I never imagined this would come true: A CD with a good selection of Ray Conniff's unique singles. I had all these tunes in vynil, most of them in hissy mono. Now, Collectables gives us this present, a wonderful newly remastered Stereo CD.

Well, the master did it again. These two albums from 1970 and 1971 are marvelous and I never get tired of listening to them.
These recordings do not sound the least bit dated! I like all of the songs on "We've Only Just Begun". Ray does great covers "Close to You", "Everything Is Beautiful", "Let It Be", "I'll Be There", the title track, and a magnificent version of "Make It with You". That's Ray singing on "Everybody Knows", an original and happy track tailor made by Ray

This "two-fer" couples two of the very best examples of the "New Conniff" sound of the seventies and early eighties that provided masterful rearrangements of popular hits of the time. Following on the heels of the breakthrough Conniff LP, "Theme From the Godfather…," "I Can See Clearly Now" was a new classic for Conniff. It firmly established the "sound," and other highly successful, and eminently listenable LPs followed. As a single continually played on radios across the world, "Harmony" was a logical partner for this reissue. These two CDs reflect Conniff "as good as it gets!"

This 1979 Norma features Renata Scotto in one of her very best recordings. She is in gorgeous vocal estate, with much exquisite pianissimo singing above the stave. Surprisingly, Scotto is one of the few native Italians to essay this most difficult bel canto role, and she brings an innate understanding of the text and music .

No one in my opinion outdoes Samuel Ramey in sheer power and diabolical delight in singing Mefistofele. The same can be said for Placido Domingo as Faust and Eva Marton as Margarita. Although not well known outside of Hungary, the other women recorded here sing well and provide a good foil to Ramey and Domingo – who are by far the stars and, at times, scene stealers.

Opera people seem fiercely divided about the Decca Anna Bolena with Elena Suliotis, first published in 1970. Half think it is brilliant, and Suliotis' faults are worth putting up with because when she is good, she is very good, and the rest of the cast is unmatched . The cast is superb. Elena is singing at her very best; her voice dancing gracefully between a delicate and sensitive Non v’ha sguardo cui sia dato, to the tragic delilirium in piangete voi, from the thin, exquisite voice of cielo, a’miei lunghi spasimi, to the thicker, dramatic coppia inqui. Gosh what a graceful and superb performance.

This exquisite 1978 studio recording of Madame Butterfly stars Renata Scotto, Placido Domingo, Gillian Knight and Ingvar Vixell, singing their respective roles with breathtaking realism and melodic richness. Quite possibly the best Butterfly on record, and a must have for devotees of Renata Scotto

Léo Delibes - Lakmé - extraits
Renée Doria - Alain Vanzo - Adrien Legros
Jésus Etcheverry ( 1 CD 1986 )
EAC Rip | FLAC-TRACKS+CUE+LOG Stereo AAD | 1 CD | Scans | 53 Min. | 237 MB
Label : Accord / Catalogue : 149164MU750
Opera / LP Released in 1966 /

Renee Doria has a very unique voice and not a 'cookie cutter' the way a lot of sopranos nowadays sound–I can always tell it is her singing. I love her fast, fluttery vibrato and rich, warm, creamy, powerful middle voice. My only complaint is (as I've heard from some of the youtube posts) that sometimes she puts too much pressure on the notes above the staff and sounds like she is screaming them out. But here she sounds completely polished and nearly seamless from top to bottom.

The Real… Ray Conniff is an exhaustive three-disc collection from Columbia Records celebrating the smooth and joyful sounds of the king of 1960s easy listening. Ray Conniff debuted as a trombonist for several prominent big bands before becoming a staff arranger at Columbia in the '50s.

Even though Macbeth is the title character of Verdi's opera, most people will choose a recording of it based on the performer of the role of Lady Macbeth. My own opinion is that Elena Souliotis is, more than any other singer I have heard in this music, just right for the part.Verdi clearly stated that he wanted a harsh, choked sound from his Lady Macbeth.

This is a wonderful set of albums in a small box of 7 CDs. All my favourite albums together. This is an excellent set and comes highly recommended. 165 tracks. Great. I would say that this is an excellent way of acquiring a great collection - Amazon-

Those of us who bought this set were utterly charmed by Mesplé's intelligent, thoughtful, alternately vulnerable and independent Lakmé and Burles's sensitively shaded, quintessentially French-sounding Gerald. From the very first entry of Lakme in `Blanche Dourga, pale Siva', Mesple sends goose-bumps to listeners with her ethereal coloratura .

These are a product of DECCA/Mexico for the local market , Victor Suzan, label manager at Universal Music Mexico ,he resurrected 50 recitals from DECCA´s and PHILIPS´ vaults that have NEVER been released on cd ANYWHERE!!!!

This late 70's recording of Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur is an outstanding example of how this rare and out-of-vogue opera can be thrilling and powerfully moving .This particular recording is of special importance because it marked the last time that Placido Domingo, Renata Scotto and Sherill Milnes worked together on a studio recording, after a period of time in the late 70's when they recorded for RCA - namely Otello and Andrea Chenier. For fans of these singers, and mezzo-soprano Elena Obrazstova, this recording is a treasure and a must-have .
-Amazon-