About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

If you're looking for one album documenting the career of Marilyn Horne, this is the one to buy. Composed mostly of operatic excerpts from the 1960s and '70s, but also including some art song and concert selections from the 1980s, Decca's Just for the Record: The Golden Voice captures the sound and fury of Horne in her prime. Most everything Horne was known for is here: Handel, Rossini, Bellini, some Verdi, and Bizet's "Carmen." The combination of style, agility, and sheer amplitude that she brought to this music is irresistible, even if Horne's distinctive, somewhat snarly timbre isn't your cup of tea. The opening "Habanera" has a rhythmic restraint and style that, while less earthy than some "Carmens," takes on a smiling dramatic tension, even as an excerpt. The Rossini and Handel selections have all the kinetic energy and pathos they could want, and the excerpts from "Norma" and "Il Trovatore" document her exciting partnerships with Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti. Of the art song and concert excerpts on the second disc, Nin's "Jesús de Nazareth," with pianist Martin Katz, and Aaron Copland's "I bought me a cat" are the highlights (no one could ask for a better quacking duck than Horne's!). Allen Schrott, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

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