Search - Hector Berlioz, Jules Massenet, Ambroise Thomas :: Frederica von Stade - French Opera Arias

Hector Berlioz, Jules Massenet, Ambroise Thomas
Frederica von Stade - French Opera Arias
Genre: Classical

Track Listings (9) - Disc #1
1. B?atrice et B?n?dict, opera, H. 138: Dieu! Que viens-je d'entendre?
2. Werther, lyric drama in 4 acts: Va! laisse couler mes larmes
3. Cendrillon, opera in 4 acts: Enfin, je suis ici
4. La Damnation de Faust, for mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass, chorus and orchestra, ('l?gende dramatique') H. 111 (Op. 24): D'amou
5. Mignon, opera in 3 acts: Connais-tu le pays?
6. Les Huguenots, grand opera in 5 acts: Nobles Seigneurs, salut!
7. Rom?o et Juliette, opera: Depuis heir je cherche en vain
8. La Grande-Duchesse de G?rolstein, operetta in 3 acts: Dites-lui
9. La P?richole, operetta in 2 acts: Ah! quel d?ner je veins de faire

CD Details

All Artists: Hector Berlioz, Jules Massenet, Ambroise Thomas, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Charles Gounod, Jacques Offenbach, Frederica von Stade, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Title: Frederica von Stade - French Opera Arias
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Sony
Original Release Date: 1/1/1976
Re-Release Date: 9/22/1998
Genre: Classical
Style: Opera & Classical Vocal
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 074646052723

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Recorded at the beginning of her career in 1976, this shows Frederica Von Stade as a bright, accomplished singer with a distinctive sound, a bit softer, smaller, and fresher than her voice is now. With a selection of arias including all the best mezzo-soprano moments from Berlioz's Beatrice et Benedict, Massenet's Werther and Cendrillon, Berlioz's Damnation of Faust, and what became her great party piece, the drunk aria from Offenbach's La Perichole, everything is utterly lovely. However, this is her first try at most of this music and it shows: performances are all about voice and not about words or characterization. For those who love the voice alone. --David Patrick Stearns

CD Reviews

A beautiful performance

01/08/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really do not know why this CD was not released before. Here is Frederica Von Stade in peak form, singing near deffinitive versions of great French arias. Her voice is ideally fitted for the material. She has agility, range and a beautiful middle register, apart from great French diction. Highlights of the CD are "Enfin, je suis ici" from Massenet's Cendrillon, "Connais-tu le pays?" from Thomas' Mignon and the two Offenbach arias."

A delight

Sheila L. Beaumont | South Pasadena, CA USA | 05/25/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These French opera arias, sung by Frederica von Stade, my favorite mezzo-soprano, were recorded early in her career, and they are a delight. They may not all show quite the expressiveness she developed later, but still there's that lovely mezzo voice, unlike any other and always a pleasure to hear."

A treasurable recital

Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 09/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a recital to savour; Von Stade's voice was at its freshest but she was already an experienced singer and particularly at ease with the French language, having already lived in France and learned fluent French over some years. There is a special plangency and beauty to her tone and those excursions into her lower register are heart-stopping. Other reviewers remark upon a certain lack of depth in her interpretation of the text; I do not share these reservations and, in any case, the musicality, ease of production and clarity of enunciation carry the day for me. It is such a lovely, mellow, mezzo voice that one can listen to the whole recital without tiring of it, whereas sometimes over an hour of singing a soprano can become too glaring on the ear. "Flicka" is so much at home in the material and her joy in singing it is vividly communicated to the listener. The opening Berlioz aria is particularly successful and sampling that should win over any doubters. No wonder she is so beloved a singer, especially in the US - everybody's favourite mezzo in some repertoire."