Operas
This series presents legendary Decca opera recordings in new and fresh packaging, showcasing many of the greatest opera recordings ever made. Several of these recordings have been unavailable for many years, so see a welcome return to the catalogue.
Here you will find legendary recordings of Tosca (Freni & Pavarotti), Norma (Sutherland & Pavarotti), Aida (Chiara & Pavarotti) as well as several important rarer opera recordings such as Giordano’s Fedora, Krenek’s Jonny spielt auf, Massenet’s Esclarmonde, Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina and Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh.
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Janáček: From the House of the Dead
RecommendedDalibor Jedlicka (Goryantchikov), Jiri Zahradnicek (Luka Morosoff), Jaroslava Janská (Alyeya), Václav Zitek (Shishkov), Antonin Svorc (Old Prisoner), Ivo Zidek (Skuratov)
Wiener Staatsopernchor & Wiener Philharmoniker, Charles Mackerras
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 1980, Recording of the Year
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Grammy Awards, 24th Awards (1981), Best Opera Recording
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Britten: Gloriana
RecommendedJosephine Barstow (Elizabeth), Philip Langridge (Essex), Della Jones (Lady Essex), Jonathan Summers (Charles Blount), Alan Opie (Cecil), Yvonne Kenny (Lady Rich), Bryn Terfel (Henry Cuffe), Richard van Allan (Walter Ralegh)
Welsh National Opera, Sir Charles Mackerras
The Cinderella among Britten's operas finally received its due with this recording. The superb cast and Mackerras's sure touch reveal Gloriana as a touching insight into the travails of leadership. — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 1994, Winner - Opera
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Massenet: Werther
RecommendedJosé Carreras (Werther), Frederica von Stade (Charlotte), Isobel Buchanan (Sophie), Thomas Allen (Albert), Robert Lloyd (Le Bailli), Malcolm King (Johann), Paul Crook (Schmidt), Donaldson Bell (Brühlmann), Linda Humphries (Kätchen)
Orchestra & Children's Chorus of the Royal Opera House...
the pacing of each tableau vivant is handled so superbly by Sir Colin that there is not a single moment of longueur...The casting polarizes this Werther and this Charlotte. Jose Carreras is... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 1981, Winner - Engineering
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Britten: Peter Grimes
RecommendedJon Vickers (Grimes), Heather Harper (Ellen), Jonathan Summers (Balstrode), Elizabeth Bainbridge (Auntie), Forbes Robinson (Swallow), Patricia Payne (Mrs Sedley), Thomas Allen (Ned Keene), Richard Van Allan (Hobson)
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sir Colin Davis
the cast is fine and the tension cumulative — More…
Awards:
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Grammy Awards, 22nd Awards (1979), Best Opera Recording
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Rossini: Il Turco in Italia
RecommendedCecilia Bartoli (Fiorilla), Ramon Vargas (Narciso), Michele Pertusi (Selim), Laura Polverelli (Zaida), Alessandro Corbelli (Don Geronio), Roberto De Candia (Prosdocimo), Francesco Piccoli (Albazar)
Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano and Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Riccardo...
Chailly has recorded the work before, but in the years since he's matured as a Rossini conductor, and the Scala orchestra has this music under its fingers; there's an energy and vitality to... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 1998, Winner - Opera
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Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
RecommendedWillard White (Porgy), Leona Mitchell (Bess), McHenry Boatwright (Crown), Florence Quivar (Serena), Barbara Hendricks (Clara), Barbara Conrad (Maria), Arthur Thompson (Jake), François Clemmons (Sporting Life)
The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, Lorin Maazel
The first essentially complete Porgy remains one of the finest, with maximally polished orchestral playing and arguably the strong vocal line-up yet assembled. Maazel is at his most committed. — More…
Awards:
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Grammy Awards, 19th Awards (1976), Best Opera Recording
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Verdi: Aida
RecommendedMaria Chiara (Aida), Luciano Pavarotti (Radames), Ghena Dimitrova (Amneris), Leo Nucci (Amonasro), Paata Burchuladze (Ramfis), Luigi Roni (Il Re di Egitto), Madelyn Renée (Una Sacerdotessa), Ernesto Gavazzi (Un Messaggero)
Orchestra e coro del Teatro alla Scala, Lorin Maazel
Pavarotti was well into the autumn of his career when this recording under Lorin Maazel was made in 1985, but the golden lustre of the voice remains undimmed; starrier sopranos have recorded... — More…
Awards:
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Presto Favourites, Recommended Recording
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Wagner: Das Rheingold
Robert Hale (Wotan), Hanna Schwarz (Fricka), Franz-Josef Kapellmann (Alberich), Peter Schreier (Mime), Nancy Gustafson (Freia), Kim Begley (Loge), Thomas Sunnegardh (Froh), Eike Wilm Schulte (Donner), Elena Zaremba (Erda), Jan-Hendrik Rootering (Fasolt), Walter Fink (Fafner), Gabriele Fontana (Woglinde),...
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Strauss, R: Salome
Catherine Malfitano (Salome), Bryn Terfel (Jokanaan), Kenneth Riegel (Herodes), Hanna Schwarz (Herodias), Kim Begley (Narraboth), Randi Stene (Ein Page)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Christoph von Dohnanyi
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Berlioz: Les Troyens
RecommendedGary Lakes (Enée), Françoise Pollet (Didon), Gino Quilico (Chorèbe), Deborah Voigt (Cassandre), Michel Philippe (Panthée), Hélène Perraguin (Anna), Jean-Philippe Courtis (Narbale), Catherine Dubosc (Ascagne), John Mark Ainsley (Hylas), René Schirrer (Priam), Claudine Carlson (Hécube), Jean-Luc Maurette...
This is a thrilling set to have one marvelling afresh at the electric vitality of Berlioz's inspiration, and marvelling too that the formidable problems of recording so massive a work have been... — More…
Awards:
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Grammy Awards, 38th Awards (1995), Best Opera Recording
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