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Whistle Stopper - Porgy & Bess: High Performance
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List Price: $11.98
Our Price: $6.41
Your Save: $ 5.57 ( 46% )
Availability:
Manufacturer: RCA
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0090266331222
Label: RCA
Manufacturer: RCA
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: RCA
Release Date: 1999-03-09
Studio: RCA
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: A Good Recording for Historical Reasons
Comment: There is little doubt that there are some fine performances on this recording, and it is worth purchasing just to hear Ms. Price's amazing take on Bess' arias. William Warfield also gives an amazing performance as Porgy. The problem is Skitch Henderson's pacing. He conducts these "highlights" as if on speed. "I Loves you Porgy" is so fast that the lyric is almost lost and it starts to sound like a cha-cha.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Porgy and Bess:High Performance
Comment: This is a truly wonderful performance with every singer committed to his role. It is Price singing at her best. The chorus and orchestra are great too. This is a splendid introduction to a beautiful opera.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Porgy & Bess
Comment: Great CD! Both the singing and orchestrations were perfect! Have played it many times since receiving it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Stunning Achievement
Comment: This recording of scenes from Gershwin's opera is a stunning achievement and a gem for anyone who loves great music and great singing. Ms. Price was a world-renowned Bess and created a sensation when she toured in the opera's celebrated revival during the 1950's. People unfamiliar with the entire score may be surpised to discover that two famous arias, "Summertime" and
"My Man's Gone Now", aren't sung by Bess. It's thrilling to hear Ms. Price perform these, which were signature pieces
throughout her career. As Porgy, Mr. Warfield toured with Leontyne Price, and the power and poignancy of his characterization are comparable to hers. He is extraordinary in his solos, and his love duet with Ms. Price wil give the listener chills. The chorus and orchestra are superb. Skitch Henderson, former maestro of The Tonight Show, might seem an unusual choice for conductor, but his leadership is skilled, idiomatic, and electrifying. (He was a fine musician and composer who often guest-conducted for symphony orchestras.)
This is a wonderful example of recorded musical drama and will appeal to those who don't consider themselves opera fans as well as to those who do. Highly recommended and a Grammy Award winner.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great recording
Comment: OK, so Leontyne Price sings a song on this recording ("My Man is Gone Now")that is not sung by her character (Bess), but what an incredible version of that song! I've never heard any singer match it. This album introduced me to P & B 20 years ago, and I love the CD. I had the pleasure of interviewing William Warfield in 1981; much to my regret I did not yet know this recording.
By the way: I also love the old 1951 recording of the opera (re-released as a CD by Sony in 1998). It is my other favorite, and has over 2 hours of the music. The audio is surprisingly good.
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Editorial Reviews:
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RCA's 1963 highlights disc brought the stars of the early-1950s revival of the work, Leontyne Price and William Warfield, together again. By this time, however, Price was well advanced on her meteoric rise to operatic stardom and Warfield was gaining renown as a recitalist. Both are glorious here and Price's shimmering "Summertime" is worth the price of the disc. A plus is the spirited Sportin' Life of John W. Bubbles, who created the role in the original 1935 production; an old-time vaudevillian, he wrings fun and irony from his all-too-short excerpts. Henderson conducts with vigor and RCA's "High Performance" sound, when heard on a good system, is remarkable. --Dan Davis
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