This 3-CD set contains a collection of 50 operatic choruses performed by some of the world’s leading ensembles.

CD 1 covers French opera and begins with several familiar choruses from Gounod’s Faust, followed by items from operas by Offenbach (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) and Massenet (Hérodiade). The centrepiece of the disc is undoubtedly the three popular choruses from Bizet’s masterpiece Carmen, including the delightful Children’s Chorus from Act I and the stirring march of the toreadors and matadors – ‘Les voici!’ – from Act IV.

CD 2 is devoted entirely to choruses from the operas of Giuseppe Verdi. It opens with the ever popular ‘Anvil Chorus’ from Il trovatore and includes choruses from all Verdi’s best-known works including Nabucco (Chorus of Hebrew Slaves), Rigoletto (Chorus of Courtiers), La traviata (Chorus of Gypsies and Matadors) and Otello (Fire Chorus). The CD ends with the spectacular Triumphal Scene and Grand March from Aida.

In CD 3 we move to the popular verismo operas written in Italy at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. Among the pieces heard here are the opening chorus and the beautiful Easter Hymn from Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, the evocative Humming Chorus from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and several of the striking choruses from Puccini’s famous last opera Turandot

Artists

Marc Barrard (baritone), José van Dam (baritone), Martine Mahé (mezzo-soprano), Richard Leech (tenor), Choeur Capitole Toulouse, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse (second vocals), Choeur du Capitole de Toulouse (second vocals), Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Thomas Hampson (bass-baritone), Inva Mula (soprano), Elisabeth Vidal (soprano), Isabelle Cals (soprano), Ludovic Tézier (bass-baritone), Anne Gotkovsky (vocals), Didier Chevalier (vocals), Nicolas Cavallier (bass), Nicolas Rivenq (vocals), Roberto Alagna (vocals), Yann Beuron (vocals), Barbara Hendricks (second vocals), John Aler (spoken voice), Ferruccio Mazzoli (bass), Cornell MacNeil (baritone), Reri Grist (soprano), Delia Wallis (mezzo-soprano), Richard van Allan (bass), Keith Erwen (tenor), Robert Lloyd (bass), Upton House School Boys' Choir, Hammersmith County School Girls' Choir, Alfredo Giacomotti (bass), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (bass-baritone), Florindo Andreolli (vocals), Glynne Thomas (bass-baritone), Leonardo Monreale (bass), Piero de Palma (vocals), Anna Di Stasio (mezzo-soprano), Dame Gwyneth Jones (soprano), Hammersmith County School Girl's Choir (lead vocals), James McCracken (soprano), Upton House School Boy's Choir (lead vocals), Astrid Varnay (soprano), Montserrat Caballé (soprano), Piero Cappuccilli (baritone), Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mirella Freni (soprano), Michel Sénéchal (tenor), Vicente Sardinero (bass-baritone), Riccardo Cassinelli (tenor), Eduard Tumagian (bass-baritone), Petra Malakova (soprano), Eva Saurova (mezzo-soprano), Alberto Cupido (vocals), José Carreras (vocals), Paul Plishka (bass), Remy Corazza (vocals), Edward Toumajian (bass-baritone), Petranka Malakova (boy soprano), Ricardo Cassinelli (vocals), Chœur de l'Armée Française, Chœur du Capitole de Toulouse, Les Chœurs de la Monnaie, Orchestre Symphonique de la Monnaie, La Lauzeta, Choeur Les Elements, Choeur 'Les Elements', Orchestre National du Capitol de Toulouse, Les Éléments, Sociedad Coral de Bilbao, Orfeon Donostiarra, Coro del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro dell'Opera, Roma, Teatro alla Scala, Welsh National Opera Chorus, Welsh National Opera Orchestra, John Alldis Choir, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Ambrosian Singers, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Orch.Of Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Southend Boys' Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, Wandsworth School Boys’ Choir, Choeurs de l'Opéra du Rhin, Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Chœur de l'Opéra du Rhin, Michel Plasson, Sylvain Cambreling, Thomas Schippers, Riccardo Muti, Richard Armstrong, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Aldo Ceccato, Lamberto Gardelli, Sir John Barbirolli, Carlo Maria Giulini, Gabriele Santini, Bernard Haitink, Julius Rudel, Antonino Votto, Alain Lombard