Opera & Vocal CD review - 10 August 1998

Britten: Billy Budd
Thomas Hampson (Billy Budd); Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Captain Vere); Eric Halfvarson (Claggart); Russell Smythe (Redburn); Gidon Saks (Flint); Simon Wilding (Ratcliffe); Martyn Hill (Red Whiskers); Christopher Maltman (Donald); Andrew Burden (Novice); William Dazeley (Novice's Friend); Christopher Gillett (Squeak); Richard van Allan (Dansker)
Hallé Orchestra & Choir and the Manchester Boys Choir conductor
Kent Nagano, conductor
Erato 3984-21631-2 (2 cds)
Texts and translations in English, French and German

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Handel: Ariodante
Lynne Dawson (Ginevra); Veronica Cangemi (Dalinda); Anne Sofie von Otter (Ariodante); Ewa Podles (Polinesso); Richard Croft (Lurcanio); Denis Sedov (The King); Luc Couadou (Odoardo) )
Les Musiciens du Louvre and Choeur des Musiciens du Louvre
Marc Minkowski, conductor
Archiv 457 271-2 (3 cds)
Texts and translations in English, French, German and Italian

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Lehmann: Songs
Janice Watson, soprano; Catherine Wyn-Rogers, mezzo-soprano; Toby Spence, tenor; Neal Davies, baritone
Steuart Bedford, piano
Collins 15082
Notes and translations in English, French and German; song texts in English only

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Literes: Los Elementos
Marta Almajano (El Ayre/La Aurora); Lola Casariego (La Tierra); Anne Grimm (El Agua); Xenia Meijer (El Fuego); Jordi Ricard (El Tiempo); and Carlos Mena (countertenor);
Al Ayre Español
Eduardo López Banzo , conductor
BMG - Deutsche Harmonia Mundia 05472 77385 2
Texts and translations in French, English and German

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Rossini: L'Italiana in Algeri
Jennifer Larmore (Isabella); Darina Takova (Elvira); Laura Polverelli (Zulma); Raúl Giménez (Lindoro); John del Carlo (Mustafà); Alessandro Corbelli (Taddeo); Carlos Chausson (Haly)
Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne; Chorus of the Grand Théâtre de Genève
Jesús López Cobos, conductor
Teldec 0630-17130-2 (2 cds)
Texts and translations in English and French.

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Rossini: Il Turco in Italia
Cecilia Bartoli (Fiorilla); Laura Polverelli (Zaida); Ramón Vargas (Narciso); Francesco Piccoli (Albazar); Michele Pertusi (Selim); Alessandro Corbelli (Geronio); Roberto de Candia (Poeta)
Orchestra and chorus of La Scala, Milan
Riccardo Chailly, conductor Decca 458 924-2 (2 cds)
Texts and translations in English, French, German and Italian

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Schubert: Lieder
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Bengt Forsberg, piano
DGG 453 481-2
Texts and translations in English, French and German

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Verdi:Otello
Margaret Price (Desdemona); Martine Mahé (Emilia); Giuseppe Giacomini (Otello); Dino di Domenico (Cassio); Alain Gabriel (Rodrigo); Matteo Manuguerra (Iago); Vincent le Texier (Montano); Luigi Roni (Lodovico)
Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine; Slovak Philharmonic Chorus of Bratislava
Alain Lombard, conductor
Forlane 216774 (2 cds)
Texts and translations in English, French and German; libretto only in Italian

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Vocalises Selections by Rachmaninov, Alabiev, Saint-Saëns, Délibes, Ravel, Granados, Proch, Dell'Acqua, Glière, Johann Strauss
Natalie Dessay, soprano
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Michael Schønwandt, conductor
EMI 7243 5 56565 2 0
Texts and translation in English, French and German

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My Native Land: My Native Land - A Collection of American Songs
Songs by Aborn, Abramson, Barber, Copland, Duke, Heggie, Hoiby, Hundley, Ives, Naginski and Niles
Jennifer Larmore, mezzo-soprano
Antoine Palloc, piano
Teldec 0630-16069-2
Notes in English, French and German; texts, where furnished, in English only

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Christa Ludwig: A 70th birthday tribute
Excerpts from Elektra, Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Iphigénie in Aulide, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Götterdämmerung
Christa Ludwig, soprano
Walter Berry, baritone
Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Heinrich Hollreiser, conductor
RCA 09026 68951 2
Notes in English, French and German

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