DIVA ~ 30 Great Prima Donnas at Music Hills.com

Music CD 1

La Gioconda, Act IV: Suicidio - Maria Callas
La Traviata, Act III: Addio Del Passato - Renata Tebaldi
Cavalleria Rusticana: Voi Lo Sapete O Mamma - Giulietta Simionato/Liliana Pellegrino
Gianni Schicchi: O Mio babbino Caro - Marcella Pobbe
Tosca, Act II: Vissi D'arte - Catherine Malfitano
La Boheme, Act I: Mi Chiamano Mimi - Barbara Hendricks
Il Barbiere Di Siviglia, Act I: Una Voce Poco Fa - Lucia Valentini Terrani
I Puritani, Act I: Son Vergin Vezzosa - Katia Ricciarelli/Elena Jankovic/Chris Merritt/Roberto Scandiuzzi/Ambrogio Riva
Carmen, Act I: L'amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle - Regine Crespin
Carmen, Act III: Je Dis Que Rien Ne M'epouvante - Angela Gheorghiu
Faust, Act II: Il Etait Un Roi De Thule - Montserrat Caballe
Faust, Act II: L'air Des Bijoux - Sumi Jo
Werther, Act III: Je Vous Ecris De Ma Petite Chambre - Anne Sofie Von Otter
Der Fliegende Hollander, Act III: Johohoe! Traft Ihr Das Schiff - Astrid Varnay
Tannhauser, Act II: Dich Teure Halle - Kiri Te Kanawa
Tristan Und Isolde, Act III: Mild Und Leise - Martha Modl

Music CD 2

Orfeo Ed Euridice, Act III: Che Faro Senza Euridice - Janet Baker
Orphee Et Eurydice, Act II: Cet Asile Aimable Et Tranquille - Dawn Upshaw
Alcina, Act I: Di' Cor Mio, Quanto T'amai - Renee Fleming
Rinaldo, Act I: Cara Sposa - Marilyn Horne
Xerxes, Act I: Ombra Mai Fu - Jennifer Larmore
Dido And Aeneas, Act III: Thy Hand, Belinda - Tatjana Troyanos
The Fairy Queen, Act V: O Let Me Ever, Ever Weep - Sylvia McNair
L'isola Di Alcina, Act I: Sono Alcina - Teresa Berganza
Lucio Silla, Act II: Quest'improvviso Tremito - Cecilia Bartoli
Cosi Fan Tutte, Act II: E Amore Un Ladroncello - Frederica Von Stade
Don Giovanni, Act II: Vedrai, Carino - Barbara Bonney
La Clemenza Di Tito, Act II: Non Piu Di Fiori - Lucia Popp
Die Zauberflote, Act II: Der Holle Rache - Edita Gruberova
Fidelio, Act I: Komm Hoffnung - Waltraud Meier

Music reviews of DIVA ~ 30 Great Prima Donnas

Music Review: Diva-lightful
Rating: 4 Stars

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.