It’s time for the ladies to step up for the second of our “high brow” classical additions to the Essential Collection range.
Who better to kick us off, sorry that should be, get proceedings underway, than the inimitable Maria Callas, perhaps and arguably the most famous soprano of them all!
We then go way back in time to feature our earliest voice, that of Adelina Patti who was already gone by 1919!
Other great sopranos included are Elizabeth Schwarzkopf and Victoria de los Angeles, two ladies who were still entertaining audiences into the 1970’s.
Moving on to the Great Contralto’s we feature Britain’s beloved Kathleen Ferrier who died tragically young, and the statuesque, 6 foot tall Clara Butt whose voice according to Sir Thomas Beecham could be heard across the English Channel!
Listen and wonder at these great voices from another era, and not a fat lady in sight!
CD1
GREAT SOPRANOS
1. Casta Diva…Ah! Bello A Me Ritorna (‘Norma’) - Maria Callas
2. Pur Dicesti (‘Arminio’) - Adelina Patti
3. In Quali Eccessi…Mi Tradì, Quell’Alma Ingrata (‘Don Giovanni’) - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
4. L’Amerò, Sarò Costante (‘Il Re Pastore’) - Elisabeth Schumann
5. Abscheulicher!...Komm, Hoffnung (‘Fidelio’) - Kirsten Flagstad
6. Una Voce Poco Fa…Io Son Docile (‘Il Barbiere Di Siviglia’) - Amelita Galli-Curci
7. Ah! Non Giunge (‘La Sonnambula’) - Luisa Tertazzini
8. Surta È La Notte…Ernani!, Ernani Involami…Tutto Sprezzo Che D’Ernani (‘Ernani’) - Rosa Ponselle
9. O Dieu! Que De Bijoux!...Ah! Je Ris (‘Faust’) - Victoria De Los Angeles
10. Ave Maria (‘Otello’) - Elisabeth Rethberg
11. La Mamma Morta (Andrea Chénier) - Claudia Muzio
12. Depuis La Jour (‘Louise’) Nellie Melba
13. In Questa Reggia…O Principi, Che A Lunghe Carovane (‘Turandot’) - Eva Turner
14. O Rendetemi La Speme…Qui La Voce… Vien, Diletto (‘I Puritani’) Maria Callas
CD2
GREAT CONTRALTOS & MEZZOS
1. What Is Life? (‘Orpheus And Eurydice’) - Kathleen Ferrier
2. Faites-Lui Mes Aveux (‘Faust’) - Conchita Supervia
3. Softly Awakes My Heart (‘Samson And Delilah’) - Marian Anderson
4. A Fairy Went A-Marketing - Dame Clara Butt
5. O Prêtres De Baal (‘Le Prophète’) - Sigrid Onegin
6. Sapphische Ode - Maria Olszewska
7. Höre Mit Sinn, Was Ich Dir Sage! (‘Götterdämmerung’) - Ernestine Schumann-Heink
8. Printemps Qui Commence (‘Samson Et Dalila’) - Louise Kirkby Lunn
9. Der Musensohn - Kathleen Ferrier
10. Sgombra È La Sacra Selva (‘Norma’) - Irene Minghini-Cattaneo
11. Non So Più Cosa Son, Cosa Faccio (‘Le Nozze Di Figaro’) - Conchita Supervia
12. Three Fishers Went Sailing - Clara Butt
13. Il Segreto Per Esser Felici (‘Lucrezia Borgia’) - Sigrid Onegin
14. Alto Rhapsody - Marian Anderson
15. An Die Musik - Kathleen Ferrier
16. L’Amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle (‘Carmen’) - Conchita Supervia
17. When All Was Young (‘Faust’) - Louise Kirkby Lunn
18. Der Lenz - Ernestine Schumann-Heink
19. Land Of Hope And Glory - Dame Clara Butt
20. Blow The Wind Southerly - Kathleen Ferrier
