Customer Rating: 
Summary: A fine portfolio of operatic duets!
Comment: Maybe these don't represent absolutely the greatest duets in all opera. But they represent some awfully good ones! The CD begins with a duet from "Les Pecheurs des Perles" (Puccini) and ends with the gloomy Miserere (from "Il Trovatore," by Verdi). In between are many more operas, from Donizetti and Mozart to Strauss and Wagner. Some of the finer singers of the past half century appear in various of these duets.
A bit more detail on a handful of these to illustrate.
"Sull'aria" from Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro." Heather Harper and Judith Blegen sing the parts here. This is a sweet duet from the opera. The singer's voices meld well together and this represents a poignantly sung piece.
"Ah! Verrana a tell sull'aure," from Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor." Alfredo Kraus and Edita Gruberova sing this lively duet, playing the roles of Edgardo and Lucia. Gruberova's voice is fresh here, as is Kraus', although there are a few rough moments in his singing. Still and all, though, he sings well.
"Viens Mallika" from Delibes' "Lakme." Whenever I hear this beautiful duet, I can't get the Catherine Deneuve movie, "The Hunger," out of my mind (it was a theme throughout that movie!). Mady Mesple plays Lakme and Danielle Millet sings the part of Mallika. This duet, to me, has a hypnotic sound to it that I find irresistible. It's a theme that one cannot get out of one's mind!
In "La ci darem la mano," we see Don Giovanni (sung by the redoubtable Eberhard Wachter) put his moves on the young woman Zerlina (sung by Graziella Sciutti). This is a luscious duet. In the end, Don Giovanni's lecherous efforts go singularly unrewarded. There is a wonderful intertwining of voices in this duet.
Finally, from Puccini's "La Boheme," the poignant 4th Act duet between Rodolfo (sung by the wonderful tenor Nicolai Gedda) and Marcello (sung by Mario Sereni). They are bemoaning the fact that each has seen his love leave, and the loss is central to their duet. Well performed by both. As I recall, this cut is from the highlights version of "La Boheme" that I bought (in vinyl, of course) 40 years ago when I was an undergraduate at Bradley University. So, a personal favorite. Gedda remains one of my favorite Rodolfos.
So, if you like opera and enjoy duets, this CD will give you a most pleasant evening, listening to some nice works.
Customer Rating: Summary: Decent collection
Comment: I bought this for a friend who didn't have an opera collection, and it fulfilled that purpose, and was an unusual set of duets, very different in style from one another. The price was certainly right. That said, potential buyers should be aware that most of these recordings are of the "historic" variety, and therefore perhaps not as refined in terms of sound quality as one might want. Since listeners who enjoy historic recordings would likely already have the original, complete operas in question, I'm not sure what benefit would be gained in owning mere excerpts. Several of the selections, especially the "Tristan" duet, were so soft the volume had to be really cranked up to hear. But many others are sure to please, especially the "Pearl Fishers" and "Don Giovanni", which are fine. So, bottom line is: if you really care about your opera, get the full recordings, but if your goal is "highlights", this is probably as good as many others.
