Friday, January 21, 2011

Giving the Gift of Plácido Domingo

The best way to celebrate the 70th birthday of Plácido Domingo is to purchase the new box-set out on Sony Classical that represents many of the tenor's early recordings for the CBS Masterworks and RCA labels. Made between the ages of 20 to 40, these albums not only are a tribute to the repertoire he sang on stage but also rare works that were confined to the studio including operas like Giulio
Cesare, Don Giovanni, La Juive, Eugene Onegin, L'Arlesiana, Martha, Gianni Schicchi and Les Pêcheurs de Perles. In addition to the solos, there are the duet albums with Renata Scotto (issued complete on CD for the first time), Katia Ricciarelli, Pilar Lorengar and Leontyne Price. Also represented are Spanish and Latin music. In addition to the disc of duets with Sherrill Milnes, the most unique item in the set is the album of arias with Milnes and Domingo conducting each other's selections. Each disc has the original cover art as it appeared when released in LP format. Purchase the complete box of 12 albums at a discounted price here.