Decca Classics to Release Jessye Norman – The Unreleased Masters

By Francisco Salazar

Decca Classics has announced Jessye Norman – The Unreleased Masters.

The new album will showcase never-before-heard recordings by the legendary soprano. The set includes an extraordinary performance of “Tristan und Isolde” with Ms. Norman performing the multiple roles of Isolde and Brangäne, Wagner and Strauss song cycles, and a live recording of an eclectic program of cantatas by Haydn, Berlioz, and Britten.

The album is released with the support of Norman’s family and estate and will pay tribute to one of the exceptional vocal performers of recent times.

The immense emotional range of Jessye Norman’s voice is demonstrated by a remarkable recording of highlights from Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” in which Norman uses studio dubbing to perform both the roles of Isolde and Brangäne. Recorded with Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1998, the recording features Thomas Moser as Tristan and a young Ian Bostridge as the Seemann.

The 1982 recording of Strauss’s Four Last Songs is frequently regarded as one of classical music’s greatest all-time recordings. The new box set will showcase a 1989 recording of Norman performing the work alongside James Levine and the Berliner Philharmoniker. The release is paired with a 1992 recording of Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder.

The final disc of the three-CD set showcases a 1994 live recording of Norman with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The recording contains Haydn’s Scena di Berenice, Berlioz’s Cléopâtre ­and Britten’s Phaedra.

The recording is set for release on Jan. 27.

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