The Most Famous Opera Duets

This CD is magnificent, especially for people just getting into opera. I've never really been interested in opera before, but I've recently started listening to it and wanted a CD of my own to listen to. When I bought this, I was a little wary of the low price, and I wondered what the quality would be (mostly quality of the content). Let me tell you, it is magnificent! There are so many beautiful opera duets in here that just take my breath away. None of the songs are boring or just "too opera"...they are beautiful combinations of men and women opera singers. Listen to the samples and buy!

Really good cd, not a bad piece or lackluster artist in it. Well worth it. I'll be listening to this for years.

Maybe these don't represent absolutely the greatest duets in all opera. But they represent some awfully good ones! The CD begins with a duet from "Les Pecheurs des Perles" (Puccini) and ends with the gloomy Miserere (from "Il Trovatore," by Verdi). In between are many more operas, from Donizetti and Mozart to Strauss and Wagner. Some of the finer singers of the past half century appear in various of these duets.

A bit more detail on a handful of these to illustrate.

"Sull'aria" from Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro." Heather Harper and Judith Blegen sing the parts here. This is a sweet duet from the opera. The singer's voices meld well together and this represents a poignantly sung piece.

"Ah! Verrana a tell sull'aure," from Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor." Alfredo Kraus and Edita Gruberova sing this lively duet, playing the roles of Edgardo and Lucia. Gruberova's voice is fresh here, as is Kraus', although there are a few rough moments in his singing. Still and all, though, he sings well.

"Viens Mallika" from Delibes' "Lakme." Whenever I hear this beautiful duet, I can't get the Catherine Deneuve movie, "The Hunger," out of my mind (it was a theme throughout that movie!). Mady Mesple plays Lakme and Danielle Millet sings the part of Mallika. This duet, to me, has a hypnotic sound to it that I find irresistible. It's a theme that one cannot get out of one's mind!

In "La ci darem la mano," we see Don Giovanni (sung by the redoubtable Eberhard Wachter) put his moves on the young woman Zerlina (sung by Graziella Sciutti). This is a luscious duet. In the end, Don Giovanni's lecherous efforts go singularly unrewarded. There is a wonderful intertwining of voices in this duet.

Finally, from Puccini's "La Boheme," the poignant 4th Act duet between Rodolfo (sung by the wonderful tenor Nicolai Gedda) and Marcello (sung by Mario Sereni). They are bemoaning the fact that each has seen his love leave, and the loss is central to their duet. Well performed by both. As I recall, this cut is from the highlights version of "La Boheme" that I bought (in vinyl, of course) 40 years ago when I was an undergraduate at Bradley University. So, a personal favorite. Gedda remains one of my favorite Rodolfos.

So, if you like opera and enjoy duets, this CD will give you a most pleasant evening, listening to some nice works.

What a treasure to have the beautiful duets all on one CD! I am thoroughly enjoying!

This CD is really awesome. I'm new to opera, but love the music on this CD. I use opera music in my CD clock radio (Timex from Amazon) to fall asleep to. What a way to fade into dreamland.