Romophone | |
---|---|
Founded | 1993 |
Founder | Louise Barder and Virginia Barder |
Defunct | 2003 |
Status | Defunct |
Genre | Opera |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Romophone was a UK historical reissues record label dedicated to restoring and transferring historic 78 rpm recordings of opera singers to CD. It was founded in 1993 by Louise Barder and Virginia Barder. [1]
Romophone CDs characteristically present the complete recording output of a singer on a particular label in a particular period, in chronological order. Romophone has been praised for the accuracy and faithfulness of the material it presents, both discographic and musical. The CD liner notes include biographical material about the singers and photographs (often rare and previously unpublished). [2] Libretti and lyrics are not included in the liner notes.
Singers represented on the Romophone label include Frances Alda, Lucrezia Bori, Edmond Clement, Léon David, Emma Calvé, Emmy Destinn, Emma Eames, Kirsten Flagstad, Amelita Galli-Curci, Mary Garden, Beniamino Gigli, Lotte Lehmann, Giovanni Martinelli, Edith Mason, John McCormack, Nellie Melba, Claudia Muzio, Pol Plançon, Rosa Ponselle, Elisabeth Rethberg, Tito Schipa, Elisabeth Schumann, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Luisa Tetrazzini, Marcella Sembrich, Mattia Battistini, Mario Ancona and Leonard Warren among others. Two complete opera recordings from La Scala - Il Trovatore (1930) and Madama Butterfly (1929/30) - are in the catalogue, as well as collections including Wagner en Français, America the Beautiful, The Century's Greatest Singers in Puccini and Christmas From a Golden Age.
Romophone won a Gramophone Award for Best Historical Recording in 1996, for a volume of recordings by Lucrezia Bori, remastered by Ward Marston. [3]
Romophone issued its first release in 1993, and ceased activity around 2003. [4] The Romophone catalogue was acquired by Naxos. [5]
Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, was a German-born Austro-British soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and was renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the operas of Mozart, Wagner and Richard Strauss. After retiring from the stage, she was a voice teacher internationally. She is considered one of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous Lieder performers of the post-war period, best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, particularly "Winterreise" of which his recordings with accompanist Gerald Moore and Jörg Demus are still critically acclaimed half a century after their release.
Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 17 labels including Naxos Records, Naxos Audiobooks and Naxos Books (ebooks). There are about an additional 50 labels that are independent of the Naxos Musical Group with a wide range of offerings.
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and referred to as the Oscars for classical music. They are widely regarded as the most influential and prestigious classical music awards in the world. According to Matthew Owen, national sales manager for Harmonia Mundi USA, "ultimately it is the classical award, especially worldwide."
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Graham Johnson OBE is a British classical pianist and Lieder accompanist.
Jörg Demus was an Austrian classical pianist who appeared internationally and made many recordings. He was also a composer and a lecturer at music academies. In composition and playing, he focused on chamber music and lieder. He played with singers such as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, as a piano duo with Paul Badura-Skoda, and with string players such as Josef Suk and Antonio Janigro. Demus was instrumental in bringing the historic fortepiano to concert podiums. He was a member of the Legion of Honour, among many awards. He is regarded as one of the leading Austrian pianists of the immediate post-World War II era.
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract. The label's name was derived from combining French-born composer Edgard Varèse's last name with the musical term sarabande, a slow Spanish dance.
Elisabeth Schumann was a German soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings.
Lucrezia Bori was a Spanish operatic singer, a lyric soprano and a tireless and effective fundraiser for the Metropolitan Opera.
Andrew Matthews-Owen is a Welsh pianist and accompanist. He was born at Neath, Wales and now lives in London
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Pebbles is an extensive series of compilation albums in both LP and CD formats that have been issued on several record labels, though mostly by AIP. Together with the companion Highs in the Mid-Sixties series, the Pebbles series made available over 800 obscure, mostly American "Original Punk Rock" songs recorded in the mid-1960s — primarily known today as the garage rock and psychedelic rock genres — that were previously known only to a handful of collectors. In 2007, the release of the Pebbles, Volume 11: Northern California CD marked the final album in the Pebbles series. The following year, Bomp! marked the 30th anniversary of the original Pebbles album with a spartan, limited-edition, clear-vinyl reissue complete with the original pink cover insert.
Great Pianists of the 20th Century was a 200-CD box set released by Philips Records in 1999 and sponsored by Steinway & Sons.
Sigrid Onégin was a Franco-German operatic contralto who enjoyed a major international career prior to World War II.
This list is a discography of The Bartered Bride by Bedřich Smetana. The opera was first performed, in its original two-act format, at the Provisional Theatre, Prague, on 30 May 1866. After substantial revisions it was premiered in its extended three-act form at the Provisional Theatre on 25 September 1870.
Desmond Christopher Shawe-Taylor,, was a British writer, co-author of The Record Guide, music critic of the New Statesman, The New Yorker and The Sunday Times and a regular and long-standing contributor to The Gramophone.
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