CELESTIAL    AUDIO     COMMENT  AND  REVIEW  PAGE

 These comments have been submitted by customers of Celestial Audio.

 

Name

Location

Comments

Sebastian

USA

CA549      EDGAR
I know and liked this opera from the commercial Scotto/Bergonzi set.  I found this performance even more beautiful.  These singers as you said, are not “big name” but are all wonderful and well balanced.  I had forgotten  or  perhaps didn’t realize what a charming and touching, and all too neglected opera this is.  It’s been in my car stereo for a while now and I have enjoyed listening to it over and over again. 
You have a real winner here and I hope all of your customers will give it a try. They will not be disappointed and maybe even surprised to hear this lovely and unfamiliar Puccini work
Ray USA  CA358/374    WALKURE  &  SIEGFRIED
Your package of half a RING arrived the other day and despite my hectic schedule I did find some time to sample a bit of each opera.  First of all the packaging is second-to-none in the live opera community.  I dislike calling CDs 'product' because it seems to minimize the import of the music they contain but the reality is that they are product and as such should be attractive and indicative of the content.  Your careful attention to detail, attractive graphics, sensible tracking and presentation certainly raises one's hope for what they are about to hear.  And the sound is fabulous.  You obviously share my philosophy of minimal intervention.  The natural sound of what was obviously excellent source material shines through,  I can't compliment you enough.
 As for the performances, I can't really say too much yet, having only sampled perhaps a half hour of total music.  What struck me was how sloppy Manfred Jung and Siegfried Jerusalem were.  Geeze, if I were invited to sing at Bayreuth under Solti I would make darn sure I knew my part.  Luckily, I am not the type to fixate on a few misplaced notes and I am extremely happy to have these mementos of Solti's only Bayreuth appearances in such stunning sound and beautiful presentation.
Joseph USA When I discovered CA about 2 years ago I was struck by the superb quality of your recordings which is unparalled in the "live opera community".  Since then my experience has shown that, if anything, they have continued to get even better.  As you know, I have a great many CA recordings and I can truly say that your attention to detail, 
your perfectionism and your integrity result in the finest live opera recordings that I ever heard.
Laurie  USA The CD's came today and sound GORGEOUS.  
Thanks for the replacement and standing behind your product.  
It is a pleasure doing business with you
Maciej  Poland Why is in your catalogue so little recordings of great singer Ewa Podles?!
Gaston  France CA351   GOTTERDAMMERUNG
 I got the order and it is really wonderful, so I went ahead and placed the
order for the remainder of the Ring, now that I see how good the sound is
for Gotterdammerung.  I think more people should know about these treasures you have. I was actually at the 1984 Ring at Bayreuth so imagine the memories these discs have brought.
Sasha  Belgium  
Ah ... you've given me back my youth - I'm listening to the RAI "Torvaldo e Dorliska", and it's even better than I remembered.
A million thanks!
Bernard France  The disks just arrived today and they are wonderful.
Excellent sound and beautiful covers, nice packaging,  just the way we like !  Congratulations.       I will certainly send soon another order!
Linda U.K.  Hi!  I am so delighted to have found your website and to be able to order recordings of operas featuring several of my favourite singers (especially John Brecknock and Geoffrey Chard both of whom were sadly neglected by recording companies).  I have fond memories of the productions of Fidelio and War & Peace which I have just ordered.
Please keep up the good work!
Jon  U.K.
I cannot thank you enough for the wonderful recording of Carmen received from you this week. Katherine Pring was a close friend for many years and to finally have a recording of arguably her greatest role, means more than you can imagine.
I shall certainly be making more purchases in the future.

David

Australia

I received my copy of the Belohlavek  Katya  today and the Yvonne Kenny Brussels recital. The quality of both is superb!!  The Katya is simply marvellous and Cheryl Barker is quite radiant as Katya. 
What a joy to listen to her!

Arnaud France
CA455     OTELLO  (Rossini)       CA203   TANCREDI
I have received your CDs for about 2 weeks now. Thank you very much.
Thank you too for your incredible work ! What a pleasure to have this wonderful evenings !  I don't know what can I say about Merritt's performance in Otello !  Just wonderful !   Why did he stop singing Rossini music ?  The Tancredi is really beautiful and much better than the official Horne's recording.  Thank you for being possible to have these  treasures at home !!
James U.K.
Norma has arrived and I'm thrilled.   Thank you so much!
I'd also like to say that I think it's fantastic that you go to the trouble of making covers and track listings - it makes the discs even more cherishable.
I'm sure I'll be ordering more very soon!

Clarence

USA

Just a few words to  let you know that I did have the opportunity to see your new pages in the catalogue.  Wow!!!  I am like a child in a candy shop.  
I want one of everything!!!  But I must exercise some restraint!!!!  
You have some wonderful items there....

Haig Egypt
CA387    DON GIOVANNI
I have just received the Don Giovanni and the Audio Catalogue. 
They are in perfect condition. 
And what a great performance of  Giovanni !
   Thank you very much
John Australia I will be sending you an order for 4 copies of the CA 547 "Semiramide" (Sutherland/Elms). The reason is that  Joseph Ward, the tenor on the recording - was thrilled to find it existed as he'd previously only had excerpts. 
Several friends have asked me for "copies" and I'd prefer to give
them the real thing.  I hope this is not a problem for you.
Peter Germany In the last months, I have bought from you two operas: "Idomeneo" with Pavarotti from Salzburg and "Virginia" by  Mercadante.  I was very happy about the quality of the CDs and also with the labels and presentation. All from you was very professional and in best quality.  Thank you for all!!!
Ray USA The remainder of the Solti  RING arrived and I spent a weekend listening to it in its entirety.  It is really quite the performance.  The orchestra plays beautifully throughout and the singers, while sometimes rhythmically inaccurate, are all inspired by having Solti in the pit.  I rather like Nimsgern's Wotan, even though he is somewhat hard-pressed at times.  Solti really relaxes more than in the studio and that little nervous tick I always noticed on beat 4 is mercifully absent here.  No doubt a large part of the enjoyment comes from the spectacular sound in which you present the work.  The detail and spaciousness is quite remarkable with only a miniscule bit of tape-hiss or hum to betray that this was not a studio effort.  You must be very proud of this and rightfully so.

Dieter

Germany

The quality of your sources and cd-transfers, as well as label and cover design is vastly superior to all other suppliers of live recordings  (with the exception of OPERA RARA).

Clarence USA
The package arrived yesterday and I wasted no time getting to my favorite opera:  The Barber of Seville in 48kHz/24bit !!
My Goodness, what incredible sound !!!
Jim USA I have the pleasure of owning several of your recordings and, in my opinion, you are heads above other companies in terms of quality and packaging.
In particular your Traviata with Fleming and Villazon is a standout.
I look forward to your future releases.
Paul UK It is always a pleasure to liaise with Helmuth. 
His professional, kind and extremely gracious approach to every request is a rarity in some people. The sound on all of his recordings is superb and his prices are extremely reasonable indeed. Thank you a thousand times. Always in debt to his kindness.

Geoffrey Sweden

I am astounded by the sound quality of your issues, especially the Armida -
Cristina Deutekom seems to be in my lounge singing to me personally.
I have forwarded another order for DVD audios, can't wait !!
Congratulations on a first rate product and service.

Chris UK I must say, the quality of the sound and packaging on all the CDs I’ve bought is excellent.   I can’t thank you enough.
Salpie USA
Many thanks again for your prompt attention to this order.
It sure is a joy doing business with you.
Geoffrey Sweden Many thanks for my latest order....once again I am amazed at the sound
quality of the Audio-DVD recordings.
I have just listened to the Cosi  (CV005) ..... simply marvellous.

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Barbara USA
I was most curious about the Donna del Lago,  (CA646)  because several years ago a friend had given me an very poor audiotape copy of the performance.
But I liked the performance, and all the singers, and hoped that someday you might be able to offer it.
 I knew that you would be working from a much better original, and you did not disappoint -- your recording is wonderful.  I know that the original you worked from probably did not have the wide dynamic range that many later private recordings have, but the sound is excellent.  The voices come through cleanly, which I think is very important in Rossini because with your recording I could hear many of the "little" notes that my copy just blurred.
 So thank you!
Elihu USA I received the recording of  Les Vepres  (CA452)   and wished to thank you.  Just sampling it first, it sounds like a wonderful performance. It is a pleasure to hear this work in its original language.  It certainly changes its character with the use of French
Ron USA The CDs arrived today...and they are splendid.
What a wonderful job.    Many thanks..
Chris Germany I received my CDs today. Great Stuff. Thank you very much. Very good work!
John Hong
Kong
Many thanks for the recording of "Romeo et Juliette"  (CA545)  just received, I am impressed by the very high quality recording!
Great singing from Valerie Masterson.
Joseph USA I am very pleased to report that my recent order for Bellini's La Straniera (Fleming, Kunde; Queler), Donizetti's Sancia di Castiglia (Caballé), and Tchaikovsky's Orleanskaya Deva (Zajick; Callegari) has arrived and I could not be more thrilled, both with the quality of the discs and with the performances themselves.  I am very fond of Dolora Zajick in general and am very happy to obtain this recording of what has become one of Zajick's 'signature' roles. As always, the level of quality offered in your items is exceptional. Thank you very much for your first-rate service and unparalleled quality.
Joan USA Thank you so!   I have received this order (CA434 MACBETH) and the quality is truly superb.   When I saw the note of the Macbeth being an "in-house" recording, I feared that it would be a muddle.    I was amazed at what good quality you were able to achieve.   I was actually at that performance !!
I will be reviewing your catalog shortly and look forward to ordering from you soon.    Again - your quality is superb.    Congratulations!!
Martin Germany I just got the CDs, thank you very much.
As far as I can hear, the pitching of all recordings is perfect and the sound is marvellous.   You did an excellent job!
Tania Australia The order  (CA607La Straniera)  arrived safely, and the singing and sound quality are beautiful.
Paul Sth Africa I received the Anna Bolena (CA205)  last night and besides the sound being great (but then I’m no sound fundi,  I listen to the voices and the music),
the presentation is professional too.  All in all, then, I’m very happy indeed
with the product.   Many thanks!
Ricardo Brasil The cds arrived safely.  I'm very impressed by the quality and will order more very soon.
Winfried Germany Back from holiday in Switzerland and I already entered your website!
What does Des Grieux sing? “O tentatrice!!!” (Of course it’s the female form but there’s no time to consult my Italian-German Dictionary). I ordered as much as my budget allows for this moment.   (Could be more – alas!)
Peter UK The discs I got yesterday are as good to look at as to listen to.
Nigel UK I am very pleased with the recordings I received last month and the professional quality of the discs & inserts, far better than a number of commercial recordings I've bought!

 

 

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