Product Details
The Ultimate Divas Album

The Ultimate Divas Album
Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano, Amilcare Ponchielli, Giacomo Puccini, Vincenzo Bellini, Georges Bizet, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Wagner, Modena Community Theater Orchestra, Royal Opera House Orchestra Covent Garden, Monte Carlo National Opera Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Saint Cecilia Academy Orchestra, Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly, Sir Georg Solti, Henry Lewis, Fausto Cleva, Fernando Previtali, Herbert von Karajan, Richard Bonynge, Hans Knappertsbusch, Cecilia Bartoli, Renée Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Marilyn Horne, Renata Tebaldi, Frank Lopardo, Zinka Milanov, Joan Sutherland, London Symphony Chorus, Leontyne Price, Montserrat Caballé, John Alldis Choir

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Track Listing

  1. Non più mesta
  2. Cruda sorte!
  3. Follie! Delirio vano è questo!...Sempre libera
  4. Ebben?...Ne andrò lontana
  5. La mamma morta
  6. Suicidio!
  7. Un bel dì
  8. Casta diva
  9. Vissi d'arte
  10. Ave Maria
  11. Habanera (L'amour est un oiseau rebelle)
  12. Dove sono
  13. Voi che sapete
  14. Queen of the Night's Revenge Aria
  15. Durch Zärtlichkeit und Schmeicheln
  16. Du bist der Lenz

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #140912 in Music
  • Released on: 1998-09-15
  • Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

The Best of the Best4
I'm sorry I had to give this CD only 4 stars - it really deserves more. I had to subtract a star for the absence of La Divina - Maria Callas - from this disc. If she doesn't qualify as a diva, who does?

That said, this is a FANTASTIC compilation CD. It features all (well, a good sampling) of the great sopranos of past and present. All my favorites are here: Bartoli, Fleming, Battle, Kanawa, and of course, Sumi Jo.

The editors were very careful to include arias which display each soprano's strengths and predilections in repertoire - Bartoli has her bubbly Rossini, Sumi Jo her dazzling coloratura in Mozart, and Renee Fleming, with the most heartrending and beautiful version of Desdemona's "Ave Maria" from Verdi's Otello that I have ever heard. I can't help but catch my breath on the last syllable of "prega" - her tone is that innocent and pure. Kiri Te Kanawa, the consummate Countess, also makes an appearance with a very moving "Dove Sono".

This disc is also teaching me to appreciate the greats of yesteryear like Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson - the legendary Wagnerian sopranos.

PLEASE don't listen to the previous reviewer - Kathleen Battle does not "fall flat" on Durch Zärtlichkeit. Only a beautiful soubrette like hers could pull off a challenging aria like that, and she does it marvelously (as usual ;)

BUY THIS CD!

A gorgeous collection!5
I heard this CD playing in a music store and immediately bought it. If you are searching for a collection of the finest arias sung by the finest female singers in the world, this is it. My only complaint is that they did not include Maria Callas or Jessye Norman on the recording. If they do not qualify as divas, then who does? All in all, a fabulous album!

A delightful representation of opera repertoire!5
The arias on this album are centered around the Classical and Romantic traditions in opera, when beautiful singing was key to expression. The selected performances are among the best and most representative of standard opera repertoire. For newcomers to opera, this album will whet your tastes for more. A more experienced ear will appreciate the collection for its comprehensiveness and the artistry of the performers.