Four Last Songs
A1 	Frühling 	3:18
A2 	September 	4:15
A3 	Beim Schlafengehen 	4:38
A4 	Im Abendrot 	6:52

B1 	Die Frau Ohne Schatten – Act II: Empress' Awakening Scene	14:11
B2 	Der Rosenkavalier – Act I: Marschallin's Monologue 	6:00
B3 	Guntram – Act II: Freihild's Aria 	5:22

Leontyne Price - soprano
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Erich Leinsdorf - conductor
Men Of The Ambrosian Opera Chorus (B1)
Patricia Clark - soprano (B1)

Generous, rich and full-hearted Strauss singing here from one of the great sopranos of our time, albeit not without some squally passages and others where contact with the conductor seems to be hit-and-miss. Nor was Leontyne Price content to record only the juicy 'hits'. True, Ariadne's ''Es gibt ein Reich'' is here and one of the Marschallin's reveries, also the Closing Scene from Salome, but not many sopranos between 1965 and 1973, when these extracts were made, were recording the Empress's awakening from Die Frau ohne Schatten and arias from Guntram and Die aegyptische Helena.

Price is at her most commanding as the Empress, in a long excerpt in which Leinsdorf's conducting of the New Philharmonia is distinctly impressive; and Helena's ''Zweite Brautnacht!'' is a superb display of sustained impassioned singing, with a soaring line that the composer would surely have loved. I liked her charm and elegance as the Marschallin, moving effortlessly into a more tragic mood at the end of the aria. The transfers to CD are successful and the disc incidentally provides a remarkable demonstration of how Strauss created a different sound-world for each of his operas.' ---gramophone.co.uk

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CD1
01. Ritorna Vincitor (Verdi, Aida)
02. Signore, Ascolta(Puccini, Turandot)
03. Porgi Amor (Mozart, Le Nozze Di Figaro)
04. Un Bel Di (Puccini, Madame Butterfly)
05. Adieu, Notre Petite Table (Massenet, Manon)
06. In Quelle Trine Morbide (Puccini, Manon Lescaut)
07. Thy Hand...When I Am Laid (Purcell, Dido And Aeneas)
08. Che Piu... Tacea La Notte ...Di Tale Amor (Verdi, Il Travatore)
09. Sur Les Lagunes (Berlioz, Les Nuis D'ete)
10. Summertime (Gershwin, Porgy And Bess)
11. Chi Il Bel Sogno(Puccini, La Rondine)
12. Habanera (Bizet, Carmen)
13. Son Giunta...Madre (Verdi, La Forza Del Destino)
14. Im Abendrot (Strauss, Vier Lietzte Lieder)
15. Es Gibt Ein Reich (Strauss, Adriane Auf Naxos)

CD2
01. O Patria Mia (Verdi, Aida)
02. Vissi D'arte (Puccini, Tosca)
03. Tu Che Di Gel Cinta (Puccini, Turandot)
04. Susanna...Dove Sono (Mozart, Le Nozze Di Figaro)
05. Siam Giunti...D'amor Sull'ali Rosee (Verdi, Il Trovatore)
06. Morro Ma Prima In Grazia (Verdi, Un Ballo In Maschera)
07. Sequidille (Bizet, Carmen)
08. L'amero, Saro Costante (Mozart, Il Re Pastore)
09. Tu Che Le Vanita (Verdi, Don Carlo)
10. Senza Mamma (Puccini, Suor Angelica)
11. Give Me My Robe (Barber, Anthony And Cleopatra)
12. Tu_ Tu_ Piccolo Iddio (Puccini, Madama Butterfly)
13. Pace, Pace Mio Dio (Verdi, La Forza Del Destino)

Leontyne Price was originally celebrated as the first African-American to become an international opera superstar. Now, long after her retirement from the stage, she can still be celebrated for that and the voice, a gorgeous instrument of regal power, conveying nobility in every role she played. Though Dido would not seem to be an ideal part for her, it works, as it worked for Kirsten Flagstad, because the voice commands the respect due a queen.

Price once coyly described herself as a "juicy lyric," and while listening to many of her famous roles--Aida, Cleopatra, Carmen, Bess--it's apparent how much juice she put into them, a combination of strength and beauty unequaled by any soprano of her generation. They're all here in this collection, along with Turandot, Butterfly, Manon, and Ariadne, even a few songs from Berlioz and Strauss, a veritable feast for the ears. --- arkivmusic.com

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1. La bohème/Act I/Sì, mi chiamano Mimì	Leontyne Price;Edward Downes		4:57	
2. La bohème/Act III/Addio. Donde lieta uscì (Mimi's Addio)	Leontyne Price;Edward Downes	3:17
3. La bohème/Act II/Quando me'n vo' (Musetta's Waltz)	Leontyne Price;Edward Downes	2:36
4. Edgar/Act III/Addio, mio dolce amor	Leontyne Price;Edward Downes		3:57	
5. La rondine/Act I/Ore dolci e divine	Edward Downes;Leontyne Price		5:33
6. Tosca/Act II/Vissi d'arte	Leontyne Price;Edward Downes		3:20
7. Manon Lescaut/Act II/In quelle trine morbide	Leontyne Price;Edward Downes		2:43
8. Manon Lescaut/Act IV/Sola, perduta, abbandonata	Leontyne Price;Edward Downes		7:00
9. Le villi/Act I/Se come voi piccina io fossi	Leontyne Price;Edward Downes		5:22	
10. Madama Butterfly/Act I/Bimba, bimba, non piangere (Love Duet)	Leontyne Price;Placido Domingo;Elizabeth Bainbridge;Nello Santi	16:11
11. Madama Butterfly/Act II/Piangi? Perchè?; Un bel dì	Leontyne Price;Edward Downes		5:01
12. La fanciulla del West/Act I/L'amore è un'altra cosa; Laggiù nel Soledad	Leontyne Price;Edward Downes	3:03
13. Gianni Schicchi/O mio babbino caro	Leontyne Price;Edward Downes		2:31
14. Turandot/Act II/In questa reggia	Leontyne Price;Daniele Barioni;Nello Santi	5:51

Leontyne Price (Soprano)
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Edward Downes – conductor
+
Placido Domingo (Tenor)
Elisabeth Bainbridge (Mezzo Soprano)
Daniele Barioni (Tenor)
London Symphony Orchestra
Nello Santi – conductor

Leontyne Price's voice is as rich and varied as ever here. This account of "Vissi d'arte" is even more refined in tone, even more exquisitely controlled than the one in the Karajan set.

It is just over ten years since Leontyne Price made her complete recordings of Butterfly and Tosca yet the voice is as rich and varied as ever. Indeed I am amazed that this new account of "Vissi d'arte" is even more refined in tone, even more exquisitely controlled than the one in the complete Karajan set (Decca 5BB123-4, 1/73), which revealed an unevenness in the voice under pressure. That is something which occasionally emerges here (as at the start of "In quelle trine mot-bide"), but I am glad to have it confirmed that it is not a latter-day development. The end of Tosca's aria here does indeed bring the most ravishing moments in an enthralling disc, with each pianissimo note sustained with amazing breath control, seemingly without effort. The contrast between old and new in Butterfly's aria is almost equally reassuring. In the complete set (RCA SER5504-6, 6/63) Price offers marginally fresher tone but the portamenti are more obtrusive, less elegantly touched in as they are today. Incidentally it is a feature of this recital disc that a few preparatory bars are included before the usual start of some of the arias. I am not sure that with "Un be] dl" it was a good idea to have the end of the preceding passage, particularly when after calling on on Suzuki to listen ("Senti"), Price does not pause quite long enough before the aria proper.

Such reservations are little more than quibbles in a display of Puccini singing that brings joy in each number. Though, as I say, the opening of "In quelle trine morbide" has its hint of flutter, and the other Marion aria starts rather sluggishly, the climax in each is formidably powerful, thrillingly controlled. It is good, too, to have several rarities. The aria from La Rondine is just as charming as the one usually included in recitals. The innocent sweetness of the aria from Le Villi finds Price in glowing, fresh voice, girlish and delicate in the pointing of decorations. In the aria from Edgar Price might have attempted to characterise Tigrana a little more pointedly, but with every note hit precisely in big, rich singing, one can forgive the generalised emotion—particularly when it is partly Puccini's fault. After beautifully poised singing in Mimi's two arias, Price attempts to provide the necessary contrast in Musetta's Waltz Song, but there the minxish manner does not always avoid mannerism. All told then a valuable addition to Price's recorded repertory, with sympathetic accompaniment, and recording of a similar vintage to that of RCA's London-made opera sets. -- Edward Greenfield, Gramophone [12/1973]

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1. Julius Caesar: Se pieta di me non senti
2. Idomeneo: O Smania! ... D'Oreste, d'Adjace!
3. Waldseligkeit
4. Marienlied
5. Herr Lenz, Op. 37, No.5
6. Befreit, Op.39, No.5
7. Ich liebe dich, Op.37, No.2
8. La forza del destino: Pace, pace, mio Dio
9. Bleuet
10. Les Nuits d'ete, Op.7:No 1: Villanelle
11. Extase
12. Le Printemps
13. Wild Nights
14. Always It's Spring
15. There Came a Wind Like a Bugle
16. Ride On, King Jesus
17. Madame Butterfly: Tu, Tu, piccolo iddio
18. Porgy And Bess: Summertime
19. Tosca: Vissi d'arte
20. Adriana Lecouvreur: Io son l'umile ancella
21. This Little Light o' Mine
22. La rondine: Chi il bel sogno di Doretta
23. Madame Butterfly: Un bel di
24. Witness
25. America, the Beautiful

Leontyne Price (Soprano)
David Garvey (Piano) 

"Leontyne Price’s New York recitals were always big events. . . . The opera arias at the beginning are impressive for the weight of tone and drama, but it’s the encores, especially the Butterfly extracts, that catch her at her most expressive. Even “Summertime”, which she sang at almost every concert she ever gave, is given a new interpretation here. The most valuable aspect of this CD, though, is the glimpse it affords of Price the Lieder singer and advocate for American song. Lee Hoiby composed songs specially for her, and it is good to have at least a souvenir of their collaboration in these three beautiful songs. . . . My favourite track of all is the penultimate encore, the spiritual Witness, with a sly characterization of Delilah as she asks Samson where his strength comes from. We might ask the same question of Price herself, and her answer in part comes in the final item, America the Beautiful, sung unaccompanied. I would defy anybody to listen to this and remain unmoved." -- Gramophone

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