James McCracken (1926–1988) recorded the arias on the first half of this disc in 1969, four years after the duets he recordeed with his wife, mezzo-soprano Sandra Warfield (1921-2009). Both singers were in their prime leon during those years and in the decade following. These performances of distinction offer some of the sappiest and most […]
‘From Melba to Sutherland: Australian Singers on Record’ is the first-ever comprehensive survey of the recordings of Australia’s greatest singers – in a unique, new, 4CD set from Decca, complete with biographies of each of the 80 artists, rare photographs, all contained within a 68-page booklet. Why has there been such an extraordinary procession of […]
Opera has entrenched itself in popular consciousness thanks to the much publicised concerts of The Three Tenors, outdoor stagings of such operatic blockbusters as ‘Aida’ and ‘Turandot’, opera concerts in the park, not to mention their ready incorporation into television advertisements – be it a British Airways aircraft floating in the clouds to the ‘Lakme’ Flower […]
This is a classic recording from 1968, of Leoncavallo’s one-act, grisly tale of ‘live’ murder during a village stage production. This is ‘verismo’ at its finest and most potent and the star-studded cast gives a thrilling, edge-of-the-seat performance.
‘Queen Victoria loved music for music’s sake and singing appealed especially to her. It was a joy, a necessity to her to hear music every day and to keep in contact with the musicians of her time. Artists met with the most charming and graceful reception and the Queen always entertained herself for a long […]
These new re-masterings cast fresh light on seminal recordings of ‘Cavalleria rusticana’ and ‘Pagliacci’ both featuring Mario del Monaco. He was in his prime when he recorded Turiddu and Canio, and his performances in both recordings could hardly be more spine-tingling. ‘Cavalleria rusticana’ was recorded in 1954 and ‘Pagliacci’ in 1953. Franco Ghione’s feeling for the lyricism […]
