Operababes: Rebecca Knight, Karen England.
Producers include: Jon Cohen, Noely, Anne Dudley, Frank Gallagher, Jim Steinman, Avi Geller.
Recorded in London, England and New York, New York.
There's more to the Opera Babes than what meets the eye. Yes, they're blonde and attractive, and they favor slinky outfits emblazoned with animal prints. But mezzo Karen England and soprano Rebecca Knight bring plenty of substance along with their style. They're serious musicians whose aim it is to attract a wider and younger audience to a medium they love. Their goal, England says, is "to make opera and classical music less intimidating." As such, this debut album offers an assortment of decidedly unconventional versions of popular arias and familiar themes. Selections such as Puccini's "Un Bel Di," Delibes's "Flower Duet," Orff's "O Fortuna," and Verdi's "Vittoria," as well as adaptations of melodies by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Dvorak, among others, boast eclectic arrangements that showcase the diverse imaginations of producers such as Frank Gallagher, Anne Dudley, and Jim Steinman. But regardless of the setting, the clear, bright voices of England and Knight always shine through. Purists and hard-liners may not take to the duo's somewhat freewheeling approach, but open-minded listeners will surely discover that "serious" music can be fun.

In Full Swing

Orff: Carmina Burana

J.S. Bach: Partitas, BWV 825-827, Vol. 1 (Glenn Gould Annive

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 14, 23, 24 & 26

This selection is also available in Super Audio CD format.

Violinist Giuliano Carmignola and conductor Andrea Marcon have served up another reminder that Vivaldi, in the right hands, is so much more than sonic wallpaper. These late Vivaldi concertos, given their premiere recordings here, are, for sure, more of the same musical illustrations, birdsongs, and harmonic sequences; what stands out is the aural handling they are given by Carmignola and the Venice Baroque Orchestra under Marcon.

Much attention is given to Giuliano Carmignola's violinistic tone, and with good reason. The sound he elicits from his extant 18th Century violin is rich and meaty, dosed with a subtle romantic vibrato, but colored throughout with a wide-ranging command of tone. Carmignola's virtuosity is nothing to be sneezed at either: blazing velocity, eternal line, and immaculate articulation and tuning all glow through an oh-so-italian musical nonchalance. The capper, though, is the zaftig sound of the orchestra. The bowing is self-assured, the tone warm and rounded, lacquered with the slight reverberance of the recording hall. The addition of an archlute, theorbo, and baroque guitar to the continuo (the baroque equivalent of jazz's "rhythm section") give the entire album a tremendous swing. I bet Vivaldi, were he still around, would be clamoring for Carmignola et al. to record his 500 or so other concerti.


David Simmons, WQXR

Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 92, 94, & 96

The Ecclesiastical Year in Gregorian Chant

Includes cto(s) for vln by Antonio Vivaldi. Soloist: Piero Toso.

Includes polka(s) by Johann Strauss Jr.. Ensemble: Philadelphia Orchestra. Conductor: Eugene Ormandy.
Includes waltz(es) by Johann Strauss Jr.. Ensemble: Philadelphia Orchestra. Conductor: Eugene Ormandy.

CLASSICS: OPERA ARIAS

A milestone of music making, this 5 CD boxed set collects Maurice Ravel's lush orchestral oeuvre in a collection of defining performances conducted by Pierre Boulez. A vivid testament to the ineffable incalculable role a conductor fills in any interpretation, 'Pierre Boulez Conducts Ravel' includes many of Ravel's best known compositions along with the valuable addition of less recorded and long out of print gems such as Jessye Norman's luminous Chansons Mad�casses with members of Ensemble Inter Contempora�n and the Piano Concerto in D major for the Left Hand, played thrillingly here by Phillipe Entremont with an inspired lights out Cleveland Orchestra. Boulez's prowess with the music of Ravel takes many forms, robust, muscular, capable of great tenderness, inquisitive, insouciant, and this collection of over 5 hours of music allows one to immerse completely within the rich mother lode of genius that was Maurice Ravel.

Rossini's' the barber of seville featuring marilyn horne, leo nucci, samuel ramey, enzo dara, paulo barbacini with the chorus and orchestra of the teatro alla scala under the conductor Riccardo Chailly.

Duetto presents tenors Marcelo Alvarez and Salvato re Licitra in a program of romantic ballads writte n and arranged specially for them. One of the feat ured composers on the album is Francesco Sartori, known for having composed Andrea Bocelli's biggest hit songs.