Yellow Guide to Opera at Music Hills.com

Music CD 1

Carmen, opera: Overture
Overture to L'italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers)
Cavalleria rusticana, opera (melodramma) in 1 act: Intermezzo
La forza del destino, opera: Overture
Marche de RÃ?Â¡kÃ?Â³czy (RÃ?Â¡kÃ?Â³czy March), for orchestra (Le damnation de Faust), H. 109
Die Fledermaus (The Bat), overture to the operetta (RV 503-1)
Eugene Onegin, opera, Op. 24: Polonaise
Die GÃ?Â¶tterdÃ?Â¤mmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Siegfried's Funeral March
Salome's Dance, for orchestra (from the opera; aka 'Dance of the Seven Veils') (TrV 215a)
Fidelio, overture, Op. 72c
Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Overture

Music CD 2

Don Giovanni, opera, K. 527: Madamina (Catalogue Aria)
La bohÃ?Â¨me, opera: Che gelida manina
Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Largo al factorum
Carmen, opera: PrÃ?Â¨s des remparts de SÃ?Â©ville (Seguidilla)
La Traviata, opera: Sempre libera
Turandot, opera: Nessun dorma
Tristan und Isolde, opera, WWV 90: Mild und leise (Liebestod)
Tosca, opera: Vissi d'arte
Die ZauberflÃ?Â¶te (The Magic Flute), opera, K. 620: Der VogelfÃ?Â¤nger bin ich ja
Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera: Una voce poco fa
Pagliacci, opera: Recitar!...Vesti la giubba
Die ZauberflÃ¶te (The Magic Flute), opera, K. 620: Der HÃ¶lle Rache
Eugene Onegin, opera, Op. 24: Lyubvi vse vozrasÃ¯ pokorni (Gremin's Aria)
L'elisir d'amore, opera: Una furtiva lagrima
Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Non piÃ¹ andrai
When I am laid in earth (from 'Dido and Aeneas'), soprano aria (Dido's Lament), Z. 626/38b

Music CD 3

Der FreischÃ?Â¼tz, opera, J. 277 (Op. 77): Was gleicht wohl auf Erden
La Traviata, opera: Libiamo ne' lieti calici (Brindisi)
CosÃ?Â¬ fan tutte, opera, K. 588: Soave sia il vento
Lucia di Lammermoor, opera: Chi mi frena in tal momento? (Sextet)
Fidelio, opera, Op. 72: O welche Lust (Prisoners' Chorus)
Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Crudel! PerchÃ© finora farmi languir cosÃ¬
King Arthur, or, The British Worthy, semi-opera, Z. 628: See, see, we assemble (Chorus of Cold People)
Don Giovanni, opera, K. 527: Don Giovanni, a cenar teco
Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Treulich gefÃ?Â¼hrt (Wedding March)
La bohÃ¨me, opera: O MimÃ¬, tu piÃ¬ non torni
Il Trovatore, opera: Vedi! le fosche (Anvil Chorus)
Les contes d'Hoffmann, opera in 4 acts: Belle nuit, Ã?Â´ nuit d'amour (Barcarolle)
Nabucco, opera (Nabucodonosor): Va pensiero, sull'ali dorate (Chorus of Hebrew Slaves)
Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Marie Theres'! Hab' mir's gelobt (Final Scene)
Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Ringel, Ringel, Rosenkranz, Ringelreih'n!

Music reviews of Yellow Guide to Opera

Music Review: Not recommended because of competing products
Rating: 3 Stars

"The Yellow Guide to Opera" is an excellent collection of 42 opera tracks that would please the ear of any novice or early-intermediate opera fan. In fact, the collection of tracks is to be commended for its richness and variety, including for example Russian composers. The sound quality is excellent, too.

The included booklet, however, is a real turkey, and seems to have been including for the purpose of getting you to buy more Deutsche Grammophon CDs. (Shame on them!)

Now let's talk competition. On Amazon.com, you can find two outstanding collections for under $20 each (these collections, each comprised of 2 CDs, are called "The Best Opera Album in the World Ever" by Virgin and "The #1 Opera Album" by Decca). These two do not come with an accompanying booklet, but their selection of tracks is outstanding and of very high sound quality. But the best one available, in my humble opinion, is put out by Naxos and is called "The A to Z of Opera." This one comes with a smart, thick, useful booklet, and two lovely CDs. Like the Deutsche Grammophon product, the Naxos collection scoots off the beaten path a little bit and scoops up some gems usually not found on this type of collection.

So, in brief, "The Yellow Guide to Opera" is a very pleasing collection of opera music, but its booklet is a dud and there are very fine, very similar collections to be had for half the price. I recommend the Naxos product.