"The Art of MONTSERRAT CABALLÉ"
VOLUME I: Arias and scenes of Spontini (La Vestale), Cherubini (Demofoonte),  Bellini (Adelson e Salvini, Norma), Donizetti (Sancia di Castiglia, Roberto Devereux), Rossini (Tancredi), Verdi (Otello, Aroldo), Boito (Mefistofele), Cilea (Adriana Lecouvreur), Puccini (Gianni Schicchi), Charpentier (Louise), Giordano (Andrea Chenier), de Falla (Atlantida), Wagner (Die Walküre).
BELLA VOCE BLV 107.211 (2 CDs) (M) (ADD) TT:  73:05 & 77:05
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VOLUME II:  Arias and scenes of Handel (Joshua, Ezio, Atalanta), Donizetti (Maria de Rudenz, Fausta), Mozart (Don Giovanni, concert arias K. 505 and 383), Beethoven  (Ah! Perfido), Weber (Oberon), Wagner (Tannhäuser), Debussy (L'Enfant Prodigue), Mercadante (Le Due Illustri Rivali), Puccini (Tosca, Manon Lescaut), Massenet (Manon), Verdi (Don Carlo).
BELLA VOCE BLV 107.234 (2 CDs) (M) (ADD) TT:  71:06 & 68:18
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One could hardly say there is a dearth of recordings of Montserrat Caballé.  The latest Schwann/Artist has more than one entire column of listings including complete recordings of Norma, Il Pirata, Adriana Lecouvreur, Mephistopheles, Tosca, two recordings of Turandot one in which she sings the title role, the other in which she sings the slave girl Liu, no less than five operas of Donizetti, and six of Verdi.  Unfortunately her RCA recording of Salome has been deleted as has her DGG recording of the final scene -- although Opera d'Oro is issuing a complete performance from Rome recorded in 1971. 

We are indebted to BellaVoce for these two well-filled twin-CD sets of live performances all of which find the soprano in superb form although in addition to her magnificent singing we also hear her glottal approach to many notes.  Included are many works the Spanish soprano did not record commercially.  Arias from Donizetti's Maria de Rudenz, Sancia di Castiglia  and Fausta, Mercadante's Le Due Illustri rivali, Cherubini's Demofoonte and an exquisite performance of "Depuis le jour" from Louise by Charpentier which brings new meaning to the word pianissimo.  Tenor Giacomo Aragall joins Caballé in duets from Tosca, Manon and Don Carlo; Richard Cassilly is a disappointing Siegmund to her Sieglinde in an excerpt from Walküre. 

No information is given as to provenance of any of the recordings, no conductors or orchestras are identified, dates are not provided and there are no texts  Sound throughout is very good stereo with, fortunately, limited applause.

The legion of admirers of this superb artist surely will wish to have both of these sets.  The debit is the full-price -- Gala does the same thing for a fraction of the cost (see SENA JURINAC review).

R.E.B. (Aug. 2001)