Customer Rating: 
Summary: Stunning renditions of Puccini's great melodies
Comment: John Bayless' incomparable renditions of the master's music will please you, I promise. "Un bel di" from Madama Butterfly and "In questa Reggia" from Turandot are done with stunning technical flare and dramatic interpretation. He runs with the ball a bit and expands upon "Non piangere Liu" from Turandot. This piqued my curiosity and sent me back to the opera for a closer look, and I found his transcription, though more elaborate, to be surprisingly faithful to the original. I also found this aria to be a better one than I had thought. His ardent rendition of "O soave fanciulla" transfers from La Boheme with all its intensity intact. And if you want your hairs to stand on end, listen for the chilling rumble in the lower end of the keyboard at the close of "Tu, tu piccolo Iddio" from Madama Butterfly. If you think Bayless' florid style is overdone, consider how well he uses it to plumb Puccini's emotional depths. I have listened to this CD a hundred times. To be honest, Bayless' prelude and postlude that act as bookends for the album do not grab me. In place of them I would slobber over a version of the "Invocation of the Moon" from Turandot, or some selections from Manon Lescaut. But if you like piano transcriptions from opera, and you love Puccini, you can't beat this gem.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Piano Arias
Comment: This is a wonderful CD that is filled with beautiful Puccini arias played by a great pianist. I love to listen to it over and over since the music inspires me with thoughts of relaxation, exhilaration and peacefulness all wrapped into one. John Bayless truly captures the emotion of Puccini with his wonderful arrangements and musical skills. I recommend this CD for those who enjoy not only beautiful music but also love the piano.
Customer Rating:
Summary: cocktails at La Scala
Comment: This is a superb collection of Puccini's melodies arranged and improvised for solo piano, and brilliantly played by John Bayless; it wrings every bit of emotion from these resplendent arias, some so tender and expressive, like the exquisite "Son Andati ?" from La Boheme.
Puccini once told a soprano to "walk in clouds of melody", and on this disc we have a celestial feast, making one realize how starved we are in today's world of great melodies, with so much of popular music very uninspired in this area, and classical music ignoring it.
Perhaps my favorite track is the gentle and passionate interpretation of one of opera's best loved arias, "E Lucevan le Stelle" from Tosca. The way Bayless has transcribed this music and improvised on it is a stroke of genius, and very clever marketing as well, giving us a new, unique take on "opera lite", and one of the most enjoyable I've heard; his virtuoso technique is up to the task, and he manages to get a myriad of sounds and colorations out of the instrument.
This enthralling presentation of operatic themes is lighthearted and would make great background music, but is also much more; it's inventive and beautifully performed, is true to the emotional content of the original, and oh ! those glorious melodies.
The sound is crisp and clear, and total playing time 78'28.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Liberace lives!
Comment: If you enjoyed the flourishing style of Liberace, you'll love this wonderful schmaltzy tribute to Puccini. All the favorites are here from Un Bel Di to Nessun Dorma, played with extravagant passion by John Bayless. I like to play this CD on a rainy day with a cup of hot cocoa, close my eyes and just disappear into the sensuality of the music
Customer Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Comment: I have owned this CD for seven years and I am always delighted to discover it again. For those who love the original voice arias and love the piano -- you will not be disappointed.
