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lossless audio
Free Streaming Recordings
Every week we offer 12 new titles available to stream for free
Compilation: Giangiacomo Guelfi
Guglielmo Tell, Lucia, Cavalleria, Tosca, Fanciulla, Carmen, Vespri, Attila, Trovatore, Aida & Nabucco
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
Brooks, Quilico, Jobin, Bible, Smith; Rudel. New York, 1970
Donizetti: La Favorita
Verrett, Kraus, Elvira, Morris, Hendricks; Queler. 1975
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
Peters, Campora, Guarrera, Densen; Moresco. 1974
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte
M. Price, Burrows, Deutekom, Bryn-Jones, Ward, Robinson; Wisch. London, 1968
Spotlight: Emanuel List
From Our Collectors
Five-Star Reviews
Opera lovers share their discoveries from the catalogue.
Just a brief note...
“Just to make note, unlike the two commercial recordings of this opera, which omit Act II, Scene 1, this performance is complete !Sills, whether or not she liked the composer and his music, is astounding !”
Exciting Trovatore in Excellent Sound!
“The other reviews of this Trovatore have been very favorable and I second all those opinions. A pity the "Ai nostri monti" is missing, but collectors of live recordings are used to things like that and this performance is certainly worth hearing, missing duet or not. Jones is extremely good, certainly a Leonora worth fighting over. One wonders what her career might have been like had she stuck with Verdi and other Italian composers rather than pursuing Strauss and Wagner. Don't misunderstand: I love her Strauss and Wagner and she gave some spectacular performances in that repertoire. But her Aida, Desdemona, Elisabetta, Amelia, Lady Macbeth, and Leonora are all consistently well and memorably sung. I wish she had taken the traditional D-flat at the end of Act One here (she certainly had the note), but perhaps that wasn't in her training.McCracken sings a sturdy, exciting Manrico; Sereni a handsome, sexy Di Luna. Cossotto threatens to steal the show with her vivid Azucena. From a solid top C to a resonant low A Cossotto sweeps all before her. Her husband, Ivo Vinco, makes a first-rate Ferrando. Quadri conducts this stirring performance, preserved in excellent sound.”
Magnificent experience
“There are overwhelming power and strength of music and dramatic dynamism of the Ring in this recording. Among other things, dignified and passionate, vivid but delicate voice of Gwyneth Jones is the most irresistible.”
Excellent. Kleiber mesmerizing, especially in
“Excellent. Kleiber mesmerizing, especially in the third act (which shows off the orchestra better than Acts 1 and 2). The supporting cast is first rate and Wenkoff is magnificent--a deeply committed performance and a beautiful voice. Ligenza is very feminine, but her light voice becomes unpleasant under pressure and her top is shrill. Even so, we'd be grateful to hear the part so well sung in the opera house today. Sound is first rate, studio quality.”
Great Performance of The Bartered Bride.
“This recording, in good sound, features 3 very enjoyable leads with warm conducting of Krobhloc. Edelmann knows how to do buffo roles while still maintaining a firm singing line. Kmentt is a wonderfully enjoyable lyric tenor. Janowitz is lovely as Marenka. In 1965 the voice was beautiful and without the constriction at the top that it later developed. This is a wonderful performance of the part and a great souvenir of Janowitz's earlier career.”
Much Better Die Walkure
“It's great to finally have this performance available! The previous Die Walkure that was released as part of the Kempe '60 Ring featured Astrid Varnay as Brunnhilde, and it has always been the weak link in the cycle. But that's less to do with Varnay and everything to do with Wolfgang Windgassen's lamentably poor performance as Siegmund. His performance here is much, much better and shows him back in typical excellent form. Even Aase Nordmo Lovberg's performance is improved here, and she actually makes some pleasant noises instead of just the indefinable blobs of sound which marred her previous performance (although she would still never qualify as anyone's ideal Sieglinde). And of course it's great to have Birgit Nilsson's Brunnhilde for the sake of consistency, although Astrid Varnay gave little cause for complaint in the previous release. The sound quality is slightly inferior to the other Ring installments, but is still more than acceptable. A must acquisition for owners of the Kempe '60 Ring!”
Gene in LA
“I had the good fortune to see the New York City Opera’s production in L.A., with Norman Bailey as Sachs, Johanna Meier as Eva and the great, greatly-missed John Alexander as Walther. Julius Rudel conducted. I believe NYCO was borrowing the English National Opera production, done in Andrew Porter’s English as The Mastersinger. It was quite possibly the greatest single opera performance I’ve ever seen.”
Convincing version
“It is due to Wieland Wagner creating this shortened version for todays use. Adriano sung by a tenor is much more convincing. The cast with Windgassen, Traxel, Neidlinger and Brivcalne was great -- have seen it.”
"Regnans in excelsis"
“In 1977, the Aix-en-Provence Festival produced Donizetti's "Roberto Devereux," directed by Alberto Fassini (a protégé of Luchino Visconti), starring José Carreras, Montserrat Caballé, Susanne Marsee, Vicente Sardinero, and Ferruccio Furlanetto, and conducted by the late Julius Rudel with, unfortunately, the usual interpolations and cuts familiar from the period.The full extant of the beauty of Carreras' voice is heard here in the title rôle of the Earl of Essex, and he sings with admirable abandon, as well. The voice of Caballé was also, of course, one of the most beautiful instruments before the public, and, in this particular performance, she sings with great energy. Some might prefer, nevertheless, the singing-actress approach of the other celebrated post-War exponents of the rôle of Elisabetta, Leyla Gencer and Beverly Sills.Miss Marsee had made her European début earlier that year, at the Spoleto Festival, in "Così fan tutte," and here replaced Grace Bumbry as Sara, Duchess of Nottingham. That rôle was an important one in the great singing-actress's career (and remains her favorite), having débuted at the New York City Opera in this opera, opposite Sills, Plácido Domingo, and Louis Quilico, in 1970. In 1975, she appeared in a national telecast of the work from Wolf Trap Farm Park, in Tito Capobianco’s production. Here, she is thrilling as the hapless Duchess, her singular voice throttled with passion.”
Thomas E. Newby, Jr.
“Dear Sirs:In the process of looking opver your interesting catalogue, I cam upon this performance of BALLO. Since I was at the performance and I recorded it, I thought that I would compare your sound with my Uher recording. It appears that you sound is very similar to mine, with the voices being very clear and forward. However, this is definitely not the performance of 20 April 1976 because Johanna Meier did not sing that night. She was replaced by Betty Jones, and the voice on your recording is not Miss Jones. I have the recording to prove this.I am going to sample the rest of your catalogue, and I would consider making my private recordings of New York performances available to you in exchange for your CDs that interest me. For the most part, my recordings are not in circulation, and the sound is equal to the sound of this performance of BALLO.Yours truly,Tom Newby”
Gurre-Lieder - Janowitz, Ludwig, Sergi, Dickie; Krips. Wien, 1969
“The performance is excellent as far as must be imagined. However, it is sad that the 1969 sound resembles the Stokowski 78 rpm set more than the state of the art sound of 1969. One would never suspect the massive forces involved in this performance, and climaxes aredefinitely diminished by the engineering. Solo singers predominiate over the probably over200 insstrumentalists and chrous. Worth a listen, but only if you know this piece pretty well.”
Lorant Vaska
“I love the performance. I always appreciate Varviso's tempi and care of the singers. He makes sure the obligato perfectly accompanies and supplements the singer. The orchestra adopts the singer's tone and melodic line. I don't think Varviso was ever placed at the rank he deserved. Gedda is charming, Grist has a voice to go with the character, Waechter brings his wieniese approach into Dulcamara, while Kerns is a solid addition to the stars. Thank you.”
Beaut
“Years ago, I played Giulio Cesare for a non-opera-loving friend. “This is opera?” she said. “But it’s…pretty!” So just remember baroque opera is the gateway drug. I love this recording, especially Caballe. I’m used to a contralto Caesar, but I cottoned on to Paksalis very quickly. The sound is recessed—the principals are in another room—but clear. Turn up the gain you’ll be fine. Somebody somewhere is singing his recitative in English. Isn’t he? Someone tell me I’m not imagining this.”
Innocente et perverse
“Schröder Feinen réussit bien la combinaison, entre désarroi affectif et sensuel face au refus de Iokanaan et entêtement boudeur après . La voix est encore glorieuse . Varnay toujours irrésistible, Kachel une caractérisation en demi-teinte mais très soigneusement chanté, Roar montre encore ici qu'il n'est pas toujours le hurleur qu'on a dit . Sebastian encore formidable de théâtre et d'équilibres subtils .”
Joseph Brand
“A truly epic interpretation with a stunning cast all in their prime. Goodall's tempi could change quite considerably from performance to performance and here he is at his most magisterial. This performance dates from some five years before the commercial recording and is fresher in every department. Hunter's magnificent Brunnhilde is built on a technique that also made her a great Verdi soprano, an outstanding Donna Anna and a fine Norma - and despite her generous physique she was a real stage animal who completely inhabited whatever role she was performing.”
Varnay is fantastic and there are other assets as well
“All I need to say about Astrid Varnay is: she lives up to her reputation, and, this role is perfect for her: ultra-butch, incandescent, super-athletic, and e-e-e-e-evil. But she is not by any means the only asset.Other reviewers are criticizing Ivan Petroff for being "unremarkable", and tonight he's not flashy like Tito Gobbi or Renato Bruson, but he's very competent and sympathetic and, in his own scenes, commanding. In fact, I have the impression that he is making a deliberate decision to cede the center of attention to Astrid Varnay when she's on stage--for which he deserves extra credit, not criticism! He knows whom the audience paid to hear.Italo Tajo is similarly modest, conscious of his position as supporting cast. Tenor Gino Penno sings his brief aria impressively; he sounds like a smaller version of Richard Tucker. I'd love to hear him do a larger role.And the other big superstar here is Vittorio Gui. He leads a crisp, muscular performance, making the opera an action-thriller rather than a morality-play, and he keeps the singers together (almost) all the time, and avoids getting bogged down in the big ensembles, which for many other conductors are deadly quicksand.”
All-American Classic Meistersinger in English
“Quite marvelous. I saw a very similar cast perform this. First, John Alexander is one of the great Walthers of all time. I've never heard the role more perfectly vocalized. Similarly, Johanna Meier is a splendid, radiant, beautifully vocalized Eva. The entire cast in quite wonderful and all of the singers are very experienced in singing opera in English. The English translation, I think by Andrew Porter, is first-rate.”
English Janacek Style
“In 1951, Katya Kabanova was the first Janacek opera staged in Britain. The conductor was the 25 year old Charles Mackerras. Mackerras first recorded Janacek in 1959 and this recording included the overture to Katya Kabanova. Mackerras subsequently conducted this opera in Brno and in an interview Mackerras said that the Czech orchestra played naturally and this present Sadler’s Wells performance “ran them a good second” due to the Sadler’s Wells Orchestra’s enthusiasm and the singers ability to develop an “English Janacek style”.In 1976, Mackerras recorded Katya Kabanova with the Vienna Philharmonic which began a five Janacek opera recording cycle with Decca.In 1997, Mackerras recorded Katya Katanova again, this time for Supraphon.In this performance, the first recorded version of Katya Kabanova by Charles Mackerras, the eccentricities of Janacek’s orchestration is evident. Janacek’s music is not based on folk music like Bartok’s music but rather, is conceived “by feel”. This unorthodoxy which originates from Debussy, uses the whole tone scale constantly but it sounds nothing like Debussy. Janacek’s unconventionality is part of his originality and Janacek’s compositions, which at the time of this recording were thought by many to be unplayable, should not be made to sound like Wagner, Puccini, Strauss or Dvorak.”
One Of the best troyens there is
“For me this is the best opera recording i have heard in years, simply because Janet bakers singing and dramatic conviction as Dido is simply breathtaking.The fact that its sung in english may be the reason she is this stunning”
Ken
“I have to agree with the above comments about Pauline Tinsley. I saw her as Lady Macbeth with WNO in the 60′s and she was stunning.Also saw her in Moses (Rossini) at Sadlers Wells with WNO. A wonderful singer with a wonderful voice. She formed part of my early opera going experience. I have never forgotten her. Thank you Pauline Tynsley!”
A triumphant Welsh National Opera 'Die Walküre' under Sir Reginald Goodall (continued)
“The great Anne Evans was singing her first Brünnhilde. Kathryn Harries, who had only started singing operatic roles as a Flower Maiden in the WNO Parsifal the year before, was a strikingly youthful, good-looking, and well-sung Sieglinde. Although Phillip Joll was younger, higher-pitched, and less god-like in appearance and voice than Norman Bailey, he nevertheless offered a very coherent, convincing and youthful characterization and a very well sung performance, which fully came into its own in the final scene with Anne Evans. Warren Ellsworth (aged 34) was a show-stealing Siegmund (he generated much more presence and Vickers-like intensity in this role than did much-loved Alberto Remedios, who unfailingly sang this role very beautifully, but was always much more distinctive, engaging and characterful as Siegfried). His death from lymphatic cancer in 1993, aged only 42, was a very tragic loss. The singers, the WNO orchestra and Andrew Porter’s excellent English translation come across amazingly clearly and vividly. Aside from one brief gap/jump towards the end of Fricka’s big scene with Wotan in Act 2, the excellent stereo sound is almost completely fault-free. In a review of the first night, Rodney Milnes wrote: ‘every aspiring Wagner conductor across Europe should be corralled into Cardiff’s New Theatre to see how it should be done!’”
Boyd Cathey
“This excellent performance of LOHENGRIN comes from apparently an air check of a performance given in Stockholm, at the Royal Opera House, January 29, 1966 (the Opera Depot flyer lists "Royal Opera House, Covent Garden," but I wonder if that is a misprint?). In any case, it is a spectacular performance in excellent sound, and, to my knowledge it has only appeared, briefly in the past, on the Ponto label (which I think no longer available).As might be imagined, Nicolai Gedda is a principle reason to acquire this set, and he does not disappoint at all. In fact, he is simply magnificent. His "In fernem Land, " of course, is a true high point, but elsewhere he is a real model of how a lyrical Lohengrin should sound, portraying the knights' feelings and views through superb streams of gorgeous music.But then there is Aase Nordmo-Lovberg as Elsa, and artist not that familiar to me (although she sang at Bayreuth). Her voice reminds me a bit of Elisabeth Grummer, with its shimmering, silverly tone. She does extremely well.And the rest of the cast is strong, in particular Barbro Ericson's Ortrud and Bengt Rundgren's Heinrich and Rolf Jupither's Teleramund.Thus, this is a treasurable performance, superb in every way.”
Frank
“Just purchased this opera. I agree the sound is outstanding. Koln radio captured a nice clear production with voices well balanced. The performance is very good considering the cast of virtual unknown, except for TSR and Wolfram. Stich Randall fans must have this disc.”
Bellini : I Capuleti ed I Montecchi
“I have already a mono tape recording of the 1966 Amsterdamperformance with Margherita Rinaldi as Giulietta. Unfortunatly,the recording is rather bad and I was very pleased with your offer because your recording is so much better technically and so is also the performance with young Pavarotti in ottima forma.is”
Fidelity/ 1970
“Was more than happy to have received this as I was never aware of its existanceAlthough you sent it to me under the name josephine ferri I am in fact josephine mcqueen who sang the role of marzelline. It was really a surprise to learn that this performance was available and it was something that my children can have in my memory . As we say in glasgow noo to bad 🥰”
Dernesch at her best
“Helga Dernesch sings fearlessly and imaginitively in this complete rendering of her Siegfried Brünnhilde, considered the hardest of the three, and one in which she excels. She is ably partnered by the spontaneous flow of Alexander Gibson’s support. Ticho Parly essays Siegfried confidently. The sound is decent. The applause ecstatic upon conclusion with a huge high C from Dernesch. The whole of the scene is presented and that works well.”
Shostakovich: Katerina Ismailova
“Die Aufnahmequalität ist befriedigend und die Sänger hervorragend.Eine gute Einspielung, die ich empfehlen kann.The recording quality is satisfactory and the singers excellent.A good recording that I can recommend.”
Welcome addition to the Leoncavallo discography
“For me, this opera was a discovery and a revelation of sorts. How have I missed a Leoncavallo opera of this power, and musical interest?. It is a short opera, comparable to the length of Pagliacci. The drama rushes forward and the score invariable fine and often beautiful.The cast is a fine one: Linda Vaina has an edgy powerful soprano, ideal for the task, and the Edipo, baritone Giorgio Lorna (also new to me ) is excellent, his voice powerful and beautiful with a solid masculine core. There is a superb dramatic monologue that finishes the opera, and delivered with all the dramatic awareness and vocal bloom of a singer who deserved much greater renown.The sound is excellent.”
Date Correction
“Further to my review above, I spoke with Margaret Curphey today and she confirmed that the recording will have been taken on 29 September 1977, which was her first public performance of the Siegfried Brünnhilde. Perhaps the cover might be corrected for the future. It's a wonderful disc: thanks again for issuing.”
David Fetz
“MY NEW FAVORITE! WOW! Just about the most perfectly cast recording I have heard in quit a while. Caballe is Wonderfual as Desdemona. She has everything the role needs. She is girlish and Strong and won’t be walked on by Her Otello. Peter Glossop is an EXCELLENT Iago. He sends shivers up you spine.As for McCracken, what can I say. He IS Otello! So strong ye so fragile in his jeluosey. He is Still in my opinion unsurpast in this role. I don’t think it CAN be sung better. What an opera. What a performance. HIGHLY RECCOMENDED!”
JÁNOS KÁDÁR
“Beside Callas I find Scotto the greatest Norma and here at her prime she can give all nuances of this role. Her partners are also in excellent form and Patane leds an exciting performance”
Un Enlèvement de référence
“Magnifique interprétation, dominée par la merveilleuse Christiane Eda-Pierre, trop méconnue, et l'inusable Kurt Moll. Les autres rôles sont bien tenus et Karl Böhm fait jouer l'orchestre de l'Opéra de Paris comme des viennois ! Le son est excellent.”
Celine Papizewska
“Louis Quilico had one of the most sheerly beautiful baritones voices of all time, most evident in bel canto opera. Bellini wrote the most Romantic melody ever for baritone in “Ah, per sempre io ti perdei”, and Louis gives it all the dark, melancholy beauty at his considerable disposal. I used to study with him, and during lessons he would regularly overwhelm his students by demonstrating a technical point with phrases from Verdi. What a treat! If you could manage to find some of his performance in other bel canto operas, ie. Lucia di Lammermoor, and his magnificent Macbeth, as well as Falstaff, I would be in opera ecstasy.This Puritani vies with the Callas/Di Stefano as my favourite bel canto recording of all time.”
An immense performance
“I was present at this performance. It took place as part of the Opera Proms in 1977 and was at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and not at the Albert Hall Proms which take place later in the year. I had a ticket which cost me 50p! We went to hear not just the great Pavarotti, who sang magnificently, but also the great British baritone Peter Glossop, who gave an immense performance as Scarpia. Raina Kabaivanska sings beautifully as Tosca. The smaller parts were all taken by established singers at the time, for example Derek Hammond Stroud as the sacristan, and Michael Langdon as Angelotti. It was a stupendous night at the theatre, well captured on this recording which is of remarkably good quality. Great to find a recording of this performance after all these years - and this was the only performance with this particular cast. A treasure.”
Nicholas Allen
“I saved up to travel to London to attend Jurinac's debut as MNrschallin after 20 years as "The Octavian of the Century". I should add that the great Luchino Visconti directed subtly in stunning art nouveau sets. In a telegram afterwards, Hofmannsthal's son acclaimed Jurinac's warmly humoured Marschallin as the closest ever to his father's intentions - a very Maria Theresia-like interpretation as opposed to Schwarzkopf's all-too Parisian version which never received acclaim in Vienna - lovely but wrong. It was a great evening. Sadly, Decca enforced Regine Crespin on Solti for the commercial recording so this is doubly welcome! Thankyou.”
A GREAT "CARMEN" IN SWEDISH
“It is the first time I listen to "Carmen" sung in Swedish and I can arguably say that Georges Bizet's (opera) masterpiece is equally as fine. Great voices, orchestra and conductor! Highly recommended!”
DELLA CASA WILL ALWAYS BE ARABELLA!
“For this final collaboration with Strauss, Hugo von Hofmannstahl must have been paid by the word! Only Della Casa can sound conversational and ethereal. From her first entrance, she captures the ear, alternating between Viennese cream and white satin. Uhde is vocally handsome, tender between fits of bombast. Trotschel compares and contrasts well with her sister. Fehenberger is ardent. Proebstl and Malaniuk are richly drawn characters, avoiding caricature. Nentwig tosses off Fiakermilli with ease and poise. Kempe, exalted among conductors of Strauss, propels a score in perpetual motion. Sound very good.”
Jon
“Just listened to this thrilling performance,Macneil was the main reason for buying this cd, after listening to the sample provided-wow!.labo and Hines providing truly great, tasteful and exciting verdi singing, but the real find for me was Margherita Roberti.It’s amazing how many singers in the 50′s and 60′s were not given the recognition they deserve.She has a pure, well focused voice, used with intelligence, that cuts through the ensembles without becoming forced and thick,would love to hear her in ‘trovatore’.I believe there is a recording of her with Corelli in Tosca at the Met, would love to hear it. Congratulations on this great cd-great sound! will be buying from you again-just spoilt for choice .Regards Jonathan Hollows (united kingdom).”
FASCINATING AND EXCITING
“Truly excellent singing all round, especially from Gwyneth Jones and Zoltan Kelemen; and Boulez and the magnificent orchestra provide blazing support. The real fascination for me here is Karl Ridderbusch's Hagen. On the face of it, he's a benevolent, kindly, almost Hans Sachs like older half brother, but listen to his exchange with Alberich at the beginning of Act 2. His voice is hollow, the expression almost catatonic while he channels the vicious, poisonous, hateful encouragements from his father, which seem to recharge and harden his resolve to carry through his mission to possess the ring. He doesn't have to snarl and pressurise his half siblings into doing anything as he knows they trust and value his counsel without realising they are being manipulated. The true, evil nature of his actions is only finally revealed when he relaxes his self control completely at the hunting party and plunges his spear into Siegfried's back "Rache rieten sie mir!", when he truly sounds like his father's son. No wonder the vassals sound so genuinely shocked. He does it again when his duplicity is exposed as the wild boar that killed Siegfried, convinced the ring is finally his for the taking. I loved it. Thank you so much for making this fabulously theatrical performance available.”
elenigold
“Konwitschny led an absolutely fine performance in what was most likely his final Ring. The Royal Opera House orchestra of those days was mediocre at best, but rose to the occasion and played with inspiration under this great conductor.This Ring boasted of 6 great singers — Hotter, Varnay, Windgassen, Vinay, Uhde and Frick all of whom were in top form; and some very good singers, Hoffgen, Shuard, Boese, Siebert, Veasey, Bohme, Holm, Klein and Kraus who offered strong support. Of the four operas Die Walkure and Gotterdammerung were the more compellingly performed with Das Rheingold and Siegfried slightly less exceptional.By the way, unlike Bayreuth, there were four full days between each performance and it worked to the benefit of Hotter, Varnay and Windgassen who were magnificent.”
WOW!!
“This presents a fabulous performance from Callas - she is on superb form and this performance shows her at her absolute best in this repertoire. Her coloratura is spell binding and unbelievable in its accuracy, her covered chiarascuro tone reflecting the sadness of Ah credea is heartbreaking and then the contrasting joy and stunning vocal pyrotechnics of Ah non giunge is a thing to wonder at (also Sovra il sen in Act 1)). Would that one had been there in the opera house that evening! But this is the next best thing in very presentable sound. At every turn she demonstrates a singing lesson to any aspiring bel canto singer of whatever voice. The supporting cast is more than adequate but then you hardly listen to Sonnambula for anyone else in it.”
Modl rules!
“I'm so glad that the reviews of this recording persuaded me to purchase it. I couldn't have enjoyed it more. Modl is indeed in amazing form - she is definitely my preferred Brunnhilde, so warm and so human. The rest of the cast is also great, and the sound remarkably good for 1955.”
Fredback
“I still have not received the shipment and it consisted of inserts for the food the fidelio with Jones and king that I boughtI Do not wish to wait any longer so please send them on my email....thanks...Please confirm”
Outstanding
“This is an outstanding document. Especially because Martti Talvela is singing Hagen, which he did very seldom. He is extremely strong in his portrait of this sinister character, always singing and not shouting, even when he calls Gunther‘s „Mannen“!Dvoraková is overwhelming as Brünnhilde. Hering a very good Siegfried. All the other singers in the cast are doing very well. Solti makes a very good job! The sound is of course not the best. The orchestra is well captured, but the singers - like so often - partly too much in the distance.”
Richard Inverne
“There is also a commercially-available DVD of this production (the CDs may be the “soundtrack”) which is absolutely excellent, even though Barstow comes over as too “big” dramatically – I saw her many times with English national Opera, and she was still a little raw and not yet the very great singing-actress she was to become in the mid-’70s. Paskalis is the revelation – I saw him at Gly. in 1966 in this role; later at Cov. Gdn as iago (1972)…what a great performer! he just picks you up by the scruff of the neck and shakes you until you cry “Bravo!” Yes, James Morris sings very beautifully as Banqo, but let’s not forget Keith Erwin -another artiste I saw with ENO and WNO many times; a very expressive tenor. Sadly he died young in the late-70s.”
Stack of Janowitz & Grists
“In general was what I expected - a variation of recording qualities - some very good. Service was exemplary - one mistake in sending - remedied in a flash. Couldn’t realistically ask for more.”
Solid
“So nice to hear a young, healthy, bright voice singing the title role in Elektra rather than an old, heavy, dull, wobbly one. Silja here reminds me of Inge Borkh who is just a ferocious Elektra. Very pleasantly surprised by Berit Lindholm's Chrysothemis. I had never heard her before, and Elektra is notoriously difficult to cast with its two dramatic soprano roles. This pair made a fine ensemble.Be forewarned that there's a little distortion at the very beginning, on Klytämnestra's hishest notes, and a little bauble in the Recognition Scene. Otherwise the sound is very good to excellent. A nice live Elektra for your collection.”
