Gerhard Griesel asks: >The version of Les Contes d'Hoffmann that I've got on CD is the EMI >Classics version by Neil Shicoff, Ann Murray and Jose van Dam. There >is nothing wrong with this recording: sound quality and singers are good. >However, I have been pampered by the version that I have on lp record: >Decca, Sutherland, Domingo and Bacquier with the Suisse Romande (it >includes a creaking sound when Olympia needs to be rewound). Does >anyone know whether this version is available on CD? It is. Decca 417363. >What other versions have you seen on shelves that are currently available >that are good in terms of price, technical quality and soloists? I like the Cluytens on EMI with De los Angeles, Schwarzkopf, Benoit, London, and Gedda (EMI 67983) -- very intelligent, very French. My favorite Hoffmann remains, however, Sills and Treigle with Rudel, currently on DG 471247. I was never a big Sutherland fan, myself, and Treigle wows me with a voice that could have come from Mount Rushmore. Sills's voice is like a sweetwater spring. And you can understand what she's singing. Steve Schwartz *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html