Lesley Garrett: The Very Best Of

This album is a new addition to the highly successful emi classics series the very best of... Devoted to some 35 famous singers such as maria callas, dame janet baker, placido domingo and jos‚ carreras, as well as english song with piano and english song with orchestra. Lesley garrett, cbe, has achieved the distinction of being not only britain's most popular soprano, but also one of its best-loved musical celebrities. Her career began in opera but her warm personality, her natural gift of communication with every kind of audience, and her ability to perform an amazingly wide range of music soon meant that she was in constant demand away from the opera house for concerts, tours, recordings and television. She has had her own series of shows on both bbc television and classic fm radio, and introduced many outstanding guests including ian bostridge, michael ball, bryn terfel and michel legrand, all of whom appear with her in this album. Lesley has appeared at many landmark events such as the first ever classical brit awards in 2000 and at a concert in the grounds of the royal observatory at greenwich on millennium eve. In 2004 she displayed an outstanding talent for ballroom dancing on the live bbc television series strictly come dancing and she is currently starring in london's west end in a spectacular new production of the musical carousel following her triumph as the abbess in the sound of music at the london palladium. The repertoire in this collection ranges from the much loved aria 'dido's lament' from purcell's opera dido and aeneas, dating from 1689, to brand new compositions by tolga kashif, who also arranged and produced most of the material on this album. There are favourite operatic items by mozart, dvor k, puccini and gershwin, familiar folksongs like 'greensleeves', 'o waly, waly' and 'scarborough fair', moving hymns, including 'jerusalem' and 'abide with me' and hits from the musicals les mis‚rables and west side story as well as three of the delightful french songs of the auvergne and a couple of spanish songs. In short, it showcases every aspect of the seemingly endless talent of the inimitable lesley garrett.