Product Description
In anticipation of the 150th anniversary (December 12, 2008) of the birth of opera’s most beloved composer – Giacomo Puccini – Sony BMG Masterworks has created the most definitive available collection of his operas in the 20-disc PUCCINI: THE COMPLETE OPERAS. All twelve of his operas are presented in acclaimed complete recordings – La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Turandot, Le Villi, Edgar, Manon Lescaut, La Fanciulla del West, La Rondine and Il Trittico (inc… More >>
Ideas Product
#1 by J. LaRosa on June 21, 2010 - 12:55 am
I’m not normally a fan of “The Complete” anything, but bought this collection from Amazon Gold Box for less than $60, and you cannot beat it for quality and price. Being a compilation, the recording quality naturally varies opera-to-opera, but not by much, and is generally excellent. The performances range from good to excellent; there are no dogs included. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by A. Flint on June 21, 2010 - 3:19 am
Tosca
Stereo 1972
Leontyne Price, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Paul Plishka
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
La Bohème
Stereo 1973
Plácido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, Sherrill Milnes, Judith Blegen, Ruggero Raimondi
London Philharmonic Orchestra, George Solti
Madama Butterfly
Stereo 1978
Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo, Ingvar Wixell, Gillian Knight
Philharmonia Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Turandot
Stereo 1998 (Live)
Giovanna Casolla, Sergej Larin, Barbara Frittoli, Aldo Bottion
Coro e Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Zubin Mehta
Le Villi
Stereo 1979
Plácido Domingo, Renata Scotto, Leo Nucci, Tito Gobbi
National Philharmonic Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Edgar
Stereo 1977
Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Scotto, Gwendolyn Killebrew
New York City Opera Orchestra, Eve Queler
Manon Lescaut
Stereo 1992
Nina Rautio, Peter Dvorsky, Gino Quilico, Luigi Roni, Aldo Bramante
Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Lorin Maazel
La fanciulla del West
Stereo 1991 (Live)
Mara Zampieri, Plácido Domingo, Juan Pons, Sergio Bertocchi, Luigi Roni
Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Lorin Maazel
La Rondine
Stereo 1966
Anna Moffo, Daniele Barioni, Mario Sereni, Graziella Sciutti, Piero de Palma
RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
Gianni Schicchi
Stereo 1977
Tito Gobbi, Ileana Cotrubas, Plácido Domingo
London Symphony Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Suor Angelica
Stereo 1977
Renata Scotto, Marilyn Horne, Ileana Cotrubas
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Il tabarro
Stereo 1977
Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo, Ingvar Wixell
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by R. Carsey on June 21, 2010 - 5:27 am
The age old question “Which is more important, the music or the libretto?” has been answered by the sin of omission in this product. Clearly, Sony believes that half of the artistry of these operas can safely be ignored, and no translations are needed. What you get is a short synopsis–albeit in a lovely book. But why oh why is there no disc of translations? EMI deals with this beautifully and artfully in their hefty CD sets by including a disc of pdf’s, but here nothing, nada. For a majority of the operas you can do an online search and discover sites that have some kind of translation, but woe betide you if you are looking for something obscure (although “Le Villi”, strangely, is available in translation online).
That said, the packaging is lovely, the recordings are beautifully done. If you are a Scotto fan, some of her greatest recordings (“Butterfly” especially) are here. The rarities are in starry form, the “Turandot” far from the best but still interesting and even gripping in places. Maazel is liberally represented as a conductor. His interpretations are sometimes a bit dry, but he always draws gorgeous, precise playing from his orchestral forces. The big find for me here was the “Rondine” recording, one of Moffo’s finest and an underappreciated piece.
You couldn’t call any of these recordings of the most famous operas definitive, and I’m glad I have others in my collection, but you can’t beat the price. However, plan ahead and download some translations before you start digging in. Or better yet, get the scores!
Rating: 4 / 5