Puccini: Highlights from La Bohème & Madama Butterfly

• Booklet languages: English
• Time: 78:24
• Release Date: 1996

Review

Anyone who needs a concise sampler to get acquainted with Giacomo Puccini's operas would do well to try this enjoyable collection of popular selections from La bohème and Madama Butterfly, though this cost-cutter CD only provides enough music to entice, not satisfy. The performances by soprano Claire Rutter, tenor Paul Charles Clarke, and bass-baritone Stephen Gadd are appropriately passionate in feeling, clear in articulation, and pleasant in vocal quality, and the accompaniment by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by David Charles Abell, is lush in texture and warm in tone. The quality of the recording is quite high and advanced for the recording date of 1996, though prospective listeners or buyers might not guess it from the marketing of this disc as a budget CD. Yet this is the kind of affordable item that some people need to discover classical music without making a costly mistake, and this is definitely the way to go for newcomers trying out Puccini's operas for the first time. However, since finding a good recording of a complete performance of La bohème and Madama Butterfly is the next step, listeners may be disappointed to find that there are no full recordings with these artists available, so the real purpose of this disc is only to familiarize them with the best known numbers. ~ Blair Sanderson, Rovi

Performances

Composer	Title	Time
Giacomo Puccini	La bohème, opera (Act 1. Introduction)	0:29
Giacomo Puccini	La bohème, opera (Act 1. Duet: Non sono in vena)	4:04
Giacomo Puccini	La bohème, opera (Act 1. Aria: Che gelida manina)	4:48
Giacomo Puccini	La bohème, opera (Act 1. Aria: Si. Mi chiamano Mimi)	4:43
Giacomo Puccini	La bohème, opera (Act 1. Love Duet: O soave fanciulla)	3:54
Giacomo Puccini	La bohème, opera (Act 3. Duet: Mimì!)	5:10
Giacomo Puccini	La bohème, opera (Act 3. Trio: Marcello, finalmente!)	5:42
Giacomo Puccini	La bohème, opera (Act 3. Aria: Dondo lieta usci)	3:00
Giacomo Puccini	La bohème, opera (Act 4. Duet: Sono andati?)	5:31
Giacomo Puccini	La bohème, opera (Act 4. Finale: Mimì!)	1:14
Giacomo Puccini	Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera (Act 1. Introduction)	0:42
Giacomo Puccini	Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera (Act 1. Duet: Douvunque al mondo)	3:07
Giacomo Puccini	Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera (Act 1. Duet: Amore o grillo)	3:11
Giacomo Puccini	Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera (Act 1. Entrance of Butterfly: Quanto cielo, quanto mar!)	3:17
Giacomo Puccini	Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera (Act 1. Love Duet: Bimba dagli occhi pieni di malia)	10:54
Giacomo Puccini	Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera (Act 2. Aria: Un bel di)	4:36
Giacomo Puccini	Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera (Act 2. Letter Scene: Amico, cercherete quel bel fior di fanciulla)	9:17
Giacomo Puccini	Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera (Act 2. Aria and Finale: Con onor muore)	4:45

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