VA - Essential Opera Divas (2013)

These two CDs present a veritable galaxy of opera divas sopranos who have won countless hearts and thrilled millions of opera lovers with their glorious voices and their matchless performances. The arias presented here cover every part of the operatic spectrum, beginning with two Baroque gems by Handel and Vivaldi sung in fine style by Arleen Augér and Patrizia Ciofi. These are followed by a group of incomparable Mozart singers including two great stars of an earlier era: Elisabeth Schwarzopf and Joan Sutherland, and one of today s most versatile singers: Natalie Dessay. But how can one single out any of these greatly talented artists? The list of their names is a roll-call of the greatest sopranos of yesterday and today a glance at the tracklisting will confirm that this is true. But two unique divas have to be mentioned and these are perhaps the most important and influential singer of the 20th century: Maria Callas, and the greatest diva of our own time: Angela Gheorghiu. The collection contains many of the most popular and best-loved arias of all time and the singers are legendary!

CD1
[4:33] 01. Arleen Auger - Ma quando tornerai
[3:46] 02. Patrizia Ciofi - Anche il mar par che sommerga
[3:34] 03. Veronique Gens - Dieux puissants que j atteste...Jupiter, lance la foudre!
[4:21] 04. Margaret Price - Dove sono
[3:01] 05. Cheryl Studer - Or sai chi l onore
[3:54] 06. Graziella Scuitti - Batti, batti, o bel Masetto
[5:38] 07. Elisbeth Schwarzkopf - In quali eccessi, o Numi...Mi tradì quell alma ingrata
[5:07] 08. Joan Sutherland - Non mi dir
[2:52] 09. Edita Gruberova - Der Hölle Rache
[4:10] 10. Anneliese Rothenberger - Ach, ich fühl s
[6:22] 11. Natalie Dessay - Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben
[7:39] 12. Helga Dernesch - Abscheulicher!...Komm, Hoffnung
[3:31] 13. Jessye Norman - Dich, teure Halle
[4:59] 14. Hildegard Behrens - Einsam in trüben Tagen
[4:10] 15. Regine Crespin - Euch Lüften, die mein Klagen
[5:55] 16. Lucia Popp - Song to the Moon
[5:37] 17. Kiri te Kanawa - Glück, das mir verblieb

CD2
[3:56] 1. Mady Mesple - Ah! Je veux vivre dans ce rêve
[5:12] 2. Victoria De Los Angeles - Un bouquet !...ô Dieu! que de bijoux!...Ah! je ris
[6:33] 3. June Anderson - Ombre légère
[5:36] 4. Maria Callas - Casta Diva
[4:05] 5. Anna Moffo - Spargi d amaro pianto
[5:50] 6. Beverly Sills - Un voce poco fa
[3:29] 7. Angela Gheorghiu - Vissi d arte
[4:58] 8. Mirella Freni - Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì
[4:45] 9. Renata Scotto - Un bel dì vedremo
[3:08] 10. Montserrat Caballe - Chi il bel sogno di Doretta
[2:29] 11. Barbara Hendricks - O mio babbino caro
[6:02] 12. Ghena Dimitrova - In questa reggia
[4:39] 13. Leontyne Price - D amor sull ali rosee
[5:51] 14. Martina Arroyo - Pace, pace, mio Dio
[4:27] 15. Karita Mattila - O ma chère compagne
[5:17] 16. Katia Ricciarelli - Ave Maria