My Favorite Opera For Everyone

This collection is chock full of some of opera's juiciest moments, sung by some of opera's greatest voices. Many are familiar whether you know their names: The elegant Barcarolle from Les Contes d'Hoffmann, the lazy, hazy soprano-mezzo "flower" duet from Lakme, the boastful "La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto, and the "Toreador Song" from Carmen sound like tunes from our subconscious by now; one could say the same about "Musetta's Waltz" and the other Bohème excerpts, as well as Figaro's rousing aria from The Barber of Seville. But the gorgeous quartet from Rigoletto's last act, as sung here by Pavarotti, Sutherland, Milnes, and Tourangeau will enchant, as well, the sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor is dazzling, and if you don't know the "Sogno di Doretta" from Puccini's La Rondine, you're in for a beautiful treat. An aria from Tosca with Pavarotti will bring tears to your eyes. A truly fine anthology. --Robert Levine