Customer Rating: 
Summary: How about this...
Comment: ...a wonderful and affordably priced music masterpiece for the novice to sample opera. I am new to the opera having seen my first at the Arena di Verona (Aida). It took the one to get me to want to sample more and this collection is certainly worthy of praise.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointed
Comment: To be fair, I usually do not like opera--hurts my ears.
I bought this cd because it has the only aria I have ever really liked on it: Un Bel Di from Madame Butterfly. I heard this on tv years ago and was completely mesmerized by it and have been searching to buy it ever since. This was my 2nd try, and 2nd enormous let down. The sopranos voice is awful--way to high to capture the rapture of the aria. I wish I knew who the woman was who sang it on tv, I think it was a commercial for cars. That was a beautiful rendition.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Opera at its best
Comment: This cd may not have performances by extremely well know artists, but it is a wonderful cd none the less. If you are trying to experience opera for the first time, this is the cd for you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beautiful to listen (and sing) to
Comment: I sing myself as a hobby and love the classical voice so much that I bought and do singing lessons on CD by an opera singer, "Voice Lessons To Go" by Vaccarino. AS my confidence has grown, I have now begun singing along with this CD of Arias. I'm not sure I am quite Anna Moffo yet, but I love the whole process! How rare do we sing along with our favorite opera tunes on the radio.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction
Comment: This CD is offered at a very attractive price, and features an excellent selection of opera arias. Most of the great composers are represented (such as Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, and Bizet) as well as some lesser-known but worthwhile names (such as Gluck, Gounod, and Saint-Saens).There is only one superstar singer on this album (Placido Domingo singing "Celeste Aida"), but don't let that deter you: the singing is uniformly rich, skillful, and warm. As another reviewer has pointed out, of the total of 16 tracks, 3 are performed by tenors and 13 by sopranos, but I feel nonetheless that the selection of arias found here is both broad and representative.
The orchestras that are featured are lesser-known ensembles from Western and Central Europe, but they play with conviction and precision, and the CD's sound-recording quality (all the tracks are either "ADD" or "DDD") is first-rate.
All in all, this is a great product brought to you from the vaults of the prestigious EMI Classical label. This is the perfect CD to add to your Amazon.com order if you need to get your grand total above $25 to qualify for free shipping
