Arriving in the wake of the success of the 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, 2019's immaculately produced box set Never Boring showcases the solo work of lead singer Freddie Mercury. Though he only ever released one proper solo album outside of Queen, 1985's Mr. Bad Guy, Mercury did record enough individual material throughout his storied career to fill the three discs that make up this collection. Included are an 11-track special edition of Mr. Bad Guy, a nine-track edition of 1988's Barcelona - his orchestral collaboration with opera diva Montserrat Caballé - and a compilation disc that brings together a handful of errant solo performances, including his 1987 cover single of the Platters' "The Great Pretender"…

The performance given on 21 March 1967 at Carnegie Hall in New York stems from the now outmoded tradition of casting baritones and basses in the castrato roles, and uses a special concert arrangement. Not only are several cuts made to the score, but the order of the arias is changed and the recitatives are heavily truncated and provided with new English texts, and given not to one of the characters but to a 'narrator'.

Bellini's rare opera "La Straniera" was created under great time pressure and therefore can not develop the dramatic effect, as does "Norma". Also, the libretto is not the best. Nevertheless, there is a lot of magic, rousing music, so that the purchase is worthwhile especially for the lover. Performance from 1969 benefits above all from a young Montserrat Caballe, who simply gives everything. The sound is not perfect, a bit dull and blurry in the heights, but still audible in any case.

Cançó d'amor i de guerra (en español «Canción de amor y de guerra») es una zarzuela en catalán escrita en dos actos, que se estrenó el 16 de abril de 1926 en el Teatre Nou de Barcelona. Se convirtió en el primer gran éxito del compositor valenciano Rafael Martínez Valls, con texto de Lluís Capdevila y Víctor Mora.

The Naples years, 1815 to 1822, are at the very centre of Rossini's creative life. It is here that genius—''I had facility and lots of instinct''—was put to school. And firmly so: the serious masterpieces of the Naples years take as their subjects the Bible and Shakespeare, Scott and Racine, Tasso and English historical romance.

Here in Orange, France, on a windswept, night in 1974, they had greatness itself. Pierre Jourdan's film of the event is a priceless document, first of all, in the history of the opera. Stage-settings of Norma are usually hopeless: an offence to the eye, a chafing confutation of the spirit by gross matter. The ancient Roman amphitheatre is at any rate worthy and appropriate, and the Mistral, which threatened to close down the whole show and turn away an audience estimated at 10,000, adds a fine reminder of the power of Nature as it sets the druidical robes billowing and attacks the microphones.

Verdi, child of the people, king of popular opera, began life as the son of an innkeeper. He was brought up in modest circumstances. He first received lessons from the village priest, who was amazed by the young musician’s talents. Verdi’s musical education was rounded and complete: at the age of sixteen, the composer wrote fugues, masses and symphonies, which he would later destroy. As he met with reticence in Milan, he settled in Busseto where he fell victim to the pettiness of the town. However, his strong willpower enabled him to pursue his musical path without paying heed to what people said.

This release captures a performance of the Verdi opera Don Carlo recorded at the Theatre Antique d'Orange in Orange, France on July 13, 1984. The cast of the performance includes Montserrat Caballé, Giacamo Aragall, Simon Estes, Grace Bumbry, and Renato Bruson.

Montserrat Caballé as Leonora is precisely what one would hope for. The voice is in near-pristine shape–the occasional attack on a loud high note early on can be vicious, but she sings with unusual commitment (not that the role has many nuances), glorious tone, and her entire arsenal of tricks: long-breathed phrases, diminuendos, high, floated pianissimo, grand chest voice. She even sings most of the words, rarely relying on “ah” sounds for high notes. The sound is huge and major-league and her comportment–acting is the wrong word–is regal. She sings the “Vergine degli angeli” with her back to the audience and the sound is as ethereal as you ever wanted it to be.

This double CD makes an excellent introduction to two great works even if other individual recordings might be preferable. This is particularly true of the Mozart in that although the ladies are peerless vocally, Barenboim's conducting is quite heavy and neither Gedda - typically somewhat pinched and throaty at times - nor Fischer-Dieskau - too light and woolly of tone for the bass-baritone required - is ideal.

Barcelona is the second solo album recorded by Freddie Mercury, frontman of popular British rock band Queen, and operatic soprano Montserrat Caballé. Released in 1988. It is the second and final solo album recorded by Mercury…

Josep Maria Carreras i Coll born 5 December 1946, better known as José Carreras, is a Spanish tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini.
Born in Barcelona, he made his debut on the operatic stage at 11 as Trujamán in Manuel de Falla's El retablo de Maese Pedro and went on to a career that encompassed over 60 roles, performed in the world's leading opera houses and in numerous recordings. He gained fame with a wider audience as one of the Three Tenors along with Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti in a series of mass concerts that began in 1990 and continued until 2003. Carreras is also known for his humanitarian work as the president of the José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation (La Fundació Internacional Josep Carreras per a la Lluita contra la Leucèmia), which he established following his own recovery from the disease in 1988.

Decca proudly presents the Complete Works by Giuseppe Verdi in a single 75 CD box set. From the ever-popular “Aida” to the obscure “Alzira,” all 28 of Giuseppe Verdi's operas are here as well as his Sacred Works, Arias, Songs, Ballet Music, the String quartet and other rarities.