Opera & Vocal CD review - 18 January 1999

Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Eva Mei (Giulietta); Vesselina Kasarova (Romeo); Ramón Vargas (Tebaldo); Umberto Chiummo (Capellio); Simone Alberghini (Lorenzo)
Münchener Rundfunkorchester; Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Roberto Abbado, conductor
RCA 09026 68899 2 (3 cds)
Texts and translations in English, French, German and Italian

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Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust
Anne Sofie von Otter (Marguerite); Keith Lewis (Faust); Bryn Terfel (Méphistophélès); Victor von Halem (Brander)
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus
Myung-Whun Chung, conductor
DGG 453 500-2 (2 cds)
Texts and translations in English, French and German

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Cavalli: La Didone
Yvonne Kenny (Cassandra/Didone); Judith Howarth (Creusa/Junone); Uta Schabe (Amore/Ascanio); Hilary Summers (Ecuba); Laurence Dale (Enea); Alexander Plust (Iarba); Kwangchoul Youn (Sinon/Nettuno); and Wessela Zlateva; Leonore von Falkenshausen; Katharina Kammerloher; Hermann Oswald; Peter-Jürgen Schmidt; Bernhard Landauer
Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble
Thomas Hengelbrock, conductor
Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 05472 77354 2 (2 cds)
Texts and translations in English, French and German

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Delibes:Lakmé
Natalie Dessay (Lakmé); Patricia Petibon (Ellen); Delphine Haidan (Mallika); Xenia Konsek (Rose); Bernadette Antoine (Mistress Bentson); Gregory Kunde (Gerald); Charles Burles (Hadji); Franck Leguérinel (Frederic); José van Dam (Nilakantha)
Orchestra and Chorus of the Capitole de Toulouse
Michel Plasson, conductor
EMI 7243 4 45459 2 6 (2 cds)
Notes and translations in English, French and German

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Dvorák: Rusalka
Renée Fleming (Rusalka); Dolora Zajick (Jesibaba); Eva Urbanová (Princess); Zdena Kloubová (Turnspit); Lívia Ághová, Dana Buresová, Hana Minutillo (Wood nymphs); Ben Heppner (Prince); Franz Hawlata (Water Goblin); Ivan Kusnjer (Huntsman/Gamekeeper)
Czech Philharmonic Orchesztra; Kühn Mixed Choir
Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor
Decca 460 568-2 (3 cds)
Notes and translations in English, French and German

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Lully: Acis et Galatée
Véronique Gens (Galatée); Mireille Delunsch (L'Abondance/Aminte/Première Naiade); Monique Simon (Diane/Deuxième Nymphe); Françoise Masset (Une Dryade/Scylla); Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Acis); Howard Crook (Apollon/Télème/Le Prêtre); Jean-Louis Meunier (Comus); Rodrigo del Pozo (Tireis); Laurent Naouri (Polyphème)
Choeur des Musiciens du Louvre; Les Musiciens du Louvre
Marc Minkowski, conductor
Archiv 453 497-2 (2 cds)
Texts and translations in English, French and German

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Mahler: Das klagende Lied
Eva Urbanová (soprano); Jadwigga Rappé (alto); Hans Peter Blochwitz (tenor); Håkan Hagegård (baritone); Terence Wey, Otto Jaus (soloists of the Wiener Sängerknaben)
Hallé Orchestra and Choir
Kent Nagano, conductor
Erato 3984-21664-2
Notes and translations in English, French and German

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Monteverdi: Complete Duets
Il Complesso Barocco
Alan Curtis, conductor
Virgin 7243 5 45293 2 0 (Vol. 1)
Virgin 7243 5 45302 2 7 (Vol. 2)
Texts and translations in English, French and German

Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine
Sophie Marin-Degor, Maryseult Wieczorek (sopranos); Artur Stefanowicz, Fabian Schofrin (countertenors); Paul Agnew, Joseph Cornwell, François Piolino (tenors); Thierry Félix, Clive Bayley (basses)
Les Arts Florissants; Les Sacqueboutiers de Toulouse
William Christie, conductor
Erato 3984-23139-2 (2 cds)
Texts and translations in English, French and German

Lamenti: Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Purcell, Bertali, Legrenzi
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Musica Antiqua Köln
Reinhard Goebel, conductor
DGG Archiv 457 617-2
Texts and translations in English, French and German

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Puccini: Turandot
Giovanna Casolla (Turandot); Barbara Frittoli (Liù); Sergei Larin (Calaf); Aldo Bottion (Altoum); José Fardilha (Ping); Francesco Piccoli (Pang); Carlo Allemano (Pong); Vittorio Vitelli (Mandarin); Carlo Colombara (Timur)
Orchestra & Chorus of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Zubin Mehta, conductor
RCA 74321 60617 2 (2 cds)
Texts and translations in English, French, German and Italian

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Rossini: The Cantatas, Vol. 1: La morte di Didone; Cantata in onore del Sommo Pontefice Pio Nono
Mariella Devia (Didone/La Speranza); Paul Austin Kelly (L'Amor pubblico); Michele Pertusi (Il Genio cristiano); Francesco Piccoli (Corifeo)
Coro Filarmonico and Orchestra Filarmonica Della Scala
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Decca 458 843-2
Notes and translations in English, French and German

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Marcelo Alvarez: Bel canto
Marcelo Alvarez, tenor; Ying Huang, soprano
Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera
Carlo Rizzi, conductor
Sony SK 60721
Notes and translations in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish; texts in Italian and English only

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Ileana Cotrubas: Liederabend: Schubert, Britten, Fauré, Brahms
Ileana Cotrubas, soprano; Erik Werba, piano
Orfeo C 492 981 B
Notes and translations in English and German; texts in original language only

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