Title : The Most Famous Opera Duets
Author : Bizet, Georges
Release Date : 19940412
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $3.98
Amazon.com Price : $3.55
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Editorial Reviews : This is a misnomer--not all of these duets are all that famous--but it's a fine compilation nonetheless. You'll hear selections from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers (Nicolai Gedda and Ernest Blanc at their most elegant French), Madama Butterfly (Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto--an impassioned pair), Lucia di Lammermoor (a classy Alfredo Kraus and Edita Gruberova), the lovely Lakme duet, The Presentation of the Silver Rose from Der Rosenkavalier (with the earnest Christa Ludwig and the other-worldly Teresa Stich-Randall), and a fine Trovatore 'Miserere' (with Leontyne Price and Franco Bonisolli singing up a storm). There are many others, too--a veritable cornucopia of couplings--and a treat for the opera lover.
Buyer Reviews : At this bargain price, I found this CD surpringly good. The selections are from many first-rated albums from EMI. Most of them such as duets from 'Le Nozze di Figaro', 'Der Rosenkavalier' and 'Madama Butterfly' are very good indeed. However, Gedda is the real star of this album. His duets from 'The Pearl Fisher' and 'Carmen' are among the best on recordings. The only complaint here is a duet from 'Lucia di Lammemoor'. The tempo is so funereal. Alfredo Krause sounds very aged and tired. Gruberova is not at her best. It could have been better with Callas and di Stefano.
