Natalie Dessay - The Opera Singer (33CD+DVDx19)

"She represents everything opera should be, a perfect marriage of great musical talent and theatrical skills." Natalie Dessay has enjoyed some of her greatest triumphs at New York's Metropolitan Opera, and her talents are summed up in those words from its general manager, Peter Gelb.

Natalie Dessay: The Opera Singer is a superb collection of 33 CDs and 19 DVDs that captures all the intensity, beauty and virtuosity of the French soprano's performances in the world's great opera houses and in the recording studio. Each complete opera or recital of arias and scenes is illuminated by her artistry and charisma.

Content:

CDs o 12 complete operas, ranging from the Baroque era to the 20th century: Bellini: La sonnambula; Delibes: Lakmé; Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor and Lucie de Lammermoor (French version of the opera, prepared by the composer for Paris); Handel: Alcina; Monteverdi: Orfeo; Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, Mitridate; Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann; Orphée aux enfers; Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos; Stravinsky: Le Rossignol; o Seven recital discs covering Handel, Mozart, Strauss and a variety of French and Italian repertoire.

DVDs o 12 complete operas, again ranging from the Baroque era to the 20th century, recorded at some of the world's major opera houses and festivals: Bellini: La sonnambula; Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande; Donizetti: La Fille du régiment; Handel: Giulio Cesare; Massenet: Manon; Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann; Orphée aux enfers; Strauss: Arabella; Ariadne auf Naxos; Stravinsky: Le Rossignol; Thomas: Hamlet; Verdi: La traviata o 'Greatest Moments on Stage': a DVD of scenes, all featuring Dessay at her most virtuosic, recorded live at some of the world's major opera houses and festivals, from works by Bernstein, Donizetti, Mozart, Offenbach, Ravel, Johann Strauss, Richard Strauss and Thomas. The video also includes commentary from Dessay herself.

o DVD BONUS: Lucia di Lammermoor's Mad Scene filmed live at the Metropolitan Opera in 2007.