"In this complete studio recording of a newly prepared critical edition -- the first on period instruments -- Giovanni Antonini and Cecilia Bartoli reveal Norma's authentic pre-Romantic roots and return to Bellini's original conception. The role of Norma was written for Giuditta Pasta, who sang what today's listeners would consider to be mezzo-soprano roles, while Adalgisa was conceived for a light silvery soprano. With Cecilia Bartoli and Sumi Jo...

Herbert von Karajan's 1949 Salzburg Festival recording of Verdi's Requiem is not the greatest recording of the work ever made. There are, after all, recordings by Toscanini, Giulini, Abbado, and Serafin in that competition. And it's not the greatest recording of the Requiem ever made by Karajan. There are also his two studio recordings of the work from 1972 and 1984 for Deutsche Grammophon. But for those listeners who love the conductor's way with...