Anna Moffo Box Set Is Best Thanksgiving Gift For Opera Fans

Fall Surprise: The late Anna Moffo will be celebrated
with new box set of RCA recordings

Special thanks to the blog oleconquistador for pointing out the newest box set release from Sony Classical: Anna Moffo - The Complete RCA Recital Recordings. Scheduled for an international release date of November 13, 2015, this 12-CD original jacket collection is welcome news for fans of the soprano. As oleconquistador outlines the tracklisting for each disc, there are some glaring omissions from her discography by the label. Most obvious is the complete Thais. Although controversial at the time, as many felt the soprano was past her prime, it is still a recording that should have been included here. Another rarity that has escaped inclusion is a disc featuring highlights of Halévy's La Juive featuring colleagues Richard Tucker and Martina Arroyo. Also missing from the collection are all of the Eurodisc recordings which fell under the Ariola label in Europe, which was an outlet of Bertelsmann. Ariola would go on to acquire RCA in 1983, and now all are owned by Sony. These included Die Schöne Galathée (composed by Suppé), Italian and French Opera Arias (conducted by Kurt Eichhorn), Toujours l'Amour (album of arias from famous operettas); Lucia di Lammermoor (her second recording of the work with conductor

Glamorous Beauty: Moffo on La Rondine LP cover

Carlo Felice Cillario); Die Csárdásfürstin (Kálmán); and Lieder Recital (featuring works of Shcubert, Schumann, and Brahms). Many of these were released on CD by the Japanese market in 2006 and 2007. Two LPs were recorded with the tenor Rudolph Schock: True Love (famous melodies of Porter, Kern, Rogers, Bernstein, and more) and Bist du's, lachendes Glück (duets from German operettas). Neither have made their way to CD, nor are included in the new box set. Although RCA/Eurodisc has in the past released the complete operas Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck), Carmen (Bizet), Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck), L'amore dei tre re (Montemezzi), Il Filosofo Di Campagna (Galuppi), Madama Butterfly (Puccini), La Rondine (Puccini),  Iphigenie in Aulis (Gluck),  La Bohème (Puccini), and La Traviata (Verdi), a remastering of the original tapes would have been welcome in this release. It should be noted her Luisa Miller, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Rigoletto recordings are remastered and will be available individually this fall.

Flirty Fun: Anna Moffo was known for her
smoky vocal and vivacious form 

The other missing studio items from the Sony collection include: Neapolitan Songs (with Radio-Orchester Stuttgart under conductor Bert Grund); Songs of her own composition (lyrics by Mario Lafranchi) with Billy Smith and his orchestra; La Serva Pedrona (opera by Pergolesi); Meine Stimme für Venedig (songs of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, with Giorgio Favaretto at the piano); Sakura (the soprano sings two Japanese songs - "Karatachi no hana" and "Sakura" - recorded for RCA and printed exclusively in limited edition for Japan); and some miscellaneous Christmas items have been scattered among several labels ("Joy to the World"; "Ave Maria"; "Silent Night"; and "O Bambino"). A disc titled A Song For You was released by the record label Bridge and featured works recorded in studio (Tracks: "Vilja" from The Merry Widow; "The Song Of Long Ago" from The Merry Widow; "Oh, For The Life Of An Actress" from Die Fledermaus; "Mein Herr Marquis" from Die Fliedermaus; "Baskets Of Treasure" from A Night In Venice; "Wishing On A Waltz" from A Night In Venice; "Romance" from The Desert Song; "The Sabre Song" from The Desert Song; "Indian Love Call" from Rose marie (duet with Richard Fredricks; "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" from

Opera Seductress: Playing the part of Massenet's Thais

Roberta; "Let's Begin" from Roberta (duet with Stanley Grover); "Bill" from Show Boat; "Italian Street Song" from Naughty Marietta; "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess) that seems as though the contents could have been licensed for this occasion. One last rarity that is from an Ariola recording titled Peter Alexander präsentiert Walt Disney Welt that includes guest appearances by Anna Moffo alongside Mireille Mathieu, Wencke Myhre and Freddy Quinn. Perhaps a supplemental box set will be produced with all the missing content. Until then, the world can enjoy several newly mastered versions of classic recordings to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the legendary soprano's passing. Pre-order your copy of the box set by clicking here. Read a description of the limited edition box set, and see covers of the missing recordings, after the jump.

Early Summer Release to Include Renée Fleming's Greatest Hits

The Art of Renée Fleming
Bellini: Casta Diva (from Norma)
Bernstein: Somewhere (from West Side Story) with Placido Domingo (tenor)
Catalani: Ebben? Ne andrò lontana (from La Wally)
Cilea: Io son l'umile ancella (from Adriana Lecouvreur)
Dvorak: Mesícku na nebi hlubokém 'Song to the Moon' (from Rusalka)
Gershwin: Summertime (from Porgy and Bess)
Gounod: Ah! Je veux vivre dans ce rêve (from Roméo et Juliette)
Gounod: Ave Maria
Handel: Ombra mai fu (from Serse)
Korngold: Glück, das mir verbleib 'Marietta's Lied' (from Die Tote Stadt)
Puccini: Vissi d'arte (from Tosca)
Puccini: Un bel di vedremo (from Madama Butterfly)
Puccini: O mio babbino caro (from Gianni Schicchi)
Schubert: Ave Maria, D839

Bonus tracks:
15. Wheels of a Dream [with Bryn Terfel]
16. Amazing Grace
17. Rodgers - Carousel / You’ll Never Walk Alone
18. Hallelujah – [new cut]

Release dates: USA - June 12 / UK - June 4 / Japan - June 20