Maria Taylor

I love this CD and can't wait to use it with my music students when school resumes. Opera is always a difficult subject to create affinity for...this will be extremely helpful!

This CD is a treat for anyone who enjoys opera. It includes many well known arias. The words are printed out so it is easy to follow along, something that lets you tell the story to a child. This serves as a good introduction for anyone new to opera.

This is a GREAT CD! Both the children and my husband and I love it. We bought it as an introduction to opera for our homeschooled children, and never guessed we'd all enjoy it so much.

All the tunes are ones you will probably recognize - but hearing the words that go with the music and hearing them in *English* is so helpful! It has been really fun to find out what these songs are really about.

My kids and I often catch ourselves singing opera through the day now, which is really neat. It has helped build their understanding of music in many different ways, and has improved my oldest daughter's voice ability as she strives to keep up with the professional singers on the CD.

The music is beautiful, the words are lovely and give meaning, and this whole CD is just exceptionally good entertainment!

THE WORLD"S VERY BEST OPERA FOR KIDS is a collection of fourteen of the best loved arias in the world. The whole family will enjoy this CD, which is a unique version of these famous arias in that these are all sung in English so your child (and you) can appreciate and imagine the story that it illustrates. It is a wonderful introduction to opera and will have the whole family humming the memorable melodies, which are sung by some of the best of famous voices. You will be inspired to read the storylines of the operas to your children for a wonderful educational and delightful family hour. The CD includes an insert with the words so you can sing along

It really doesn't get much better than this CD. The primary benefit of the music is that it is a terrific selection of funny and touching arias from the classical genre. I am an opera lover and bought this for myself to memorize the words in English, as prompts when I listen to the pieces untranslated. I started listening to the CD while I was driving, and within a week had bought about a dozen CDs to distribute to family members and friends, with kids (and without). Everyone loves it. And at the end of the CD are several tracks of just the music, so you can sing along, which is a hoot. Your friends and colleagues, who hear you barking along to beats, will think you have taken leave of your senses. The lyrics (in English) are in the liner notes. I would suggest not reading the liner notes while driving.

Second CD benefit. The time you spend listening to this will be the equivalent of an afternoon at the beach or a walk in the mountains. The calming factor is amazing.

This lady has one great voice. She can certainly sell a song. My only reservation about her is that she's a bit cocky. I think she could use some humility.

Unbelievable breath control, phrasing, and style. My 10 yr. old Granddaughter who heretofore has listened and loved the usual rap
and hip-hop, heard me playing this disc and begged me to buy her
one........and I did, and she plays it all the time, and to her
friends. Linda Eder exceeds the Streisand mystique by far.

i am turning 60 years old this year. i went to my 1st.broadway
musical in 1960. over the years i have had the honor to see
almost all of the giants of american song, garland, streisand,
patti lupone, lena horne, betty buckley, barbaracook etc. in
"broadway, my way" linda eder cements her place as the best of the best. from an anthem like "i am what i am" to the lovely
"on the street where you live" captures you body and soul.
i loved this album, and don't ever miss a chance to see her live. JOHN POWER

A great selection of songs. Tremendous amount of energy in Linda's voice. I just love it.

Wow! Linda Eder has an outstanding voice. She sells Broadway in the styles of Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. After hearing this you will want more.

If you're a Maria Taylor fan, you'll love this. Not over-produced, her beautiful voice shines through. Amazing!

this is my introduction to Maria Taylor, besides the bg vocals with bright eyes.... and i don't want to turn this record off. i can just let it play and play and play.

this is a record full of atmosphere, emotion (but not slushy), and fun. it is fun and melancholy all at the same time- the record contains variety, but is consistent. folk to trip-hop. just good music.

enjoy. i am.

::: this is for fans of portishead / beth gibbons, over the rhine, and beth orton

I was recently introduced to Maria Taylor when Paste magazine included her song "A Good Start" on a recent CD sampler that comes with each month's issue. I purchased the Lynn Teeter Flower album as a result of the sample tune, and I was not disappointed.

"Good Start" is easily the best pop song that I have heard this year, and really, there is not a bad song on the album. Maria has a terrific voice: clear, sometimes haunting, and the songs (all written or co-written by her) have great lyrics. I do agree with a previous reviewer that the rap bit is not needed in "Irish Goodbye," the song is strong enough to stand on its own and would be excellent without it. (So, make my rating 4 1/2 stars instead of five, too.)

The last track, and the album's title "song," is actually a recording of Maria as a child and is a bit fun.

Bottom line: one of the best albums of 2007.

The simplicity and gorgeous melody of Maria Taylor's music is not to be denied! You can really hear her stretching here, too. She actually SINGS now, as opposed to the gentle croon of her earlier music. I ADORE this disc. The emotional standout here is definately "Clean Getaway" OH WOW. "A Good Start" is such a LIFTING track, and it's title seems more than appropriate.
I would have actually rated this 4 1/2 stars, because i feel that the slight rap in "Irish Goodbye" is ill-advised at best. The dude has a clean flow, it just feels a bit planned, you know?
"My Own Fault" is another gem that comes to mind here. This album is much more focused than Maria'a solo debut, 11:11, another gorgeous slice of goodness. Get it. Now.
thank you Maria, for sharing your voice.

Another good one. Buy it. In Europe, catch a show (looks like Manchester tonight).

This is one of the finest albums I have listened in last years. It is calm and addictive (except for the track 6 which is completely commercial.) Album has a cinematographic atmosphere and keeps you in the "rainy sunday morning driving" mood. No one would regret purchasing and listening an album like this.

I see Azure Ray pop up anytime I look for Maria Taylor. I haven't had the chance nor the inclination to check them out yet. I'm too enthralled with Ms. Taylor's work. She's like sleep music that makes your dreams all the more brighter, closer and that much more real. I would go on and list my favorites about now, but there's no need. EVERY FRIGGIN SONG IS MY FAVORITE!

There's a bit of a Southern drawl on this album that I immensely enjoy. It feels like the day after Spring cleaning is over with and you're sitting on the porch watching the sunset while you're children are playing in the front yard and your spouse holds your hand as you sip a glass of cold lemonade.
Yeah, it really is like that. A run-on, but true nontheless!

Please, sit back and enjoy!

Do you guys remember when At the Drive-in split? And then there was Sparta and the Mars Volta? And even if you weren't in on the drama, it was pretty clear what happened.

The sparta dude was having a lot of fun in at the drive-in.

The mars volta dudes wanted to push things forward.

Then Sparta is a little bit of popular, but MarsVolta is the one that gets all the respect. Because, bascially, Sparta is just At The Drive-in without the 'fros and the creative spark.

That's kind of how this thing was...but:

Azure Ray's hiatus is totally amicable.

Maria Taylor is just...so...like-able.

And the direction she takes is just so...touching.

In an interview, she says something along the lines of "...my entire life has always been based on me and somebody else..." and here she is, on this CD, same woman, same life...but alone. And it's about how she's both inspired and scared by this. And she should be. It's a big step, especially for the quintessential embodiment of her former bands sound-- a breathy vulnerable sounding voice, accompanied by spare instrumentation that provides little cover for deeply personal and confessional lyrics.

It's mean to compare Orenda and Maria competitively, but it's hard not to do. Throughout Azure Ray's career, one could listen closely and pick out their subtle differences and respective talents. Orenda's domain was her command over more complex lyric structures and a flair for darker,more innovative instrumentation. And Maria always wrote the more conventional and simpler songs, but with an undeniable, but undefinable allure that stemmed from, but transcended mere catchiness.

She keeps it up with this release, but she's added a backup band and some nice studio touches that a bigger budget and good friends gets you. But what makes this album powerful is that its not about "look how far our production has come in the past 10 years," the songs are still written from the same heart that her Azure Ray songs came from.

There are minor downfalls that she has carried over from her past career as well, however. I find myself cringing at her occasional rhyming dictionary couplets ("there was a time when my heart was aching, yes there was the day i swore it was breaking") and in general, she is not as confident a guitarist as Orenda. But because of the kind of person Maria Taylor portrays herself, in interviews and lyrics, these shortcomings only seem to add to the character she has made herself into. Here she is: she is going to tell you about something the best way she knows how, and she is going to tell you about it how it comes to her. Yes, there is something trite about an achey, breaky heart, but if that's what you have, why pretend you don't?

And that's what makes all these songs so touching. The anxiety described through seemingly silly fears in the aptly named "Xanax"; the ruminations on marriage "Hitched" (more touching still, when one considers Orenda Fink has reached a turning point in her life, musically and socially, as she marries long time friend Todd Baechle while Maria continues plugging away at the same old song); and the absolutely heartbreaking line "I will wait for you...but please come soon," told in that spare, almost-unpoetic-but-ultimately-more moving-than-any-poetry-can-be, style that Maria is the best at; make this CD very familiar, yet very worthwhile.

This CD is a natural progression from what Maria Taylor was doing in Azure Ray, and for that it's really, really great. Orenda wins the ambition award, but Maria Taylor delivers on a solid memorable album.

Maria Taylor, one half of the duo 'Azure Ray', has produced a welcome and charming creation in 11:11.

With the exception of two songs, 'Nature Song' and 'One for the Shareholder', all songs are the product of Maria's mind and heart. Nobody can tell you what to like but objectively most of us can spot bad or problemed songs. Hey most of us, save your eyes and ears, you have entered a spot free zone. There exists nothing but the highest quality soaked through and through this collection proving that Maria is nothing short of an amazing songsmith.

As for her voice I've seen it called 'soulful'. I think that's right on the money. Listen to 'hitched', for example, and challenge yourself not to be overcome a bit by the surge of yearning that travels the length of your spine. The song that will probably reach out to the most people on this CD is 'Song Beneath the Song'. It is, at the time of this writing, still available for viewing here:

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/guide/hd/

We often forget how much soul can be carried by the voice of a child. The spirit of innocence, it's loss, and the purity of emotion in any of it's hues. Maria's voice is somehow that and more. She is the whisper of charm so fragile one might fear to touch it and a moment later that same sound weaves it's way into a current so strong the listener might turn and wonder if it is not they who are the fragile one. And, as most know, she never has to scream, nor does she, to make any of it work.

Production quality, recording, playing, mixing and mastering, are exceptional. Even in the early days of 'Azure Ray' the mixing was top notch The thread of that quality has just gotten stronger and trascends into this solo project.

Any CD that contains at least a couple of songs worth it's full merit is worthy of praise. Here you will find far more. Maria Taylor's 11:11 is 5 by 5 and five star worthy.

I am highly entertained Maria! Bravo!

-Frank Gualtier

...it's just as good as azure ray.

she writes songs with fantastic lyrics and beautiful melodies that pull emotions out of me that i forgot i had. 'leap year' is beautiful nostalgia, 'birmingham 1982' brims with childlike innocence, there's the sweeping chords of 'nature song' and the bittersweet reminiscence in 'two of those two.' she picks it up a notch with 'one for the shareholder' and reminds us all to let go with the modern poignancy of 'xanax'. i looooove it. it's one of those rare albums i always listen to from start to finish. good job maria!

This opera recording sounds grand. David Daniels sings the title role with both tenderness and a swagger. Bernarda Fink sings Goffredo, commander of the Christian forces. The incomparable Cecilia Bartoli sings the role of Rinaldo's betrothed -- an Almirena to die for. Daniel Taylor, Gerald Finley, Bejun Mehta, Mark Padmore -- this is a fabulous cast. I wasn't familiar with Luba Orgonasova who sings Armida, Queen of Damascus, but she's completely at home in here. The Academy of Ancient Music plays, Christopher Hogwood conducts.

Even the liner notes are a delight--a complete libretto along with the backgrounds and biography of all the performers. I love this music. I love these singers. I played this opera so much and so often that my dog, recognizing that I was immobile while this was playing, would just sack out. There are some nice "thunder effects" in one section of this. This dog was afraid of thunder but learned to sleep through the "opera thunder". This came in handy during real thunderstorms. I could slip this opera into the CD player and crank it up--my dog was instantly bored and would sleep through fireworks. I would listen to Mr. Handel's glorious music with nature's percussion overhead. Life could hardly get any better than this.

The story of Rinaldo and Armida is not an unfamiliar one to fans of baroque and Classical era opera. Lully, Gluck, Jommelli, Salieri, Sarti, and Haydn all set in one form or another, along with more composers than one will ever know. Handel's version differs slightly, especially when compared to Quinault's libretto, which was set by both Lully and Gluck. That opera, if comparable to anything, is closer to 'Dido and Aeneas' than it is to 'Rinaldo'. Indeed, if one were tempted to compare Handel's opera on the subject, they would find far more similarities in Lully's 'Thésée'. In both cases, there is a pair of lovers, Almirena and Rinaldo in Handel's opera, Aeglé and Thésée in Lully's, whom are threatened by a sorceress whom is in love with the title character, Armida and Médée respectively. Anyway, both spirit away the lovers, threaten them, and, in the end, all ends well. Anyway, the Academy of Ancient Music is as good as always, playing with both precision and life, something which doesn't always happen with every group. Bartoli is excellent in her role as Almirena, and Daniels and the other soloists seem to know how to perform this repertoire as well.

HIGHLY DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE OF 'RINALDO' ON THIS DISC.

Of George Frederick Handel of England, born Georg Friedrich Handel of Germany, an English critic wrote,"He did bestride our musical world like a Colossus." He was 18 when his Father died, thus allowing him to drop the Law mandated by his father, and turn to music which was his first love. After serving several apprenticeships in various places, including the Hamburg Opera, he went to Italy (1706), and for three years he absorbed Italian music, which powerfully influenced his own writing. It is not known for certain what prompted him to make London his home, but nevertheless, in 1720 he went there, and for 10 years contributed musically to England. And so the international German who wrote like an Italian became a naturalized Englishman in 1726, though he never lost his German accent.

The first opera Handel produced for London, and the first Italian opera specifically composed for London stage- was 'Rinaldo',which opened at the Queen's (later King's) Theatre in the Haymarket on Feb.24,1711. Giocomo Rossi wrote the libretto for 'Rinaldo' loosely based on episodes from Torquato's epic poem 'Gerusalemme liberta', a fantastically elaborated account of the First Crusade(1096-99) in which Tasso describes how Christian forces led by Godfrey of Bouillon captured the city of Jerusalem from Muslim rule. Handel partially ensured the success of the music by drawing much of it from the best works he had written earlier in Italy. There is , however, plenty of freshly composed music in the score as well. Handel, taking advantage of the many skilled instrumentalists available in London, used a wide variety of them to create a wonderful range of orchestral color.

The emotional depth which this music brings to the characters is no less striking, and is especially apparent in the role of Armida (Luba Orgonasova) first of a line of Handelian sorceresses, whose propensity for evil is conquered by true love. Rinaldo's (David Daniels) own aria of lament in Act 1,'Cara Sposa', is even more intense, and who can sing this better than Daniels?This particular role suits him so well; not only does he sound good, he also projects the characterization of a true mercenary. Almarena's(Cecelia Bartoli) charm comes strongly to the fore in her birdsong aria 'Augelleti' and in 'Bel Piacere' which she sings at breakneck tempo; magnificently, of course! The aria (also sung by Almarena)'Lascia ch'io pianga' is a wonderful example of Handel's ability to convey a sense of despair with the simplest of means.

In addition to the singers mentioned above, there are several others of equal ability:Bernarda Fink as Goffredo-Daniel Taylor as Eustazio and Gerald Finley as Argante. If that line-up doesn't convince you to hear this recording, nothing well!

It is instructive to remember that when Handel went to Italy in 1707 to further his studies of composition and to study Italian Opera, that Opera was only a century old. It had begun in Italy in the early seventeenth century and was beginning to spread to other cities and courts in Europe. Opera was still sung in Italian and continued in that language simply because the great singers were Italian and preferred singing in their own language. When the popular arias were published, they were usually done in translation and sold by the ton making the publishers, and sometimes the composers, a great deal of money.

While it is not exactly clear how and why Handel was brought to London, he soon made a name for himself with the smash hit "Rinaldo". This opera is a fantasy or fairy tale based upon the notion of the Crusade to take Jerusalem around 1100 AD as a duty of Christian faith. As in most operas, the plot is quite convoluted in order to provide the maximum opportunity for the various kinds of singing the great singers could provide. One of the interesting features of opera at this time was the notion of two contrasting styles. There was the brilliant singing of great virtuosity and then there was the slower singing of great emotion. Many people were a fan of one style or the other, and many singers specialized in one or the other. It was dazzle them or make them weep. The greatest singers could do both. This opera provides every lead character with opportunities for both styles of singing and says a lot about the quality of singers Handel had at his disposal.

Handel's operas were not sung for a long time because of another feature of Italian opera at this time: the castrati. Young boys who were brilliant singers (and remember singers were servants and often drawn from lower classes) prolonged their career by having their testicles destroyed in a variety of ways in order to keep puberty from ruining their brilliant voice. So, they not only continued to sing at the high register we nowadays associate with women (but were not so then), they also developed greater lung capacity and vocal skill. They were among the most popular and sought after singers of their time. They did not sing in falsetto like Frankie Valli, but in a very strong full voice.

In the 1920s, Handel's operas began to be revived with women singing the roles of the castrati and later a male voice we now call the counter-tenor developed. In the past few decades some very brilliant counter-tenors have come on the scene and one of the greatest, David Daniels, sings the role of Rinaldo on this recording. It is also interesting that not all male roles went to males. From the very first performance the role of the commander of the Christian forces, Goffredo, has been given to a woman and wonderfully sung by Bernarda Fink here.

So, what is the opera about? Goffredo is leading forces to take Jerusalem from the Muslims. He offers his daughter, Almirena (sung by the acclaimed Cecilia Bartoli) to Rinaldo if he will help them take the city. The Muslims are lead by Argante (the superb Gerald Finley) who uses the powers of his sorceress wife, Armida (the terrific Luba Orgonasova) to kidnap Almirena and later ensnare Rinaldo as he comes for his betrothed. In captivity, Rinaldo and Almirena sing forlornly. Armida is smitten with Rinaldo and takes on the form of Almirena to deceive Rinaldo, but he is not deceived. Argante goes after Almirena. Both hero and heroine resist the seductions. Armida again takes the form of Almirena to trap Argante in his betrayal of her.

Goffredo and his brother Eustazio (the fine Daniel Taylor) go to a Christian magician and receive magic wands with which they destroy the castle and free Rinaldo and Almirena. The fight between the forces is finally engaged and Rinaldo captures the city and wins the day. Argante and Armida flee, but are captured. She renounces her powers and they convert to the Christian faith. All ends with the usual ensemble singing about evil being defeated by virtue alone and happiness only coming to a heart with purpose.

Think about all the dramatic possibilities! Sorceress flying in the air, smoke, thunder (the thunder machines were terrific in 1711 and are used in this recording), lightning, destroying castles by magic, armies, horns, despair, pathos, heroism, and victory. The stagecraft was fantastic and was exploited to the hilt, although that is not available to us in this recording.

This is a fine opera and you will find much to enjoy. The disks come with a fine booklet that contains a good history of the opera and the libretto in Italian and English.

It was not for nothing that Beethoven called Handel the greatest composer who ever lived and that he would uncover his head and kneel down at his tomb.

This is a magnificent recording with an absolute dream cast. Despite its historical context within the late 11th century battles between the Crusades and the Saracens, Handel's "Rinaldo", written in the early 18th century, is actually a fanciful tale of love, devotion and betrayal populated by kings and warriors, fair maidens and sorcerers. It has all the elements of a great period action movie produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

You need a real vocal swashbuckler in the title role, and countertenor David Daniels is ideally suited with a rarefied voice that is alternately heroic and romantic. With his stunning coloratura and dramatic intensity, it would be hard to imagine anyone better as the conflicted Christian hero Rinaldo, who can lead an entire army to take Jerusalem but still have trouble taking his true love Almirena away from the hands of evil magicians. Daniels is particularly convincing with the music that reflects his deep love for her, in particular, with Rinaldo's famous lament, "Cara sposa, amante cara, dove sei?". The beauty of his timbre really flows out of him in what seems like an effortless manner, and provides proof positive that his is a special talent. As great as he is here, Daniels actually surpassed this performance two years later in David Alden's audacious update of the opera, staged in Munich in 2001 and luckily captured on DVD two years later (also strongly recommended). While not the most ideal interpreter of Handel, superstar mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli displays her supreme technique as Almirena. Her style is famously full of dramatic fire, but one gets the sense that a more plaintive manner would be more appropriate for such a lovelorn character. I kept thinking she could have been better cast as the sorceress Armida were it as important a role. At times, her presence is so overwhelming that she singes some of the more openly yearning arias with her bravura technique and amazing range. Ironically though, she and the more delicately toned Daniels meld together perfectly on their brief duets, notably "Scherzano sul tuo volto", and she certainly delivers the goods on the sonorous "Lascia ch'io pianga", likely the most definitive recorded version on the market now.

In a "pants" role, i.e., a female playing a male, mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink convincingly plays the Christian army general Goffredo, who almost acts like the chorus for all the action. Although the role is a bit passive, she lends a beautiful tone to all her pieces. Soprano Luba Orgonasova plays Armida, a sorceress that requires a singer to convey a concurrent sense of sensuality and melodrama, especially as she seduces and then falls in love with the stalwart Rinaldo. She falls a bit short though not at the sacrifice of communicating the fury of feelings which cause her change of heart. Quite impressive is baritone Gerald Finley, who is pitch perfect and provides clear diction as Argante, the King of Jerusalem. Perhaps because his voice is so dramatically deeper than anyone else's in the cast, he fully captures the dominating presence of his character. Amazingly there are two other countertenors in this stellar cast, which just shows how versatile this voice type truly is. Bejun Mehta brings a velvety quality to his aria, "Andate, o forti, fra stragi e morti"; and Daniel Taylor, with his choirboy innocence, does as well as he can in the least interesting role of Goffredo's brother Eustazio, especially with the lovely "Siam prossimi al porto", which opens Act II.

I love how characters will sing successive couplets culminating in some amazingly dulcet tones. Sound effects of thunder and battle and even simulations of birdsongs provide effective bridges between pieces and acts. Special praise should go to conductor Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music for the authentically dramatic sound of the period instruments. This is one of Handel's great early works, and we are lucky to have it preserved in such an exemplary manner here. Make sure to reserve three hours of your time to listen to this opera in total as it should be experienced. An absolute must-have for Baroque music aficionados.

This seller does not respond to emails they don't send products so I guess they are SCAMMERS!!!

I borough a copy of the Abbado's recording from my library and I found this opera quite boring. Someone suggested me to get this recording and my opinion on this music changed 180 degrees. One more recording from Muti made by EMI in the 70s that is right on the money.

This performance, as written in the attached booklet, follows Verdi's own words about how Macbeth should be interpreted.

Verdi focuses on Lady Macbeth, and she is the main reason to buy the set.
Fiorenza Cossotto suites perfectly the composer's description - her voice is strong and her vocal acting is superb (especially in the mad-scene).
Her coleratura is accurate, and she is in tune singing the supreme high notes which some of them acceeds the high C.

She was awarded the Gold record for her performance here!

Milnes' technique and vocal acting are fine enough to be put next to the great Cossotto.
Sometimes he even astonished me with his outbursts.

Raimondi is in strong voice as Banquo, and having Carreras as Macduff is a plus!

Mutti leads a fiery playing of the orchestra and Chorus.

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Source: 1976 studio recording made in England.

Sound: Good analog stereo satisfactorily remastered into digital form.

Cast: Macbeth (Macbetto) - Sherrill Milnes; Lady Macbeth - Fiorenza Cosotto; Macduff (Macduffo) - Jose Carreras; Banquo (Banco) - Ruggero Raimondi; Malcolm - Giuliano Bernardi; Gentlewoman - Maria Borgato; Doctor - Carlo del Bosco; Servant - Leslie Fyson; Herald - Neilson Taylor; Assassin - John Noble; Apparitions - Christopher Keyte, Sara Grossman and Timothy Sprackling. Conductor: Riccardo Muti with the New Philharmonia Orchestra and the Ambrosian Chorus.

Format: This is the low-priced, no frills, two-disk re-issue of a recording originally set forth in a three-disk, full-price version with such bells and whistles as are typical of high priced CDs--plus three arias cut or altered by Verdi after his original production.

"Macbeth" was the first of Verdi's three completed Shakespearian operas. (A fourth, his long-contemplated but never executed "King Lear," is the greatest might-have-been in all of opera.) Its libretto is far and away the most faithful of the three to Shakespeare's original.

On a giorno non vidi mai so fair and foul, Macbetto and Banco encounter streghe (not just three, but a whole chorus of them.) They hail Macbetto di Glamis Sire and they prophesy that Macbetto shall be di Caudor Sire and king that shall be. Banco they hail not as a king but as father of kings.

All this Macbetto writes in a letter that is read by his wife. Together again, they plot the death of King Duncan, their guest at Glamis Castle. Before the deed, Macbetto sees a vision of a dagger before him. He kills Duncan, but is so unnerved that he brings (just) one gory dagger back with him. Lady Macbeth returns the dagger to the scene of the crime, staining herself with blood in the doing. They are shaken by a loud pounding at the door but they pull themselves together to join everyone in denouncing the murderers of the old king.

Macbetto becomes di Scozia Re and hardened in his crimes. Banco, father of future kings, presents a dynastic difficulty. Macbetto orders his death. The assassins return to report the end of Banco but the escape of his son. At a banquet Macbetto sees the ghost of Banco, much to the annoyance of Lady Macbeth and the dismay of the Scottish nobility.

Duncan's son, Malcolm, returns to Scotland to declare Macbetto a murderer and press his own claim to the throne. Macduffo joins him. Macbetto orders the death of Macduffo's wife and children. Macduffo, devastated, swears vengeance.

Lady Macbeth, in great agitation, sleepwalks. "Via," she says, "damned spot."

Malcolm and his army come to a wooded place. He orders his men to cut down branches and carry them before as they march to Dunsinane Castle.

Lady Macbeth dies. On hearing of it, Macbetto plumbs the depths of despair, calling life a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury che nulla dinota.

Told that a forest is on the move, Macbetto rouses himself into full defiance: blow wind, come wrack, he'll die with harness on his back! Macbetto battles untouched, for he may not be killed by any man who was born of a woman. He meets Macduffo who tells him that he was not born as most men are but strappato fui dal sen materno. Though la foresta Birnamo be come to Dunsinane and Macduffo is not of woman born, Macbetto fights on. In the end, Macduffo presents the slain body of the tyrant to King Malcolm.

As you can see, Verdi's hack librettists, Piave and Maffei, were infinitely more scrupulous than Boito was with either Otello or Falstaff. Even a rather lengthy ballet sequence can be justified from the original. The only significant characters omitted are the porter and that grim old Englishman, Earl Siward. (I do regret, though, that Banquo's son is never mentioned by name. I've always wondered how Italian tongues that could not wrap themselves around the name "Banquo" would deal with a thing like "Fleance.") Whatever weaknesses there are in the opera are attributable to the composer. This is an early work, still years before "Rigoletto." Verdi was still bound in Donnizettian forms and conventions, but already there was the strength and power that no other Italian master has ever matched.

This production is meticulously conceived and consistently conducted. The orchestra and the chorus are both excellent. The four principal singers, Milnes, Cossotto, Raimondi and Carreras are each of international stature and all are in very good voice. Everything sounds good. For all these reasons, I assign five stars.

That said, I must point out that there is in this performance a certain polish, glossiness and general restraint that does not jibe with the old, craggy tale of Scottish magic, murder and revenge. Rather than black-hearted villainy and grim blood-letting, we are presented with a weekend with the Macbeths (although one that admittedly ends rather poorly for them.) Everyone and everything is too well behaved. Milnes had a beautiful voice, no question of that, but I can't remember anybody accusing him of getting to the heart of any character. Cossotto and Raimondi offer undoubtedly impressive but oddly restrained singing, considering the unhinged qualities of their characters. Best of the bunch is the young Carreras in the supporting role of Macduff[o]. For once in his recording career he was free of the vocal tightness and the endless striving for volume that become so annoyingly consistent in his later work. If only he had kept on in the manner of this Macduff, he would actually have become the singer that his legion of fans wrongly imagine him to have been.

All in all, I put the blame for the shortcomings I find in this recording on Riccardo Muti (who would assuredly laugh my objections to scorn.) I think he was so busy listening to the music that he didn't hear the drama.

This recording is just so-so. Besides Carreras, whose role is small, none of the singers do a terribly fantastic job. Both Milnes and Cossotto are average actors, yet they do pull off a very credible pair. Milnes' voice is always somewhat dull and uninteresting compared to greats such as Cappuccilli and Warren. He is a far too cautious singer, seemingly paying more attention to getting the right notes than getting the role of Macbeth. Take his final aria, for instance. Ignore the words, and instead of an aria about despair, you have a serenade. Milnes lacks the upper harmonics in his voice which give a singers like Warren or Alexander Svéd (a great Hungarian of the 40's and 50's) that extra bite. Cossotto fairs much better in her role. However, she is flat on the high notes and weak with her low notes.

Raimondi, who plays Banquo, gives a very poor performance here. To begin with, he was miscast, since his (bass)-baritone voice lacks the depth required for the notes written. In fact, I'm not sure why people insisted on having him sing so many bass roles in recordings. (The Grand Inquisitor quickly comes to mind.) Worst of all, his cry at the end of Come dal ciel precipita couldn't be more unconvincing. For a good Banquo, listen to Jerome Hines, Ghiaurov, or Christoff.

On the other hand, I love the conducting, the chorus, and the quality of the recorded sound. While Muti's tempi are sometimes funky, they just represent a different interpretation of the work. I would have preferred more nasality in the voices of the witches though, like in the Ramey, Verrett recording.

This recording gets 4 stars for a fantastic sounding orchestra, chorus, but a bland cast.

Don't listen to the negative reviews below. I really can't see what they're getting at as I've had this set for a week now and it's not left my CD player. It's a highly enjoyable, entertaining and often thrilling account of Verdi's early Shakespearian work. Whilst most of Verdi's other operas from this date have fallen from the repertoire this one has remained, partly because of extensive revisions made by Verdi in 1865 which strengthened certain passages e.g. the last act finale, but also because of the central figure of Lady Macbeth, his first great soprano role. It so happens that in Muti's set it is Lady Macbeth who comes across as the chief protagonist, in other sets it could be Macbeth himself, but I prefer having her as the person around whom the rest of the opera revolves. She does, after all, get the best songs such as the terrific Act Two 'brindisi' and the famous sleep-walking scene in Act Four. Cossotto for Muti gives a remarkably involving performance as Lady Macbeth; her coloratura technique is secure and she frequently uses her chest register in a way that reminds me of Callas. Yes, her top notes are occassionally squally (she is a mezzo not a soprano) but personally I find this adds to the character. I'm not a purist for the sake of it. Milnes as Macbeth is wonderful in tone, if a little uninvolving at times, but always believeable. Carreras is superb as Macduff as is the chorus of witches. Muti keeps things going at a brisk but never unduly rushed speed. Finally the recorded sound is warm, detailed and far better than a lot of digital efforts.
As a postscript, to the reviewer who stated that this recording hadn't won much critical acclaim I would draw their attention to the fact that it appears in the Penguin Guide to Classical Music as a three-star recommendation; in the Rough Guide to Opera as a top recommendation; in the Rough Guide to Classical Music as THE top recommendation and it was the first choice in BBC Radio Two's recommended recordings listing for this opera.

This is a magnificent recording with an absolute dream cast. Despite its historical context within the late 11th century battles between the Crusades and the Saracens, Handel's "Rinaldo", written in the early 18th century, is actually a fanciful tale of love, devotion and betrayal populated by kings and warriors, fair maidens and sorcerers. It has all the elements of a great period action movie produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

You need a real vocal swashbuckler in the title role, and countertenor David Daniels is ideally suited with a rarefied voice that is alternately heroic and romantic. With his stunning coloratura and dramatic intensity, it would be hard to imagine anyone better as the conflicted Christian hero Rinaldo, who can lead an entire army to take Jerusalem but still have trouble taking his true love Almirena away from the hands of evil magicians. Daniels is particularly convincing with the music that reflects his deep love for her, in particular, with Rinaldo's famous lament, "Cara sposa, amante cara, dove sei?". The beauty of his timbre really flows out of him in what seems like an effortless manner, and provides proof positive that his is a special talent. As great as he is here, Daniels actually surpassed this performance two years later in David Alden's audacious update of the opera, staged in Munich in 2001 and luckily captured on DVD two years later (also strongly recommended). While not the most ideal interpreter of Handel, superstar mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli displays her supreme technique as Almirena. Her style is famously full of dramatic fire, but one gets the sense that a more plaintive manner would be more appropriate for such a lovelorn character. I kept thinking she could have been better cast as the sorceress Armida were it as important a role. At times, her presence is so overwhelming that she singes some of the more openly yearning arias with her bravura technique and amazing range. Ironically though, she and the more delicately toned Daniels meld together perfectly on their brief duets, notably "Scherzano sul tuo volto", and she certainly delivers the goods on the sonorous "Lascia ch'io pianga", likely the most definitive recorded version on the market now.

In a "pants" role, i.e., a female playing a male, mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink convincingly plays the Christian army general Goffredo, who almost acts like the chorus for all the action. Although the role is a bit passive, she lends a beautiful tone to all her pieces. Soprano Luba Orgonasova plays Armida, a sorceress that requires a singer to convey a concurrent sense of sensuality and melodrama, especially as she seduces and then falls in love with the stalwart Rinaldo. She falls a bit short though not at the sacrifice of communicating the fury of feelings which cause her change of heart. Quite impressive is baritone Gerald Finley, who is pitch perfect and provides clear diction as Argante, the King of Jerusalem. Perhaps because his voice is so dramatically deeper than anyone else's in the cast, he fully captures the dominating presence of his character. Amazingly there are two other countertenors in this stellar cast, which just shows how versatile this voice type truly is. Bejun Mehta brings a velvety quality to his aria, "Andate, o forti, fra stragi e morti"; and Daniel Taylor, with his choirboy innocence, does as well as he can in the least interesting role of Goffredo's brother Eustazio, especially with the lovely "Siam prossimi al porto", which opens Act II.

I love how characters will sing successive couplets culminating in some amazingly dulcet tones. Sound effects of thunder and battle and even simulations of birdsongs provide effective bridges between pieces and acts. Special praise should go to conductor Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music for the authentically dramatic sound of the period instruments. This is one of Handel's great early works, and we are lucky to have it preserved in such an exemplary manner here. Make sure to reserve three hours of your time to listen to this opera in total as it should be experienced. An absolute must-have for Baroque music aficionados.

This isn't a critic. This is the best recording of 'Rinaldo' that you can find in the market at this moment. Daniels and Bartoli are simply extraordinary, but all the roles are sang with a very high nivel. I specially enjoy with Bernarda Fin, Liuba Orgonasova, Gerarld Finley and Bejun Metha.
Fantastic also the Academy of Ancient Music and Horwoogd. You must have it!

This is a fine recording of Rinaldo, Handel's first great success on the London stage. As might be expected from the cast, conductor, and orchestra, this is an excellent performance. I am not sure that the opera has the zest of some of Handel's later great operas, but it is very, very enjoyable.

I am very glad that the Handel operas are being looked at and recorded - usually very well - nowadays. When I was younger there were occasional arias, but the writing for castrati created problems that were hard to overcome.

People would accept "pants" roles for women playing young men, but full fledged gender bending was hard to accept for most. As was the counter-tenor voice when it first appeared.

Nowadays, we are pretty much past that and can have women singing the roles or the use of counter-tenors is quite popular. Here we have both, we have Bernarda Fink ably singing as Goffredo, a captain of the armies and David Daniels and David Taylor singing counter tenor roles very well indeed.

The director, Christopher Hogwood, seems to always go for voices that have some special quirkiness about them (character?). He does that again on this recording. Yes, the voices are all good. (You may or may not like any individual voice in a specific role, but they do all sing well.) And there is some awfully gorgeous ensemble singing.

This is a studio recording and sounds pretty good. The orchestra sounds especially nice.

This is a very good opera and has a lot of excellent qualities that I hope keep it around for a long time. You could do a lot worse than getting this version of Rinaldo into your collection.

Desde su estreno, ha sido "Rinaldo", una de las obras mas populares de Handel. Eso no extrañara a nadie que haya escuchado cualquiera de sus arias, las que siempre envuelven y se quedan en la memoria para nunca olvidar. Esta grabacion, lidereada por el siempre magnifico Hogwood, le ayudara a comprenderlo. El elenco es estelar y, aunque a veces se piense que la voz del protagonista debe tener mas presencia, David Daniels sabe darle a su Rinaldo un aura de majestuosidad poco vista en otras grabaciones. La Almirena de la Bartoli es de lujo, lastima que su personaje cante tan poco en una obra tan extensa. Las palmas tambien para los villanos, dibujados con efectividad por Luba Orgonasova y Gerard Finley. La hechicera de la soprano tiene momentos de gran impacto y el Argante del baritono es el mejor de la discografia. La Fink recrea un Gofredo de altos quilates, precioso de voz y justo en lo dramatico. Quizas lo mas palido en la grabacion sea el Eustazio de Taylor, de voz opaca y monotona. Los pequeños papeles cumplen con efectividad, sobresaliendo sin lugar a dudas, el Mago Cristiano de Bejun Mehta, un contratenor para tener en cuenta. Todo esto, unido a una magnifica Academy of Ancient Music y a unos efectos de estudio (truenos y cantos de pajaros) espectaculares, hacen de esta opera un regalo para los oidos; como para no perdersela.

"Dreamer" is unquestionably the finest recording of original songs by black composers available today. The singing of tenor, Darryl Taylor is superb and demonstrates a vocal beauty, musicianship, and interpretive sensitivy that is rarely equaled. The selection of poems of poet laureate, Langston Hughes is first rate, and even more important, the songs themselves are original, varied and well written. I think every listener will find "Dreamer" an exciting musical experience, and I predict for Darry Taylor a distinguished career as an interpreter of art songs. For the Naxos price, buy two albums and give one to a friend!

This collection is a gem! Langston Hughes was a very "musical" poet who was inspired by a variety of forms, from jazz to classical. His poetry in turn inspired a whole generation of composers, thirteen of whom are represented here in fifteen art songs. Additionally, eight Hughes poems are read by William Warfield.