Search - Gaetano Donizetti, Pietro Mascagni, Giacomo Puccini :: Mad About Italian Opera

I really am Mad About Italian Opera

Laresa Cochran | Orem, UT USA | 09/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you don't have any experience with opera, or if you have had opera experience and hated it, this is the CD for you. I had some experience with opera, but I rarely listened to it voluntarily, until I got this CD. It has the most famous and consequently most beautiful arias ever written for opera, and you get the benefit of listening to the most famous singers in the world, unlike other CDs you can get for this price. It is a wonderful investment, and can make even the most die hard opera opponents gain appreciation for the genre because of its caliber."

Actually, its more Mad About Placido Domingo

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 09/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Mad About Italian Opera" is really more like "Mad About Placido Domingo" since 11 of the 19 tracks feature the tenor. Another three offer vocals by Luciano Pavarotti, so obvious the emphasis is on tenors with this collection. Yes, there is the "Anvil Chorus" from Il Travatore and the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" from Nabucco, but the vast majority of tracks are tenor solos (e.g., "Il barbiere di Siviglia" from The Barber of Seville) or tenors engaged in operatic duels with sopranos (e.g., "Ah! Verrano a te sull'aure" from Lucia di Lammermoor), with a few soprano solo arias (e.g., "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca) tossed in for good measure, but you will not find a superstar soprano on this disc. However, you do get to hear Domingo sing Pavarotti's traditional encore piece, "Nessun dorma!" from Turandot, which is the best proof that this collection is a show case for that particular tenor."