Maio

I do like this recording because it does include all of the numbers including the amazing MORNING OF THE DRAGON, which is sung much better on here than on the OLC. Lea Salonga's KIM will always be the definitive Kim and Claire Moore's ELLEN is the best out of all of the casts. Henshall is WAY too bright and edgy with her voice. The role needs warmth as is evidenced by Claire Moore's voice. I saw both casts and I much prefer the OLC overall. Simon Bowman's vibrato is way too big and he goes out of tune. I don't like ANY of the Johns..yuck. If I had to pick one I would pick Peter P. from London and for sure NOT Hinton B. Jonathan Pryce was the best engineer. Gigi is much better in London than on this CD. Keith Burns, for all his faults, is a great Thuy and his "rock" voice is excellent for this. All of the other Thuys were so weak and wussy. I could never take them seriously.
The chorus is much better on this recording than on the OLC. I always felt that OLC Chorus forced too much and it was sometimes out of tune.
All in all nothing beats (and nothing will beat) the OLC. I know people who worked on the show in London from the beginning and have agreed that the OLC is, by far, the best overall.

Wonderful to be able to catch the entire essence of Saigon. The highlights are good but, to be able to catch EVERY aspect of the show.....is amazing. Completely suggest for any diehard fan!

Lea Solonga will always be Miss Saigon. Not putting her on this CD is a crime.

Miss Saigon is my favorite all-time musical! I was hesitant when buying this recording because in my mind Lea Salonga is and always will be Kim! But I was pleasantly surprised. Joanna Ampil as Kim holds her own. While she doesn't have the vocal range of Lea, she has a beautiful, crisp voice which she uses to emote the emotional turmoil of Kim. She expresses herself in a way that makes you feel her love, pain and anguish and in turn she makes this part her own. The rest of the cast is superb (especially the amazing Ruthie Henshall as Ellen) but make no mistake, this show belongs to Ampil!

I also fell in love with some of the material left out of the LCR. There a beautiful bridges and songs which enrich the story. "Back in Town" stands out for me because of the gorgeous melodies. Anyone who has fallen in love with the story of "Miss Saigon" will appreciate these added gems! This cast recording is definitely worth a listen!!

This 1995 studio recording is fabulous. While I don't necessarily prefer it entirely over the original cast recording, there are elements to this recording that are over and above the original.

Joanna Ampil, while delightful as Kim, lacks Lea Salonga's essence. There are moments I find her, how shall I say it - too much? - even when the score calls for drama. Perhaps it is the over enunciation of certain words, or perhaps it is my yearning for Salonga's angelic, crystal clear rendition. I might have preferred Toronto's Ma-Anne Dionisio on this recording as well. Kevin Gray, as The Engineer, is nothing short of thrilling. He was fabulous on stage and just as magical on this CD - lending a greasy, snake-like feel to the role. Hinton Battle and Peter Cousens disappoint slightly (what is it with Peter Cousens' heartless, cold reading-esque "You shouldn't be here"?); Sonia Swaby a perfect Gigi; but Ruthie Henshall - beyond words! What I would have given to see her and Lea Salonga in New York. And perhaps the most wonderful performance on this CD is that of Charles Azulay's - his Thuy is deeper and much more complex than the original Thuy.

The extra music and lyrics suddenly provide the bridge between gaps found in the OLC. For example, in the original recording, on disc one, it goes straight from Kim and Ellen's beautiful ballad, "I Still Believe," straight into the Engineer's shrieking, "Are you waiting for them to kill me? Did you not get what he said? There's a big screw loose inside you - I will rip it out of your head!" Even having seen the show, I'd forgotten what the moments in between were - what was the Engineering going on about? On this complete recording is a vital part of the show - a powerful explanation of Kim and Thuy's past, and an essential look into the very things Thuy himself hopes for, as well as the man he has has become. Also, whereas the OLC finishes disc one at This Is The Hour, the studio recording goes straight into I'd Give My Life For You, providing us with the Entr'acte on the second disc.

The finale is an improvement as well. While seemingly shorter, it is undoubtedly more forceful and significant. The heart is the same; but there's less of Kim "praying" to her parents and more of her concentrating on her very last moments with Tam, the very one who has "sustained her for miles."

The music of Miss Saigon is captivating, capturing the very essence of Kim and Chris' doomed love, as well as the shattered fantasies of the other characters. It is all at once heartbreaking, hopeful, and soaring. A lovely addition to any music theater lover's collection.

 OS FILHOS DE VENTO is a composition of classical, jazz and Brazilian influences written about the Roma gypsy people.
 No Roma influence mars the smooth pieces of jazzy keyboard works and clarinet/oboe throughout, however: this too is pure jazz with little Latin influence other than the background of its creator.

Spurred by the rather dismissive reviews of the Russell Young performance of Luigi Mancinelli's "Paolo e Francesca", I chose to go for the Berdondini set (and regardless of what Amazon says, it's one disc, not two) of this one-act opera.

Mancinelli was in comparison to his contemporary adherents of the verismo style rather international in outlook, and this opera seems to be more in the tradition of Wagner than, say, Verdi or Mascagni. As far as I can tell, the result is far too chopped-up and incoherent, with little sense of drama; much of the vocal writing is declamatory based, and there are few genuine melodies. I think.

The reason I am unsure is that the performances, as well as th sound quality, are abysmal. The singers are strained, out of tune and messy (the exception is possible Montanari as The Fool). The choir is underrehearsed and has serious intonation problems. And the orchestra? Hard to say. It sounds like it's half (or less) the size needed needed to make anything of this opera. In fact, the sound and total lack of balance makes the orchestral parts sound as if they are played on synthesizers - that is, using the "brass" sound from a cheap 80s toy synthesizer (but as opposed to synthesizers, the orchestra is often out of tune - by quite some margins). I don't think it was until track 5 I realized that there actually were strings there at all (apparently no more than, approximately, two of them). This is, then, a completely useless disc, and I am no more certain after having heard it of whether this opera is worth reviving than I was before. And with the generally sub-mediocre reviews of the alternative Russell Young set, we are in the unfortunate situation of having two recordings of which neither can serve even as a stopgap. Depressing.

this is the best CD I bought in the last 3 years: it's truli a one-of-a-kind!!! If you really want to get a sense of the sound in the streets of Naples in the XVI century get this is a great choice.
The ensemble really understands the music and the singers, especially Patrizia Bovi are mesmerizing! BRAVI

Vinci's buffo opera is given a warm and intriguing performance in this set. (The Gramophone review accompanying this listing is for some different work.) Though clearly early 18th century, the music has strong reminiscences of earlier traditions, and the work has quite a different mixing of orchestral and other accompaniment patterns from other comtemporary works with which I am familiar. The work exhibits a wide variety of mood and tone within the context of the opera buffa. By and large the singing is distinguished, though often with a rather harsh edge possibly representing the common nature of the drama and the Napolitan dialect. I enjoyed this set as much as I do recordings of Vivaldi. It is intriguing, different and well done,