Marilyn Horne - Divas in Songs (A 60th Birthday Celebration) with Caballé, Donath, Fleming, Swenson, von Stade, Levine, Ramey, Bjarnason
Marilyn Horne was one of the most admired singers of her generation, and was a major factor in the bel canto revival of the 1960s. While she was especially associated with the works of Rossini and Handel (she persuaded the Metropolitan Opera to mount Rinaldo for her in 1984, making it the first time the house had ever performed a Handel opera), she was no less adept in Vivaldi and Bellini operas, lieder (especially Mahler), French roles such as Fids in Meyerbeer's Le Prophete and the title role of Thomas' Mignon; she even took on some Verdi roles, but public reception for those was mixed. Her highly flexible and powerful voice had a certain metallic quality that was especially effective in trouser roles, particularly the martial ones, such as Rinaldo and Tancredi -- earning her the sometime nickname of "General Horne." She possessed an extraordinary range, and in concert even performed Brnnhilde's Immolation Scene.