Albert: Die toten Augen - Wagner: Siegfried, WWV 86C & Die M

Donizetti: Emilia di Liverpool (Recorded 1957)

The Italian composer Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) isn’t much remembered today, though a not inconsiderable number of recordings are making known his instrumental, vocal and, most significantly, his operatic works that, historically, carry the most weight and are his most significant contribution to music. Long before re-discovery however, came this 1960 Elisa, a two-act opéra comique that had its premiere in Paris in 1794, a time of much turmoil in that city. An all-Italian cast, conductor, orchestra and locale feature here, with Gabriela Tucci and Gianni Raimondi assuming the lead roles.

Recorded on March 24, 1962, this recording of Donizetti’s Maria di Rohan stars Virginia Zeani as Maria. This work is recorded by the Orcestra e Coro del Teatro di San Carlo, conducted by Fernando Previtali. This release is a 2-disc set.

Featuring a front-line cast (Rysanek, Frick, Suthaus, Hotter, Nilsson, etc...) that sends Wagner aficionados into states of reverie at the prospect of listening once again to the authoritative, superlative singing casts one could assemble in the 1950's, this amazing performance of the second opera in the "Nibelungen" tetralogy also proves that conductor Herbert von Karajan live was, like the singers, in a class of his own in the 1950's as well. His few surviving Wagner recordings from this period, like this La Scala 1958 Die W�lkure, are a must for every Wagner connoisseur.

The child prodigy Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) composed Die Todt Stadt to a libretto by Paul Schott (the name in point of fact a pseudonym for the composer and his father, Julius) in the late 1910s, its premier coming in 1920. Its success was tremendous but brief, making it to NYC two years later but rarely making its way to the stage in the ensuing years and decades. This BRSO, Munich 1952 historic performance captures a nearly all-German cast headed by Maud Cunitz and Karl Friedrich.

Stolz: Die Rosen der Madonna Otto (Recorded 1961)

Myto’s release of Luigi Cherubini’s operatic masterpiece Medea from a live recording documenting a 1961 La Scala staged production with a cast including Jon Vickers, Maria Callas, Giulietta Simionato and Nicolai Ghiaurov is a most welcome one. Another important feature of this performance is that it highlights the brilliant conducting of American Thomas Schippers, who succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 47, prematurely ending a career whose loss was especially felt in opera orchestral pits around the world.

CARMEN: SIMIONATO-GEDDA-GÜDEN-

Bellini: La sonnambula (1957)

Bellini: I puritani (Recorded Live 1961)

Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72

Even before Rossini, Giovanni Paisiello was the first composer of the Libretto for The Barber of Seville. It is lovely to compare both versions, however, this release is unique in that it was the work’s first release on any format, and is still regarded as the best. Legendary Italian baritone Ettore Bastianini stars as Figaro. The rest of the cast is also incredible, making this release even more attractive to opera connoisseurs. The production was recorded at the Piccolo Teatro di Musica in March of 1953.

Is this March 1958, Lisbon La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi the best on record? Having in your cast, at that time, the role of Alfredo Germont sung by the great and classy tenor Alfredo Kraus surely enhances a recording's prospects toward that nomination. With Maria Callas as Violetta and Mario Sereni as Giorgio Germont, and also including the complete Radio Announcement which is missing on all other releases of this performance, and in excellent sound due to direct master tape transfers, it surely ranks high.

Puccini: Manon Lescaut