Amazon.co.uk Review
One day, relate the sleeve-notes for
Opera for Castaways, when politician Ken Livingstone was a boy, he heard "Un bel dì" (One fine day) from
Madame Butterfly on the television. He was moved to tears, but received a telling-off from his granny for his unboyish behaviour. Novelist
Jeanette Winterson considers "Vissi d'arte" (I lived for art) from
Tosca "a call to arms".
Elvis Costello thinks that "When I am Laid in Earth" from Purcell's
Dido and Aeneas is so sad that "it should only be played once every three years". This two-disc set collects the pieces of opera most frequently requested by guests on
Desert Island Discs and, fascinatingly, also reveals why. The recordings are not necessarily the specific ones requested (Jasper Conran wanted Callas singing "Vissi d'arte"; here it is Josephine Barstow) but are all serviceable. There are no surprises for buffs--Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Bizet are all well-represented--but as an entry-level taster to the world of opera it does the business. (And as an irresistible piece of trivia, sex-therapist Dr Ruth Westheimer requested a man as her luxury item: but failing that, a large box of marrons glacés!) --
Warwick Thompson