Lanza's voice did not "crack down" in his last years, as the liner notes writer asserts; rather it was his health that "cracked down" in the final year of his life.

These recordings, however, demonstrate the tenor in the full bloom of health. The outstanding selections are tracks 1-6, which come from his extraordinary Hollywood Bowl debut in 1947. You'll never hear a better Lanza rendition of the Madama Butterfly Love Duet (with soprano Frances Yeend) than the one included here. This is sensitive AND passionate singing of the highest order, and listening to this rendition today it is not surprising that MGM signed the tenor up for a movie career the very next day. All six selections are outstanding, and many will be surprised by the beautiful legato Lanza employs in the difficult Parigi, O Cara from La Traviata.

The six initial tracks are more than worth the price of the CD, and make up for the shortcomings of the remaining selections, all of which come from Lanza's Coca-Cola radio show of 1951-52. The latter tracks show the tenor at his commercial worst. Diane is an abomination, and there are several other selections that should never have seen the light of day. Fortunately, however, there are a few nuggets among the dross, and "If" is a most attractive and exciting performance.

The sound is not brilliant on the Coke Show selections (these are not the pristine BMG recordings, and all come with overlaid applause tracks). Ironically, the live Hollywood Bowl selections have much better sound.

Tracks:

George Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue (Original Version)
George Gershwin: An American In Paris
George Gershwin: Medley From The Woody Allen Film 'Manhattan'
George Gershwin: Medley From The Woody Allen Film 'Manhattan'
George Gershwin: Medley From The Woody Allen Film 'Manhattan'
George Gershwin: Medley From The Woody Allen Film 'Manhattan'
George Gershwin: Medley From The Woody Allen Film 'Manhattan'
George Gershwin: 1.- Allegro Ben Ritmato E Deciso
George Gershwin: Three Preludes For Piano
George Gershwin: 3. - Allegro Ben Ritmato E Deciso
George Gershwin: Embraceable You
George Gershwin: Liza
George Gershwin: A Foggy Day
George Gershwin: Overture To Porgy And Bess
George Gershwin: Medley From Porgy And Bess: I Love You, Porgy
George Gershwin: Medley From Porgy And Bess: I Love You, Porgy
George Gershwin: Medley From Porgy And Bess: I Love You, Porgy

Customer Reviews:

CLASSIC PLASTIC.......2005-07-21

Gershwin CD is strangely lacking in atmosphere and reference, with over an hour of Gershwin's more classical side, including Michael Tilson Thomas conducting The Columbia Jazz Band's "Rhapsody in Blue", featuring Gershwin's original 1925 piano roll, Leonard Bernstein conducting The New York Philharmonic's "An American in Paris", and composer John Williams on guitar in "A Foggy Day". With song titles like, "Medly From The Woody Allen Film 'Manhatten", at just over three minutes, and "Medly From 'Porgy and Bess'", the CD is a classy cash cow thrown together by CBS Records. Tilson Thomas' "Three Preludes for Piano", stops and takes a dramatic musical breath in the context of these slam-bang offerings. Truly bland CD liner notes by Bobby Finn and Kay Swift, whoever they may be.

Musical pleasure.......2001-07-16

I have always loved the Gershwin music. It seems to Americana. When I first heard the recordings of the music from the piano rolls, I was fascinated. When I then heard this album with the jazz sound and the symphony sound combined with the pure sounds from the piano rolls, I was captured by the sound. The mighty ending of The Rhapsody in Blue is as powerful as this music can be. Add songs like Summertime and the Porgy N' Bess favorites and I find that this album is just the right combination of composer, performer and directors. Michael Tilson Thomas pulls forth from the group he is directing, a crisp and powerful sound. Bernstein needs no critique. If you are a lover of Gershwin and piano music, you can't miss with this.

Love's Old Sweet Song: Twenty Five Singers in Popular Ballads

Average customer rating:

Remember-Mckinley was president when these tunes were new
Loves Old Sweet Song Leaves a Bitter Taste

Love's Old Sweet Song: Twenty Five Singers in Popular Ballads

Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Victorian Parlour Evening

ASIN: B000001HHT
Release Date: 1994-07-26

Tracks:

The Last Rose Of Summer - Landon Ronald
For You Alone - Enrico Caruso
By The Waters Of Minnetonka (An Indian Love Song) - Landon Ronald
The Green Hills O' Somerset - Peter Dawson
She Wandered Down The Mountainside - Rosina Buckman
The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise - Charles Hackett
By The Bend Of The River - Grace Moore
I Know Of Two Bright Eyes (Myrrha) - Walter Widdop
A Fairy Went A-Marketing - Clara Butt
Myself When Young (In A Persian Garden) - Norman Allin
Love's Old Sweet Song - Amelita Galli-Curci
Bird Songs At Eventide - John McCormack
Ciribiribin - Lucrezia Bori
The Song Of Songs - Richard Crooks
Homing - Percy B. Kahn
The Blind Ploughman - Fyodor Chaliapin
The Fairytales Of Ireland - Florence Austral/Hils Nelson
Ich Liebe Dich, My Dear - Armand Crabbe
I Love You Truly - Dusolina Giannini
Love Sends A Little Gift Of Roses - Gerald Moore
Danny Boy (Londonderry Air) - Dora Labette
Kashmiri Song (Pale Hands I Loved) - Richard Tauber
Deep River - Marian Anderson
Leanin' - Harold Williams
A Perfect Day - Rosa Ponselle

Customer Reviews:

Remember-Mckinley was president when these tunes were new.......2007-03-10

In the 1890s and the early years of the 20th century sound recordings were very new and very fascinating to the population at large..Being able to hear a recording of a popular song,or listen to a piano roll transcription was,at the time,considered something of a miracle...Alas,since the technology was new the recording process was primitive...VERY primitive...often entire orchestras played into a recording horn,and the resulting sound reminds one of listening to something in a tunnel...very little could be done to make the sound pristine,and because of it the recordings from that period all have an antique and primitive atmosphere to them...recordings that old,and not saved upon tape,or disc,often poorly kept and poorly maintained,tend to deteriorate ,and,in many cases with regard to the items presented upon this album,the original"master"recording is lost,and only a copy remains,often a badly deteriorated,commercial copy..scratches,recording anaolomies,as well as warpage and general age have taken thier toll..Some would think,rather foolishly as it turns out,that such modern restorative processes such as"Cedar" might erase the imperfections,the scratches,the warpage,the cracks and hisses,but this is just not so...
For those of you old enough to have had long-playing records,45s,or 78s,just imagine that the ONLY copy of a particular album or song title is your old,scratched,worn disc...not some master tape or disc held in a vault somewhere,but your old beat up copy...Imagine further that you submit this old beat up copy for restoration...Sure,it may sound better afterwards than it did before,but,all in all,it still sounds pretty bad,at least by modern standards...
This is the sort of sound reproduction one gets on this album...Efforts were made to restore these sides(contrary to the opinion of another review found here about this album)but when one is dealing with recordings 100 or so years old,made when recording tecniques were primitive,and ,in some cases,having to attempt restoration on a used COPY sold to and played by someone like you and I way back when,restoration to a"perfect" sense is just not possible..Indeed,even if "perfection"could be achieved,the original sound of some of these old sides never was too good to begin with..
Be this as it may,the sides presented here are historic,to say the very least,and representative of what the public of the 1890s liked to hear...Listening to these sides,imperfections and all,gives one a sense of that time,a sense of the enormous technological gulf between these recordings and the ones available today,and,perhaps most importantly,gives us an overview of the sort of entertainment that drove our great great grandparents wild...
If you can get over the primitive sound of these recordings,or get yourself used to it,then give this album a try...

Loves Old Sweet Song Leaves a Bitter Taste.......2003-04-27

While the performances on this CD are great the transfers from the original recordings are about the worst i have ever heard. No care whatever was spent in dubbing these records to Cd. The originals in my collection sound many times better than these. I bought this for convenience but find it too terrible to listen

Christmas Hymns & Carols: You Do Something to Me

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A Perfect Introduction to Mario Lanza

Christmas Hymns & Carols: You Do Something to Me

Manufacturer: Collectables
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Christmas with Mario Lanza
You'll Never Walk Alone
For the First Time/Mario Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites
Lanza: Greatest Hits
Mario Lanza ~ Opera Arias & Duets, from Andréa Chenier · La Bohème · I Pagliacci · Madama Butterfly · Otello

ASIN: B0002DRDGO
Release Date: 2004-07-27

Tracks:

You Do Something to Me [From Because You're Mine] - Mario Lanza
Sylvia - Mario Lanza
Some Day [From the Vagabond King] - Mario Lanza
Beloved - Mario Lanza
Song of India - Mario Lanza
Lolita - Mario Lanza
You Are My Love - Mario Lanza
Lygia [From Quo Vadie] - Mario Lanza
Flower Song [From Carmen] - Mario Lanza
Che Gelida Manina (Your Tiny Hand Is Frozen) [From the Great Caruso] - Mario Lanza
O Tu Che in Seno Agli Angeli (Thou Heavenly One) [From LA Forza ...] - Mario Lanza
Joy to the World - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza, Henri Ren His Orchestra
O Christmas Tree - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza, Henri Ren
Lord's Prayer - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza
First Noel - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza
O Come All Ye Faithful - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza
Away in a Manger (Luther's Cradle Hymn) - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza, Henri Ren His Orchestra
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza, Henri Ren His Orchestra
O Little Town of Bethlehem - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza
We Three Kings of Orient Are - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza
Silent Night - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza
Guardian Angels - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza
I Saw Three Ships - Jeff Alexander Choir, Mario Lanza, Henri Ren His Orchestra
O Holy Night - Mario Lanza, RCA Victor Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

A Perfect Introduction to Mario Lanza.......2004-11-28

What a pleasure to find two excellent Lanza LPs on one CD. The compilation album You Do Something To Me, first released in 1958, was arguably the best sampling of Lanza's versatility that RCA ever put together. Whether by accident or design, the album offered stunning examples of Lanza's prowess in different genres: popular ballads, operetta, opera, and Italian song. While one might quibble at the absence of Neapolitan songs, it should be noted that at the time of this album's release, Lanza had not yet recorded his finest collection of that genre - the album Mario! (now available on the CD Mario! Lanza At His Best).

The standout tracks from You Do Something To Me are the title song; the thrilling (and rarely heard) Some Day from a 1951 radio show; the song Beloved from the film version of The Student Prince; and a sublime rendition of Che Gelida Manina from La Boheme. There are also impressive renditions of the aria O Tu Che in Seno agli Angeli from The Force of Destiny; the lovely Sylvia; Song of India; and the exciting Lolita. Unlike many of RCA's other Lanza compilations, there is nothing downright bad on the album, though Lygia and the over-exuberant Flower Song should have been remade.

The other album featured here is Lanza's first (and best) album of Christmas songs and carols, originally released in 1956. (Note: the same renditions also feature on the BMG CDs Christmas With Mario Lanza and Christmas Hymns and Carols.) Recorded between 1950 and 1956, most of the numbers showcase the tenor in fine vocal fettle. Ignore the moments of sharpness on O Holy Night, The Lord's Prayer, and Joy to the World, and instead revel in the beauty and commitment that Lanza brings to his singing here.

All in all, a splendid introduction to a vocal phenomenon.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

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