Marilyn Horne - The Complete Decca Recitals

The great American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne celebrated her 70th birthday in January 2004, the same year that also marked 50 years since her professional debut. Horne's debut in 1954 took place in Los Angeles. Her name and voice was brought to many more people than could ever hear her in the opera house through the 1954 film Carmen Jones in which she sang the dubbed voice of Dorothy Dandridge. But it was with Joan Sutherland that Marilyn Horne found the perfect vocal partner. Their performances in the great bel canto operas by Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti took the opera world by storm in the 1960s and early 1970s. By the time she retired in 1998, Marilyn Horne's long and distinguished career embraced an enormous variety of operatic roles, as well as a wide variety of solo repertoire ranging from Schubert, Schumann and Mahler through to modern American songs. Such a wide repertory was due to the sheer range of her voice and its remarkable flexibility, a voice that could sustain long lines of melody as well as negotiate the most florid vocal pyrotechnics. Marilyn Horne participated in a number of complete opera recordings (among them classic recordings of Norma and Semiramide with Joan Sutherland), as well as ten recital programs for Decca. The complete recitals are now reissued in their entirety as a Collector Edition on this 11-CD set. The original LP cover art is reproduced for the CD sleeves. Album Description

Superb singing deserves a better presentation.

I agree with the previous reviewers about Ms. Horne's voice and performances. There are many riches here: the singing is superb throughout, one or two optional unmusical high notes aside. The range of music is enormous and Horne sings it all with style and grace, including the odd collection that is the American Songbook (Copeland, Foster, Berlin and... Malotte!?) Most of these recitals were conducted by Henry Lewis. He is fine, but I really sat up and took notice when Zubin Mehta took over for the Mahler song cycles directly after listening to Lewis conduct the Mahler/Wagner songs. Horne seemed more engaged on the Mehta led disc, too.
The unfortunate news is that some of this music is unfamiliar (Nin and Bizet songs, some of the bel canto and French arias) and there is not a text or synopsis in sight. I would have gladly paid a little more for even bare-bones texts.
The opera arias and excellent Rossini scenes discs are available separately. The first two discs (the stunning Souvenir of a Golden Era) have recently also been reissued as a set. It looks like those two CDs - at about two-thirds the cost of these eleven CDs - have been issued with texts and notes. (The timings on each disc in the eleven CD set range from about 37 minutes to 57 minutes.) June 18, 2008

HEAVEN IN A BOX

If you are reading this review, you are already too late in making the necessary clicks to purchase and add this stunning collection of vocal artistry to your collection. A MUST OWN! BUY, BUY, BUY IT! May 23, 2008

Beyond the realm of five stars . . .

Marilyn Horne's career is beyond the reach of the five star standard. I have had the pleasure of hearing her sing in person many times at the Lyric in Chicago as well as in recital. These discs bring a flood of memories of the size, beauty, range, and absolute glory of her voice.

"Souvenir of a Golden Era" was always my favorite of her recordings; as a consequence I was so pleased to hear that it would be re-released. When I learned that it would be available in this set as well, how could I resist. I actually still have all these discs in vinyl, but could not resist the opportunity to purchase this wonderful compilation and overview of her career.

The most glorious evening I have ever spent in the opera house was the night I heard "Semiramide" at the Lyric. Chicago was in the grip of a fierce blizzard. However, I waited outside the stage door for both Marilyn and Joan to emerge to collect their autographs on my program. Miss Horne and Dame Joan were astounded to see this snow covered person standing and waiting and were graciously signed my program. Marilyn left the "e" off of her signature, remarking, "I've forgotten the final 'e.'" She tacked it on with a giggle and a smile. I shall never forget the experience and, of course, cherish that program to this day.

As I listen to these discs, my memories of her last recital here in Chicago come flooding back as she remarked that she would be enlisting in Medicare soon and noted "the voice isn't what it used to be." How we all wished it would never diminish. Thank you Decca/London for this rare gift. May 21, 2008

A TREASURE OF SINGING ----- IN A LAVISH PRESENTATION

Marilyn Horne is plainly one of the greatest classical singers ever heard. She stands beside Caruso, Bjoerling, Flagstad, Callas, Sutherland, Caballe, Domingo, Pavarotti and every other "great". Horne's mezzo-soprano voice was astounding, with booming chest tones, a seamless middle, and a flaming top. Moreover, she had the rare ability to execute the most intricate and fearsome bel canto coloratura embellishments. She was fundamental in the revival of the bel canto repertoire (began by Callas, and continued by Sutherland, Caballe, and Sills) and managed to make operas like "La Donna del Lago", "Semiramide", "Ermione", "Tancredi", and "L'Assedio di Corinto" available to a operatic public who only read of these titles in opera history books. I myself had the pleasure of hearing her in Rossini operas in Chicago ("L'Italiana in Algeri", Il Barbiere di Siviglia", as well as a revival of "Semiramide" with Joan Sutherland in a performance that I will never forget. But Horne was too much of an artist to be a one-composer singer, no matter how gifted a vocal technician she was. She ventured into the lieder of Mahler, Schubert, Wolf, Schumann, as well as into such diverse composers as Granados, Nin, Faure, Debussy, Berlioz, and Massenet. She commanded German, French, Spanish and English, as well as Italian. She performed Bach and Handel magnificently, and she was as at home on the recital platform as she was in the opera house. And of course, she became the first mezzo soprano since the long-ago Ernestine Schumann Heink to undertake the role of Fides in "Le Prophete" at the Metropolitan Opera.
This magnificent eleven disc set, at a very wonderful price, includes music from nearly all of the repertoire noted above. Each recital is presented with the original London/Decca cover art, and the entire set has a very classy accompanying book. Included in this all-encompassing set is her first operatic recital, her "Souvenir of a Golden Age", the German Lieder set, the French and Spanish Song recital, the French Opera arias with orchestra, two Mahler recitals, an American Song Recital, and virtually everything she recorded for London/Decca in the LP days. None of her complete operas are here, of course. There's plenty here without them.
London-Decca is to be commended and congratulated in making available once again (many on CD for the first time) these incredibly rich performances. Marilyn Horne is deserving of no less a tribute. She was and still is one of a kind. My advice to all of you is to grab this spectacular box set at the incredibly low price Amazon is selling it for.
My highest recommendations. April 18, 2008

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