White Horse Opera

Description
“There is no weak link in a splendidly committed cast…Crisp and clean black-and-white video quality and an excellent audio production”–Chicago Tribune on Billy Budd Originally broadcast in 1963 and now meticulously restored by the BBC, this film features a superb cast, including Janet Baker as Polly Peachum and the much-loved Scottish tenor Kenneth McKellar as the highwayman Macheath. John Gay’s opera was a great success when first performed in 1728, satirizing the conve… More >>

The Beggar’s Opera

Amazon.com essential recording
The singing is very good in this performance, and the acting (particularly by Maria Callas) is even better. Tullio Serafin, who has evidently studied Mascagni’s own performances, knows how to get maximum impact without pushing the tempo or overstating the dynamics. It is particularly interesting to observe Callas bringing her dramatic skills into verismo operas. The gritty realism of these performances makes one regret that Callas didn’t spend more time p… More >>

Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo: Pagliacci with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Tullio Serafin, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

Amazon.com Classical Music Reviews
With this CD devoted solely to operatic arias–by none less than Giuseppe Verdi, the greatest Italian opera composer of all time–pop crossover phenomenon Andrea Bocelli throws his hat into the operatic ring with the big boys. The hat occasionally fits, and occasionally it doesn’t. The beauty of the voice is undeniable, as is the relative ease in all registers. But, regardless of what the engineers do, it is clearly a small voice. For “Celeste … More >>

Andrea Bocelli: Verdi