A couple more, somewhat off the beaten path..Edith Piaf is (was!) awesome. Sound quality of the early stuff is pretty hopeless, but her stereo recordings in the early 60's were pretty good. I was lucky enough to live in Belgium for a few years and pciked up a lot of very clean vinyl pressings. Another French singer worth looking into is Mireille Matthieu, especially her CD fo (so called) the greatest French songs. A tad bright, but excellent orchestrations and very clear, well recorded vocals. I have also found some of Gloria Estefan's SPANISH CD's to sound v. good (especially on the slower paced "boleros". Last..Callas!!!!! There are many good compilations of assorted arias out on CD, and of course all the full lenght operas.....Last..there is a relatively new Italian group called "Neri Per Caso" who are outstanding. Sorry, they are all men....but most of their output is "a cappella", and pristinely recorded. Well worth seeking out "Le Ragazze" and their Christmas music CD of last year...goosebumps on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"? You bet!
