Search - Amilcare Ponchielli, Giuseppe Verdi, Pietro Mascagni :: DIVA ~ 30 Great Prima Donnas

Who compiled these songs??

Joanna Daneman | 07/09/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Seeing the great cover of this CD in the store with the promise of 30 great Prima Donna's was too good to be true. I can't understand why anyone would pick this compilation of artists and songs. There were some good points.. and a whole lot of bad ones too. They did have the good taste to put Maria Callas first w/ a great rendition of Suicido from La Gioconda. Unfortunately the very next song is the worst recording I've ever heard of Renata Tebaldi. Why they would choose to include a track of her singing La Traviata.. which was probably her worst role?? And lousy sound to boot. Very disappointing. I was amazed to see a few great Divas missing from this album. Where's Birgit Nilsson? Where's Beverly Sills? Where's Renata Scotto? and if they could include sumi jo.. where's Natalie Dessay?? Not only that.. it's as if they picked all of the songs worst suited for the artists presented? I recommend you skip this CD... at best you will get to hear a very differnt side of your favorite Divas as well as a whole bunch of artists who don't even deserve the title Diva."

Diva-lightful

Joanna Daneman | Middletown, DE USA | 12/03/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I heard this CD playing background music in second-hand bookstore and I HAD-TO-HAVE-IT. The shopkeeper couldn't tell me much about the CD except that it was called DIVA (she didn't have the cover anymore) and I knew full well that I was listening to the incomparable Dame Janet Baker singing "Che farò senza Euridice" from Gluck's Orfeo et Euridice, followed by someone else doing the famous Serse (Xerxes) Largo and an aria from Dido and Aeneas. So with that knowledge in hand, I searched Amazon.com and found this 2-CD set. And promptly purchased it.Frankly, I adore this for the second CD alone, but there is lots to like on both CD's, such as some of my favorite divas among which are Lucia Popp, Montserrat Caballe, Fredericka von Stade and Dawn Upshaw. Some of the aria/artist choices are rather quirky; Dame Kiri Te Kanawa singing "Dich Teure Halle" instead of Birgit Nielsen; Marcella Pobbe singing "O Mio Babbino Caro" instead of Dame Kiri. Caballe not singing from La Boheme (I defy you to find a better Mimi than she) but doing Faust instead. And Sutherland and Sills are AWOL along with Nielsen--though maybe it was a case of not being able to obtain the copyrights rather than deliberate omission. The selections here are well-chosen for variety and in the case of the bel canto selections on the second CD, they flow together so superbly, it's a real joy to hear. The only dark spot are the two arias done with the Zurich Symphony--and worse yet, they are with Lucia Popp (a huge favorite of mine) and Gruberova doing the Queen of the Night's nasty aria of extreme rage "Holle Rache". The orchestra drags in the Popp aria from "Clemenza de Tito", the dynamics are second-rate and Gruberova misses a note (not the wicked high ones but an amateurish note on an upscale.) Overall these are not the finest moments for either of these divas. That aside, there is lots to like on this CD if you overlook a couple of false notes."

Really great, but there some strange choices

Stephan | Sofia, Bulgaria | 12/22/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I will talk about the arias because choosing a singer depends on the personal taste. So, lets start from the very beginning - Callas and her fanous "Suicidio" - there is nothing to compare with her performance even the Caballe recording. I would gladly die after her final note. As for the "Addio del passato", for God's sake why Tebaldi - even Angela Gheorghiu is better, personally I would vote for Victoria de Los Angeles here.I agree that Caballe is a superb Mimi and somehow Hendricks isn't so captivating. As for Tosca's aria Malfitano is a goodlooking lady but then why not even Anna Moffo - if we have Price and Ricciarelli for Vissi d'arte or Kabaivanska. Terrani's Rosina is one of the best, as for the I Puritani polonaise here definitely Sutherland or Sills.Instead of Crespin I would choose de Los Angeles again. Janet Baker is a terrible Orfeo. Well buy it, nice compilation and some singers deserve the money."