Favorite Coloratura Arias & Songs

On this CD:

1. Wiegenlied for voice & piano (often incorrectly attr. to Mozart) Lullaby
Composed by Bernhard Flies
Performed by Gwen Catley, Gerald Martin Moore

2. A Pastoral Song ("My mother bids me bind my hair"), song for voice & keyboard (English Canzonettas I), H. 26a/27
Composed by Franz Joseph Haydn
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Eric Robinson

3. The Lass with the Delicate Air
Composed by Michael Arne
Performed by Gwen Catley, Gerald Martin Moore

4. Die Entführung aus dem Serail, opera, K. 384 I was heedless in my rapture
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Hugo Rignold

5. Il barbière di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera There's a voice within my heart
Composed by Gioachino Rossini
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Warwick Braithwaite

6. La Traviata, opera Tis wondrous. . . What Folly!
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Warwick Braithwaite

7. Lakmé, opera Bell Song
Composed by Leo Delibes
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Eric Robinson

8. Roméo et Juliette, opera Waltz Song
Composed by Charles Gounod
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Eric Robinson

9. Mignon, opera in 3 acts Behold, Titania!
Composed by Ambroise Thomas
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Hugo Rignold

10. La Jolie Fille de Perth, opera in 4 acts sweet echo
Composed by Georges Bizet
Performed by Gwen Catley, Edward Walker
Conducted by Stanford Robinson

11. Dinorah (Le pardon de Ploërmel), comic opera in 3 acts Ombra Leggiera
Composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer
Performed by Gwen Catley, Alex Whittaker
Conducted by Stanford Robinson

12. Les Contes d'Hoffmann, opera in 4 acts The Doll's Song
Composed by Jacques Offenbach
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Eric Robinson

13. Die Fledermaus (The Bat), operetta (RV 503) Laughing Song
Composed by Johann II Strauss
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Eric Robinson

14. Frühlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring), waltz for orchestra (with voice ad lib), Op. 410 (RV 410)
Composed by Johann II Strauss
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Stanford Robinson, Eric Robinson

15. Pretty Mocking Bird for voice & piano (or orchestra)
Composed by Sir Henry Rowley Bishop
Performed by Gwen Catley, Gerald Martin Moore

16. Lo, here the gentle lark
Composed by Sir Henry Rowley Bishop
Performed by Gwen Catley, George Barrett
Conducted by Leslie Heward

17. La pastorella dell' Alpi ("Son bella pastorella"), song for voice & piano (Soirées musicales)
Composed by Gioachino Rossini
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Warwick Braithwaite

18. Le Rossignol, song for voice & piano Nightingale and Rose
Composed by Camille Saint-Saens
Performed by Gwen Catley
Conducted by Hugo Rignold

19. Maria Wiegenlied (Mary's Lullaby: "Maria sitzt am Rosenhag"), song for voice & piano (or orchestra), Op. 76/52
Composed by Max Reger
Performed by Gwen Catley, Gerald Martin Moore

Tracks:

Lullaby
My Mother Bides Me Bind My Hair
The Lass With The Delicate Air
Il Seraglio: I Was Heedless In My Rapture
Barber Of Seville: There's A Voice Within My Heart
La Traviata: 'Tis Wondrous...What Folly!
Lakme: Bell Song
Romeo & Juliet: Waltz Song
Mignon: Behold, Titania!
The Fair Maid Of Perth: Sweet Echo
Dinorah: Ombra Leggiera
Tales Of Hoffmann: The Doll's Song
Die Fledermaus: Laughing Song
Voices Of Spring
The Pretty Mocking Bird
Lo, Here The Gentle Lark
La Pastorella
Nightingale And Rose
Virgin's Slumber Song

Customer Reviews:

Catley: A Fine British Coloratura Soprano.......2000-01-07

Gwen Catley (1906-1996) was an extremely gifted British-born soprano who had unique talent in using the highest area of her voice, though the entire range is pure, liquid, and even. Hers is not as light a coloratura--nor as refined--as the late Rita Streich's, nor nearly as secure as Amelita Galli-Curci's. That said, hers is still a voice you will find appealing in each of these 19 selections, all remastered by Michael J. Dutton, who provides some of the finest 78-rpm transfers I have heard, which can only be described as being truly honest transfers. The disc offers a good cross section of the gems of the coloratura soprano repertoire from operas by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Gounod, Thomas, Bizet, Offenbach, and Meyerbeer. When I consider an album of this nature, it is the SONG literature that I find of the greatest appeal, only because so much of this literature is not performed frequently today. This disc offers a number of the Galli-Curci-type items, such as Bishop's Lo, Here the Gentle Lark, and The Pretty Mocking Bird, and an especially fine Nightingale and Rose from Saint-Saens' Parysatis, which for me is the winner in this collection. The legendary pianist, Gerald Moore, accompanies Miss Catley in four selections while the remainder are with orchestral accompaniment by three well respected conductors. Alan Blyth supplies his usual informative, interesting notes. If one wishes to have a really outstanding overview of this highly lauded English artist, I would recommend this one wholeheartedly. LGH

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