Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Ave, sera gentile - Michael Woolcock, Ramón Vargas, Christopher Pope, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, James Lock, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
2. L'amor?! L'amor?! - Luciano Pavarotti, Ramón Vargas, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
3. Tra voi belle, brune e bionde - Luciano Pavarotti, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
4. Ma bravo! - Ramón Vargas, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
5. Discendono, vediam! - Ramón Vargas, Dwayne Croft, Luciano Pavarotti, Federico Davia, Giuseppe Taddei, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
6. Cortese damigella - Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Dwayne Croft, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
7. Donna non vidi mai - Luciano Pavarotti, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
8. La tua ventura ci rassicura - Ramón Vargas, Giuseppe Taddei, Dwayne Croft, Federico Davia, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
9. La tua Proserpina - Ramón Vargas, Luciano Pavarotti, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
10. Vedete? Io son fedele - Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
11. Non c'è più vino? - Dwayne Croft, Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
12. Di sedur la sorellina è il momento - Giuseppe Taddei, Federico Davia, Ramón Vargas, Dwayne Croft, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
13. Dispettosetto questo riccio! - Mirella Freni, Dwayne Croft, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
14. In quelle trine morbide - Mirella Freni, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
15. Poichè tu vuoi saper? - Dwayne Croft, Mirella Freni, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
16. Che ceffi son costor? ... Sulla vetta tu del monte - James Levine, Dwayne Croft, Mirella Freni, Cecilia Bartoli, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
17. Paga costor! - Mirella Freni, Dwayne Croft, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
18. Minuetto - Anthony Laciura, Giuseppe Taddei, Mirella Freni, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
19. Oh, sarò la più bella!...Tu, tu, amore tu - Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
20. Ah! Affé, madamigella - Mirella Freni, Giuseppe Taddei, Luciano Pavarotti, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
21. Senti, di qui partiamo ... Ah, Manon mi tradisce - Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
22. Lescaut? Tu qui? - Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Dwayne Croft, James Courtney, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini

Disc 2:

1. Intermezzo - Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
2. Ansia eterna, crudel - Luciano Pavarotti, Dwayne Croft, Mirella Freni, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
3. ... e Kate ripose al Re - Paul Groves, Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
4. All'armi! All'armi! - Dwayne Croft, Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, James Courtney, Federico Davia, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
5. Rosetta! - James Courtney, Dwayne Croft, Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
6. Presto! In fila! - James Courtney, Luciano Pavarotti, Federico Davia, Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
7. Tutta su me ti posa - Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
8. Manon, senti, amor mio - Luciano Pavarotti, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
9. Sei tu che piangi? - Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
10. Sola, perduta, abbandonata - Mirella Freni, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini
11. Fra le tue braccie, amore - Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine, Michael Woolcock, Christopher Pope, James Lock, John Pellowe, Giacomo Puccini

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75315 in Music
• Released on: 1993-10-12
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: .69 pounds
• Running time: 119 minutes

Customer Reviews

Magnificently Powerful
Here we have one of those (rather rare) recordings with a whole cast of stars managing to make a performance just as magnificent as one would expect.

James Levine conducts a white hot and blood red performance that still is warm in the more quite and poetic parts, caught in exceptionally clear and vivid sound by the engineers. And his singers definately has the skill to follow him. Both main caracters are far too old to be able to make a believable stageperformance, but you hear little of that fact on this record. Freni's voice is still as great as in many of her much older recordings: both warm, tender and powerful when so called for. Her last aria sola, perduta... shows no signs of wear in the voice. Her des Grieux in Pavarotti is, if possible, even better. I've not always been very fond of him, but this is truely great - he has a almost vulgar power combined with passionate and very thought through singing that perfectly matches des Grieux's caracter. And the mix of Freni and Pavarotti, under the support of Levine, is stunning. I havn't ever heard such a magnificently heartbreaking last act (the desert scene).

All the other singers catch up with them - Dwayne Croft superbly so as Lescaut, with a firm and full tone. Having Taddei, Bartoli and Vargas in minor roles is pure luxury. The choir and orchestra of the Met also are splendidly good.

This version also is believable, though recorded in a studio, probably because both conductor and lead singers have done it many times before on stage. This recording is a pure puccinian drama caught at its best. There really are no weak part in the whole production, which definately is the case in almost all rivalling versions. Although I love Jussi Björling's des Grieux (on RCA), possibly even more than Pavarotti's, this recording has both better sound and better over all qualities.

Don't hesitate - Highly recommended!