DIVA. 30 Great Prima Donnas (2 CD, WAV)

Audio CD
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 2 CD
Format: WAV (tracks)
Label: Teldec
Size: 1.45 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no

Disc: 1
01. La Gioconda, Act IV: Suicidio
02. La Traviata, Act III: Addio Del Passato
03. Cavalleria Rusticana: Voi Lo Sapete O Mamma
04. Gianni Schicchi: O Mio babbino Caro
05. Tosca, Act II: Vissi D’arte
06. La Boheme, Act I: Mi Chiamano Mimi
07. Il Barbiere Di Siviglia, Act I: Una Voce Poco Fa
08. I Puritani, Act I: Son Vergin Vezzosa
09. Carmen, Act I: L’amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle
10. Carmen, Act III: Je Dis Que Rien Ne M’epouvante
11. Faust, Act II: Il Etait Un Roi De Thule
12. Faust, Act II: L’air Des Bijoux
13. Werther, Act III: Je Vous Ecris De Ma Petite Chambre
14. Der Fliegende Hollander, Act III: Johohoe! Traft Ihr Das Schiff
15. Tannhauser, Act II: Dich Teure Halle
16. Tristan Und Isolde, Act III: Mild Und Leise

Disc: 2
01. Orfeo Ed Euridice, Act III: Che Faro Senza Euridice
02. Orphee Et Eurydice, Act II: Cet Asile Aimable Et Tranquille
03. Alcina, Act I: Di’ Cor Mio, Quanto T’amai
04. Rinaldo, Act I: Cara Sposa
05. Xerxes, Act I: Ombra Mai Fu
06. Dido And Aeneas, Act III: Thy Hand, Belinda
07. The Fairy Queen, Act V: O Let Me Ever, Ever Weep
08. L’isola Di Alcina, Act I: Sono Alcina
09. Lucio Silla, Act II: Quest’improvviso Tremito
10. Cosi Fan Tutte, Act II: E Amore Un Ladroncello
11. Don Giovanni, Act II: Vedrai, Carino
12. La Clemenza Di Tito, Act II: Non Piu Di Fiori
13. Die Zauberflote, Act II: Der Holle Rache
14. Fidelio, Act I: Komm Hoffnung

# La Gioconda, opera in 4 acts Suicidio
Composed by Amilcare Ponchielli
Performed by Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI
with Maria Callas
Conducted by Antonino Votto

# La Traviata, opera Addio del passato
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
with Renata Tebaldi
Conducted by Antonino Votto

# Cavalleria rusticana, opera (melodramma) in 1 act Voi lo sapete o mamma
Composed by Pietro Mascagni
Performed by Orchestra Lirica della (Turin) Cetra
with Giulietta Simionato, Lilliana Pellegrino
Conducted by Arturo Basile

# Gianni Schicchi, opera O mio babbino caro
Composed by Giacomo Puccini
Performed by Turin Radio Symphony Orchestra
with Marcella Pobbe
Conducted by Ugo Cattini

# Tosca, opera Vissi d’arte
Composed by Giacomo Puccini
Performed by Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI
with Catherine Malfitano
Conducted by Zubin Mehta

# La bohème, opera Mi chiamano Mim
Composed by Giacomo Puccini
Performed by Orchestre National de France
with Barbara Hendricks
Conducted by James Conlon

# Il barbière di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera Una voce poco fa
Composed by Gioachino Rossini
Performed by Turin Radio Symphony Orchestra
with Lucia Valentini Terrani
Conducted by Alberto Zedda

# I Puritani, opera Son vergin vezzosa
Composed by Vincenzo Bellini
Performed by Sicily Symphony Orchestra
with Katia Ricciarelli, Chris Merritt, Roberto Scandiuzzi, Ambrogio Riva
Conducted by Gabriele Ferro

# Carmen, opéra-comique in 4 acts L’amour est un oiseau rebelle
Composed by Georges Bizet
Performed by Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra
with Regine Crespin
Conducted by Alain Lombard

# Carmen, opéra-comique in 4 acts Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante
Composed by Georges Bizet
Performed by Munich Bavarian State Orchestra
with Angela Gheorghiu
Conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli

# Faust, opera Il était un roi de Thul
Composed by Charles Gounod
Performed by Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra
with Montserrat Caballe
Conducted by Alain Lombard

# Faust, opera L’air des bijoux
Composed by Charles Gounod
Performed by English Chamber Orchestra
with Sumi Jo
Conducted by Giuliano Carella

# Werther, lyric drama in 4 acts Je vous écris de ma petite chambre
Composed by Jules Massenet
Performed by Lyon National Opera Orchestra
with Anne Sofie von Otter
Conducted by Kent Nagano

# Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman), opera, WWV 63 Johohoe! Traft ihr das Schiff
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Bayreuth Festival Orchestra
with Astrid Varnay

# Tannhäuser, opera, WWV 70 Dich teure Halle
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
with Kiri Te Kanawa
Conducted by Marek Janowski

# Tristan und Isolde, opera, WWV 90 Mild und leise
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Berliner Stadtorchester
with Martha Modl
Conducted by Artur Rother

# Orfeo ed Euridice (Italian version), opera in 3 acts, Wq. 30 Che farò senza Euridice
Composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck
Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra
with Dame Janet Baker
Conducted by Raymond Leppard

# Orphée et Eurydice (French version), opera in 3 acts, Wq. 41 Cet asile aimable et tranquille
Composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck
Performed by San Francisco Opera Orchestra
with Dawn Upshaw
Conducted by Donald Runnicles

# Alcina, opera, HWV 34 Di’ cor mio, quanto t’amai
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Les Arts Florissants Orchestra & Chorus
with Renee Fleming
Conducted by William Christie

# Rinaldo, opera, HWV 7 Cara Sposa
Composed by George Frideric Handel
with I Solisti Veneti, Marilyn Horne
Conducted by Claudio Scimone

# Serse (Xerxes), opera, HWV 40 Ombra mai fu
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Lausanne Chamber Orchestra
with Jennifer Larmore
Conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos

# Dido and Aeneas, opera, Z. 626 Thy hand, Belinda
Composed by Henry Purcell
Performed by English Chamber Orchestra
with Tatiana Troyanos
Conducted by Raymond Leppard

# The Fairy Queen, semi-opera, Z. 629 O let me ever, ever weep
Composed by Henry Purcell
with Vienna Concentus Musicus, Sylvia McNair
Conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt

# Sono Alcina e sono ancora, aria for soprano & orchestra (for Gazzaniga’s L’isola di Alcina), H. 24b/9
Composed by Franz Joseph Haydn
with Teresa Berganza, Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Conducted by Raymond Leppard

# Lucio Silla, opera, K. 135 Quest’ improvviso trèmito
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Cecilia Bartoli, Vienna Concentus Musicus
Conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt

# Così fan tutte, opera, K. 588 È amore un ladroncello
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra
with Frederica Von Stade
Conducted by Alain Lombard

# Don Giovanni, opera, K. 527 Vedrai, carino
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam
with Barbara Bonney
Conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt

# La Clemenza di Tito, opera, K. 621 Non più di fiori
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Zurich Opera Orchestra
with Lucia Popp
Conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt

# Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), opera, K. 620 Der Hölle Rache (Königin der Nacht)
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Zurich Opera Orchestra
with Edita Gruberova
Conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt

# Fidelio, opera, Op. 72 Komm Hoffnung
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Berlin State Choir
with Waltraud Meier
Conducted by Daniel Barenboim

Diva-lightful

I heard this CD playing background music in second-hand bookstore and I HAD-TO-HAVE-IT. The shopkeeper couldn’t tell me much about the CD except that it was called DIVA (she didn’t have the cover anymore) and I knew full well that I was listening to the incomparable Dame Janet Baker singing “Che farò senza Euridice” from Gluck’s Orfeo et Euridice, followed by someone else doing the famous Serse (Xerxes) Largo and an aria from Dido and Aeneas. So with that knowledge in hand, I searched Amazon.com and found this 2-CD set. And promptly purchased it.
Frankly, I adore this for the second CD alone, but there is lots to like on both CD’s, such as some of my favorite divas among which are Lucia Popp, Montserrat Caballe, Fredericka von Stade and Dawn Upshaw. Some of the aria/artist choices are rather quirky; Dame Kiri Te Kanawa singing “Dich Teure Halle” instead of Birgit Nielsen; Marcella Pobbe singing “O Mio Babbino Caro” instead of Dame Kiri. Caballe not singing from La Boheme (I defy you to find a better Mimi than she) but doing Faust instead. And Sutherland and Sills are AWOL along with Nielsen–though maybe it was a case of not being able to obtain the copyrights rather than deliberate omission.
The selections here are well-chosen for variety and in the case of the bel canto selections on the second CD, they flow together so superbly, it’s a real joy to hear. The only dark spot are the two arias done with the Zurich Symphony–and worse yet, they are with Lucia Popp (a huge favorite of mine) and Gruberova doing the Queen of the Night’s nasty aria of extreme rage “Holle Rache”. The orchestra drags in the Popp aria from “Clemenza de Tito”, the dynamics are second-rate and Gruberova misses a note (not the wicked high ones but an amateurish note on an upscale.) Overall these are not the finest moments for either of these divas. That aside, there is lots to like on this CD if you overlook a couple of false notes.