Montserrat Caballé – Opera Arias

Description

This LP of Montserrat Caballé performs arias from operas by Giuseppe Verdi in a 1983 Spanish EMI-Odeon reissue, part of the Great Performers series. The soprano is accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Anton Guadagno; several numbers feature voices from the Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Elisabeth Bainbridge, and Thomas Allen, as indicated on the back cover. The program includes scenes from four operas—The force of destiny, Aida, Macbeth y Othello— on a single vinyl record.

Musical genre: Classical music and opera.

Album repertoire

Side A
The force of destiny (Piave): "Pace, pace, mio Dio" (act IV) and "La Vergine degli Angeli" (act II, with male voices from the Ambrosian Opera Chorus).
Aida (Ghislanzoni): recitative «Qui Radames verrà!» and aria «Oh patria mia (O cieli azzurri)» (act III); «Ritorna vincitor!» (act I).

Side B
Macbeth (Piave and Maffei): recitative "Vegliammo invan due notti" and aria "Una macchia è qui tutt'ora!" —sleepwalking scene—, with Elisabeth Bainbridge and Thomas Allen.
Othello (Boito): «Era più calma», Song of the Willow and Ave Maria (Act IV), with Elisabeth Bainbridge. The reverse side indicates that the pieces are sung in Italian.

A selection of Verdi

Side A brings together two fragments of The force of destiny and three of Aida, The first side features the male chorus in "La Vergine degli Angeli." On the B-side, Lady Macbeth's recitative and aria precede "Era più calma," the Willow Song, and Desdemona's Ave Maria. The order combines recitatives, arias, choral interventions, and scenes, rather than reproducing a single opera from beginning to end. The back cover specifies that it is sung in Italian and lists the orchestral and vocal numbers separately.

The cover belongs to the "Great Performers" series: it features Verdi's name alongside Caballé's on a red band, a portrait of the soprano, and the emblem of His Master's Voice. The back contains the credits, the repertoire, and notes about the operas; the edition identifies EMI-Odeon and 1983.

Edition and status

This is a used copy, a 1983 EMI-Odeon reissue. The sleeve shows visible signs of use; the vinyl's playability has not been tested, so please consider the photographs and this limitation before purchasing. Weight: 220 g. Dimensions: 31 × 31 × 1 cm.

To learn more about the soprano, consult the biography of Montserrat Caballé. You can also see other titles in our selection of vinyl records.