This is a fine introduction to Jessye Norman's work and expands on a couple of her earlier "best of" releases, but even so, it represents a limited portion of her wide repertoire. The first disc is all German Romantic works, beginning with scenes from Wagner that she recorded in the late '80s with the London Philharmonic and Klaus Tennstedt. The first of these are for Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, the role in which she made her opera debut in 1969, followed by one from Tristan und Isolde. These scenes are followed by Wagner's ...
Read More
This is a fine introduction to Jessye Norman's work and expands on a couple of her earlier "best of" releases, but even so, it represents a limited portion of her wide repertoire. The first disc is all German Romantic works, beginning with scenes from Wagner that she recorded in the late '80s with the London Philharmonic and Klaus Tennstedt. The first of these are for Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, the role in which she made her opera debut in 1969, followed by one from Tristan und Isolde. These scenes are followed by Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, a few Schubert Lieder, and an excerpt from Brahms' Deutsche Requiem. The Lieder, and most of the songs on the second disc as well, are with pianist Irwin Gage and are from very early in her professional career. There are a couple of small spots in the Schubert where she seems not entirely comfortable with these works yet and has some trouble getting the right sound for them. She is otherwise impressive for her sound, range, understanding of the text and context of...
Read Less
