Montserrat is best known for her roles in Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti operas. Her superb voice, breath control, exquisite pianissimos, and infamous technique overshadow her acting and dramatic abilities. Although Montserrat's personal favorite performance was her Norma on July 20, 1974, she is best known for her Vissi d'Arte from Puccini's Tosca, which displays her remarkable breath control and technique. She set the bar and no one has surpassed it. |
Montserrat is best known for her roles in Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti operas. Her superb voice, breath control, exquisite pianissimos, and infamous technique overshadow her acting and dramatic abilities. Although Montserrat's personal favorite performance was her Norma on July 20, 1974, she is best known for her Vissi d'Arte from Puccini's Tosca, which displays her remarkable breath control and technique. She set the bar and no one has surpassed it. |
Montserrat is best known for her roles in Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti operas. Her superb voice, breath control, exquisite pianissimos, and infamous technique overshadow her acting and dramatic abilities. Although Montserrat's personal favorite performance was her Norma on July 20, 1974, she is best known for her Vissi d'Arte from Puccini's Tosca, which displays her remarkable breath control and technique. She set the bar and no one has surpassed it. |
Montserrat is best known for her roles in Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti operas. Her superb voice, breath control, exquisite pianissimos, and infamous technique overshadow her acting and dramatic abilities. Although Montserrat's personal favorite performance was her Norma on July 20, 1974, she is best known for her Vissi d'Arte from Puccini's Tosca, which displays her remarkable breath control and technique. She set the bar and no one has surpassed it. |
Montserrat is best known for her roles in Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti operas. Her superb voice, breath control, exquisite pianissimos, and infamous technique overshadow her acting and dramatic abilities. Although Montserrat's personal favorite performance was her Norma on July 20, 1974, she is best known for her Vissi d'Arte from Puccini's Tosca, which displays her remarkable breath control and technique. She set the bar and no one has surpassed it. |
Performer: Montserrat Caballé, Ian Partridge, Plácido Domingo, Robert Tear, Bernard Dickerson, et al. Orchestra: Ambrosian Opera Chorus, New Philharmonia Orchestra Conductor: Bruno Bartoletti, John McCarthy Composer: Giacomo Puccini This disc has most of the right ingredients for a classic Manon Lescaut. Plácido Domingo and Montserrat Caballé in their prime were two of the loveliest Puccini voices of the late 20th century. Their Spanish temperaments only aid in conveying the passion in this story of a love that survives unpleasant parents, religious vows, and arrest, and ends without a shred of dignity in the swamps of Louisiana. The main drawback here is that conductor Bruno Bartoletti, for all of his experience, could've given a fresher account of the score and, in general, the whole thing sounds a bit studio bound. However, operatic decisions are made on the basis of voices, and this set has them. --David Patrick Stearns |
Le Carillon was written in the same year as Werther. The villains of the story who try to destroy the bells of the title are punished by being miraculously transformed into bronze jaquemarts, fated to continue striking them for ever. The music of this one-Act ballet makes a delightful offering-not always as lightweight as one would expect. With his keen rhythmic sense and feeling for color, Bonynge is outstanding in this repertory, and the 1984 Decca recording is brilliant and colorful. Coppelia is a lively and very tuneful ballet which is given a fine performance by master ballet conductor Richard Bonynge on this two CD set. Massenet's short ballet Le Carillon is a delightful filler. Please do yourself a favor and get this outstanding set while it is still available. |
PUCCINI Manon Lescaut • Giuseppe Sinopoli, cond; Mirella Freni (Manon Lescaut); Renato Bruson (Lescaut); Plácido Domingo (Des Grieux); Kurt Rydl (Geronte di Ravoir); Robert Gambill (Edmondo); Royal Op House London Ch; Philharmonia O • DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 289 477 (2 CDs: 123:23 Text and Translation) I have long enjoyed Jonel Perlea’s classic Rome account of Manon Lescaut featuring Licia Albanese and Jussi Björling, which was last reviewed in Fanfare 29: 4. I generally agree with the comments made there. However, I find Naxos’s recent issue of the recording to have marginally more helpful sound than the Opera d’Oro version reviewed then. The reappearance of Sinopoli’s set at midprice as part of Universal’s new “Grand Prix” series surely merits serious consideration, even if you have an “old faithful” recording in your collection. For a start, there is the sound quality—spacious and faithful, allowing all concerned to be heard in the most flattering light. As the leads, Freni and Domingo are in top form, providing a significant challenge for Albanese and Björling. Freni is the more pliant of tone and emotionally affecting. She’s not at all forced in the upper register as Albanese can appear to be, no doubt a result in part of the 1954 recording. Björling vs. Domingo is a battle royal between tenors, and it is one that Domingo wins by a head. His sheer ardor early on and grief-stricken expression at the opera’s close make this quite a reading, even by his own high standards. Bruson’s Lescaut is every bit as Italianate as Perlea’s Robert Merrill, making the choice between them rather hard. As I write, the jury is still out in choosing between them. DG’s casting in the lesser roles is more successful. Having Brigitte Fassbaender as the Madrigal Singer is nothing short of luxury. Those familiar with Sinopoli’s conducting will know that on occasion it could work against the intended musical dynamic—but here that is not the case. Indeed, Sinopoli could hardly be a more winning guide; he is so effective that I regret he did not find this form more often. That the excellent Philharmonia orchestra brings out the full beauty of Puccini’s writing is a significant bonus. The chorus is handled with atmosphere. It will, I suspect, be some time before a more cogent account of the work appears. This is a recording I shall return to often with much pleasure. |
Though recorded 25 years ago, this is still one of the best performances of Tosca on disc. Montserrat Caballe may not have been the most convincing of Floria Toscas on stage, but here her beautiful voice, intelligent phrasing and wide range of vocal colour, helped no doubt by the sympathetic conducting of Colin Davis, combine to produce a thoroughly believable characterisation. Carreras captivates with his then glorious vocal timbre and impeccable legato line, while Ingvar Wixell's Scarpia is both powerful and subtle. Supporting roles are well cast and characterised, with the young Samuel Ramey a strong Angelotti. Colin Davis conducts an exciting performance. But even more desirable are Callas, di Stefano and the incomparable Tito Gobbi under the dramatically forceful Victor de Sabata. © BBC Music Magazine 2001 |
Whether he's playing to classical audiences in intimate concert venues or drawing capacity crowds playing with his band in vast arenas, David Garrett is touching hearts and astounding audiences wherever he performs. The virtuoso violinist, already on the road to rock-star fame, has truly become one of the most exciting entertainers in the music world. The Encore album demonstrates that with David there are no barriers. From beautiful classics like Salut d'Amour through to movie themes, Queen, AC/DC, Michael Jackson and gypsy dances - they all have one thing in common: great music played by one of the great new musicians of our age. |
Tran Manh Tuan was born in Hanoi on May 7th to a family with a tradition in the performing arts. His father, mother and sister are all stage performers of the traditional "Cai Luong" (The Renovated Theater), a theatrical art based on song and dance, created in the South of Vietnam. Yet he found his own musical love in jazz and has responded by becoming one of the leaders of the Vietnamese jazz movement. While Tuan plays Jazz, Pop, R&B, his favorite is a combination of traditional Vietnamese music and contemporary music that brings to the music-loving public a feeling of unity and a common language. This music evokes love, breath and happiness. Taught at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, working as composer, producer, arranger and saxophonist. So far Tuan has released 7 solo CDs, and has collaborated with many well-known Vietnamese singers. He has received many music awards for his talent and for taking the voice of Vietnam and Vietnam TV and also for his performances to students. He has performed in many countries including France, Germany, the United States, Holland, Russia, China, Thailand, Singapore, and many more. |
“If there's such a thing as a "guy's ballet," Spartacus is it. Sure, there are women in the cast, but the focus is on men and on manly things, and it's no surprise that a series of popular travel guides for gay men also is named "Spartacus." (One of the most heart-wrenching moments in the ballet is when Spartacus is made to kill a fellow slave in gladiatorial combat for the amusement of the Roman upper crust, and then cries over his friend's fresh corpse.) This production was filmed live at the Bolshoi in 1990 by a Japanese crew. The original scenario by Nikolai Volkov presented the title character as a Christ-like figure, down to his betrayal by Harmodius, one of his followers. In 1968, choreographer Yuri Grigorovich made several changes to Volkov's scenario, including the removal of Harmodius. Under his direction, dance (not pantomime) regained the upper hand, and the ballet gained greater focus as the contrast between the "pure" slaves and the "decadent" Romans was emphasized. No doubt this pleased Soviet leaders of the time, and I am sure the point was not lost on them when the Roman soldiers marched a goose-step. Each of the four main characters was given several psychological dance "monologues" in front of a black curtain; these monologues also allowed unobtrusive scene changes. Khachaturian's very long score was cut, and many of its numbers were moved and rearranged. Four acts became three. To my mind, these changes were not a bad thing, but if viewers are looking for Spartacus in its original form (about four hours long!), they will be disappointed by the Grigorovich production. The dancing, with an emphasis on athleticism, is quite spectacular. Crassus is the first main character to appear, and Aleksandr Vetrov immediately establishes the character of the arrogant general with a display of icy-cold gymnastics. Aegina, his mistress, also is danced with aptly frigid precision by Maria Bilova. The highlight of her performance comes in Act 3, when she distracts the would-be rebellious slaves with a very suggestive hoochie-koochie dance. Although no less proud than Aegina, Phrygia, the beloved of Spartacus, is characterized as warm and sincere. In her duets with Spartacus, she frequently is carried, sometimes over the hero's head! The other telling pose has her kneeling at his feet and holding his thigh. (Imagine a Frank Frazetta painting.) In the title-role, the charismatic Irek Mukhamedov tempers his athleticism with true passion. (Who wouldn't follow a man like this to the brink of the grave?) Like Vetrov, he executes chains of astonishing leaps without even looking winded. The Bolshoi corps lives up to its reputation here, and the sets and costumes are excellently done. Zhuraitis keeps things moving in the pit and soft-pedals the bombast, of which there is plenty in this score. (It is about as authentically Roman as Roman Polanski.) Because this is a live performance, there are occasional flubbed notes from the winds. The sound quality is top-drawer. The video quality is less fine; director Shuji Fujii favors wide shots of all or most of the stage, and so what we don't get to see are the dancers' facial expressions, which remain indistinct much of the time. Still, this is a ballet and not a play, so at least Fujii has his priorities in the right place. If you want a muscle-bound evening enjoying a ballet at home, the Bolshoi's Spartacus will do nicely. ~ Raymond Tuttle, Classical.net ” |
“Music by Pytor Illyich Tchaikovsky. Choreographed and staged bu Rudolf Nureyev after Marius Petipa. Restaged by Patricia Ruanne. The Sleeping Beauty remains, Rudolf Nureyev often called it, the 'ballet of ballets'. It is the most accomplished and the most brilliant, as well as one of the most spectacular of the 19th century, and the most representative of the 'noble' style of classical dancing. Rudolf Nureyev's version, which he created for the Opera Ballet in 1989, was recoreded at the Opéra Bastille in 1999, in a new production (set and costumes) created by his faithful collaborators, Ezio Frigerio and Franca Squarciapino, who had already produced Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet and La Bayadere. Princess Aurora: Aurélie Dupont Prince Désiré: Manuel Legris King Florestan: Vincent Cordier The Queen: Nathalie Quernet Catalabutte: Laurent Queval The Lilac Fairy: Béatrice Martel Carabosse: Nathalie Aubin Princess Florina: Delphine Moussin Bluebird: Benjamin Pech Puss In Boots: Stéphane Elizabé White Cat: Laetitia Pujol Orchestre De L'Opéra National De Paris Conductor: David Coleman Sets: Ezio Frigerio. Costumes: Franca Squarciapino. Directed byu Pierre Cavassilas. Experience Rudolf Nureyev's version of Tchaikovski's spectacular 19th Century ballet in this release showcasing a 1999 performance captured live at the Opera Bastille. Restaged by Patricia Ruanne, this version of The Sleeping Beauty stars Aurlie Dupont, Manuel Legris, and Vincent Cordier. David Coleman conducts the Orchestre de l'Opra National de Paris in a performance featuring set design by Ezio Frigerio and costumes by Franca Asquarciapino. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide ” |
“This is a strange review to write, so let's start at the beginning. Read the title line to the headnote. It credits this ballet, Ivan the Terrible, to Serge Prokofieff. But what we have here is an adaptation – often, a very free adaptation – of Prokofieff's film score to Sergei Eisenstein's two-part film about Ivan the Terrible. (a third part was planned but never made.) The adaptation was made Mikhail Chulaki, who also drew heavily on music from Prokofieff's Third Symphony, Russian Overture and Alexander Nevsky. Whenever the ballet score closely follows Prokofieff's originals, the orchestration is almost invariably different in some way. Thus, in the end, we get an episodic arrangement of themes and sections from Prokofieff's music. There are, of course, parallels in ballet for this kind of thing, Les Sylphides being the most prominent example. Who actually expected a ballet from Prokofieff's film music – or Stasevich's famous arrangement of it – without some adjustments, that is, without undanceable parts excised or altered? At any rate, the big question here is, what are the music and dancing like? For all Chulaki's takeoffs and tampering, his work is colorful and quite imaginative. Prokofieff purists might scoff at it, but I, an admirer of the composer's music for a half-century or so now, find it a compelling mixture of the enchanting and the riveting. It may lack depth, but Chulaki has fashioned a score that most 20th century ballet aficionados should find appealing. The dancing, as you expect from the Bolshoi, is brilliant, with both leads, Irek Mukhamedov and Natalya Bessmertnova, as well ensemble dancers, turning in impressive performances. The choreography and scenery are imaginative, though the latter is tinged with a bit of drabness. There are long sections from Prokofieff's various scores that are presented with relatively few changes, #7 (track 8) – Celebrating the victory (from the Russian Overture); #9 – Ivan's fortune (from Symphony #3, second movement); and #10 – Revolt of the Boyars (Symphony #3, third movement); and #16 – Finale (Symphony #3, finale). So, lest I leave the reader with a false impression, there is a lot a fairly straight Prokofieff here. In fact, as the score progresses it becomes clear that Chulaki relies more and more on Prokofieff and less on himself. I should point out that the booklet notes, apparently written by Boris Kehrmann, claim that #15, Dance of the Oprichniki (from Ivan the Terrible) is unchanged from the film score. Kehrmann was probably referring to one small section in #15, but even though the music closely follows Prokofieff here, extra percussion and other instrumental effects are added by Chulaki. As for conductor Algis Zhuraitis, his interpretation is generally insightful and the performance he draws from the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra is spirited. Some of the tempos vary from Prokofieff's original scores (the dark opening of #13, Ivan at Anastasia's grave, is taken too fast), but one cannot tell if Chulaki altered the tempo marking to make the music more danceable or if Zhuraitis stepped on the accelerator. At any rate the performance is fine overall, and the sound, from this 1990 live Bolshoi Theater presentation, not quite state-of-the-art but clear and full. Recommended.” – Expert Review on Classical.net |
“It would be hard to imagine a better performance of Donizetti's comic masterpiece. If there was one role that ideally suited Luciano Pavarotti's voice and stage personality, it was Nemorino, the impoverished and not-very-bright peasant who worships the village's prettiest and richest young woman from a distance, is swindled by a traveling vendor of "miracle" medicines, but wins her hand by dumb luck. The story has comedy, pathos, and a put-down of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (or at least the Tristan story) written long before Wagner composed it. Kathleen Battle is not only a wonderful singer and convincing actress; as Adina, she is pretty enough to make Nemorino's infatuation totally credible. Juan Pons struts convincingly as Belcore, Nemorino's self-important rival, and Enzo Dara is properly spectacular as Dr. Dulcamara, who sells Nemorino the magic potion guaranteed to improve his love life, or at least to get him drunk. The melodies in this opera include some of the best ever written, and James Levine, his extraordinary orchestra, and his wonderful chorus know exactly what to do with them. Everything comes together in this production to make it one of the best opera DVDs available. --Joe McLellan” – Expert Review on Amazon.com |
Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé i Folc, better known as Montserrat Caballé (born April 12, 1933, Barcelona, Spain), is a Spanish soprano. One of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century, she possesses a voice of remarkable beauty and of great range and flexibility, renowned for her flawless bel canto technique and unfailling musicianship. She is particularly admired for her famous interpretations of the works of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. |
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