Music |
The Opera Album
By
Published: Mar 02, 2010
Category:
Classical
A man I know — rich, powerful, you know his name — fell in love with a woman of almost equal accomplishment. His passion was opera. One great thing about New York, we have plenty of opera. And she was thrilled — she said that she too loved opera.
So they went to the opera. Often. He was delighted, at long last, to have found a lover who was also an opera lover. So he proposed.
Soon after they married, he showed her the next season’s opera schedule.
“You know,” she said, “I think I really prefer just to listen to the music at home.”
That was, of course, a lie. In fact, she didn’t like to listen to opera at all. She just wanted to be married.
What is it about opera that inspires such insincerity?
Many things. It’s long. Usually in a foreign language. Set in the distant past, when the costumes are unfortunate. And opera’s great moral truths are uncomfortable for us — I mean, lovers die.
That is why The Opera Album
is such a cool CD. Thirty-seven of opera’s greatest hits, performed by singers you’ve actually heard of. One hundred and forty-eight artfully remastered minutes of music, on two discs, for about the price of a single opera CD.
And the marketers at EMI, who own vaults filled with opera, are so clever they don’t condescend. The almost totally unhelpful brochure that accompanies “The Opera Album” begins like this: "Welcome to the Opera Album — a celebration of the most famous singers and most popular melodies from the dazzling world of opera."
Which is not to say this is Opera for Cretins.
These CDs are terrific for the car. As dinner music. For the iPod. If so inclined, for the gym. I’ve been playing them a lot as I walk through Manhattan — the sense of historical dislocation just plain amuses me. And if I’m working or reading, opera produces much less …jangle than contemporary music.
And let’s be honest here. If you’re not committed to four hours of a single opera, the greatest hits are about your speed.
Thus, you’re likely to thrill to Natalie Dessay and Delphine Haidan singing Lakmé’s "Flower Duet."
Can you resist Maria Callas singing "Ebben? ne andrò lontana" from “La Wally” by Catalani?
Then there’s Jose Carreras singing "Vesti La Giubba" from Leoncavallo’s "Pagliacci," with Riccardo Muti conducting.
And Placido Domingo performing “Aida.”
And — but you get the point.
To buy "The Opera Album" from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy the MP3 of "The Opera Album" from Amazon.com, click here.
