A Potpourri of Opera

My apologies. It has been a while since I have done anything for my blog. Today, I am going to try something new. 

Moving from my big house to my smaller new apartment has been quite an archeological excavation. I have uncovered little treasures. One of them was a photocopy of a program list of a two CD-set titled "40 Beautiful Arias From the World's Greatest Classical Singers". I have decided to go on a scavenger hunt and see if I can find the track plus the singer on YouTube.  I think the enterprise will be fun, and educational as well. We may be in for some surprises!

PART ONE

The first track on that list is Plácido Domingo singing Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" from one of my favorite operas Turandot. That ought to be easy:

TRACK 1 - PUCCINI "NESSUN DORMA" FROM TURANDOT (PLACIDO DOMINGO)

Now the next item might be a little hard to find. Julia Migenes singing the "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen. I remember having to pay over 200 dollars to get a copy of that glorious film, so I don't think it will come that easy. I may be wrong:

                    TRACK 2A - BIZET "HABANERA" FROM CARMEN (JULIA MIGENES)

I was wrong! What a surprise indeed! Opera on film at its best. Although this is more of a visual experience. The sound quality is not that great. I bumped into another video of Migenes singing the Habanera in a concert; the sound ought to be better here:

                    TRACK 2B - BIZET "HABANERA" FROM CARMEN (JULIA MIGENES)

Holy bananas! This sound is infinitely better. Well mute the above video to see the pretty scene and play this as the background. Actually, Julia Migenes herself is a jewel to look at: she is gorgeous! There are some jumps in the recording, but fortunately they are not so numerous as for it to become annoying. Probably our dear host deleted some ugly coughs from the audience!

I have to be at a teacher's meeting in 5 minutes. Do I have enough time to find the next item on our list: Roberto Alagna singing "Una furta lagrima" from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore?

TRACK 3 - DONIZETTI "UNA FURTIVA LACRIMA"
FROM L'ELISIR D'AMORE (ROBERTO ALAGNA)

There! I am already late for the meeting. Why is the screen so small? Oh well. At least the sound is fantastic! Ciao for the moment.

Came back from the meeting. Taught a French 1 class and am now on mid-morning break. The small screen only shows up small in my blogger when it's on edit mode. That is a relief! Roberto Alagna, great voice and great acting. We are on a roll! Next on the list is Angela Georghiu singing Micaela's aria in Carmen. 

 

TRACK 4 - BIZET "MICAELA'S ARIA" FROM CARMEN (ANGELA GEORGHIU)

This is such a heart-breaking aria. Poor little Micaela braving the wild mountains, looking for her beloved Don José who ran off with that awful Carmen. Lovely that this comes with subtitles. Next on the list is another Bizet favorite ... the duet "Au fond du temple saint" from Les pêcheurs de perles.

I could not find the Jerry Hadley and Thomas Hampson version of the duet on YouTube; but I did find Jerry Hadley singing with Alan Titus. Oh well, it's the best thing I can do!

TRACK 5A - BIZET "AU FOND DU TEMPLE SAINT" FROM LES PECHEURS DE PERLES (JERRY HADLEY AND ALAN TITUS)

I am not disappointed at all. Beautiful voices and excellent sound. My students are beginning to trickle in, probably wondering why I like all these strange sounds, so different from the stuff they listen to! I am going to add something new to the list: Jerry Hadley and Thomas Hampson singing the duet from Don Carlos - at least we get to hear them sing together. But I must teach my French 3 class first. They are pretty nervous because they are having an oral test this Wednesday, plus a host of other tests piled up on them before the holiday.

TRACK 5B - VERDI'S DUET FROM DON CARLOS
(JERRY HADLEY AND THOMAS HAMPSON)

Bravi! We can imagine how wonderful they must have sounded singing the duet from the Pearl Fishers. Actually, may I be so vulgar as to ask you to skip to 5:07, otherwise you would have to listen to five minutes of recitative that is great in a dramatic sense, but not as melodious as when the duet gets really going at 5:07. We are not watching the whole opera, we're just enjoying some good music!

 

Here is French singer Jennifer Larmore singing the haunting "Ombra mai fu" from Handel's Serse:

TRACK 6 - HANDEL "OMBRA MAI FU" FROM SERSE (JENNIFER LARMORE)

Interesting interpretation related to the fact that the song is about the love for a tree in nature. Here she sings in an environment devoid of plants and flowers and the song becomes a lament for the earth humanity is destroying. Since we are in a sad mood, let's feed it by something even sadder...Véronique Gens singing Dido's lament from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.

TRACK 7 - PURCELL'S ARIA "DIDO'S LAMENT"
FROM DIDO AND AENEAS (VÉRONIQUE GENS)

Remember me! Remember me! Do not forget my fate! That was a very sad Queen of Carthage. The next track (if I find it) ought to cheer us up. It's that wonderful multi-talented Cecilia Bartoli singing "Voi che sapete" in the role of Cherubino in Mozart's Le Nozze de Figaro. 

TRACK 8 - CECILIA BARTOLI SINGS "VOI CHE SAPETE"
FROM MOZART'S LES NOCES DE FIGARO

Cecilia Bartoli... I love you! I have just finished buying her exciting new album "Mission" in which she recussitates a composer who somehow fell somewhere between Monteverdi and Handel through "the cracks of history" ...a mysterious man named Steffani, who was not only a composer, but a priest, statesman and diplomat as well, perhaps even an international spy. Cecilia Bartoli's command and voice technique are unparalleled. I want to say that she is the greatest female singer alive. That, of course, is a personal opinion!

The next selection on this extraordinary playlist (hats off to whoever put it together) is Kiri Te Kanawa and Frederica von Stade in "Soave sia il vento" from Mozart's Così fan tutte.

TRACK 9 - KIRI TE KANAWA AND FREDERICA VON STADE
IN "SOAVE SIA IL VENTO" FROM MOZART'S COSI FAN TUTTE

This music by Mozart is so serene. I wish I were the one in the picture who was lying down by the ocean and enjoying the sea breezes. Cosi fan tutte who are on vacation! School holidays are only three days away. Looking forward to that week off! And now for a little passion! The beautiful Olga Borodina and that hunk José Cura in Saint-Saens's Samson and Dalila. "Mon coeur oeuvre à ta voix"... my heart opens to your voice.

TRACK 10 SAINT_SAENS 'S LOVE DUET FROM SAMSON ET DALILA "MON COEUR S’OUVRE A TA VOIX".

The ending always makes me swoon, when Samson croons, "Dalila, Dalila ....je t'aime." Then you hear the minor chords trembling in the back, foreshadowing Samson's terrible fate in the hands that will betray him. The next selection is from Massenet's Werther - "Pourquoi me reveiller". The singers I hope to find are Jerry Hadley and Anne Sofie von Otter.

TRACK 11 - MASSENET "POURQUOI ME REVEILLER"?
FROM WERTHER (JERRY HADLEY AND ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER)

Why should I wake up? What hauntingly beautiful music.  I do not know this opera as well as I know Thaïs. I am getting to like Massenet more and more. This is an invitation to study the opera. It is based on Goethe's romantic novel the Young Werther. 

The next selection is perhaps the most famous one of all. No opera collection is complete without Verdi's "La donne è mobile" from Rigoletto. This version is sung by Richard Leech.

TRACK 12A - "LA DONNE E MOBILE" FROM RIGOLETTO SUNG BY RICHARD LEECH

What the devil was that? This happened to be the only recording of Richard Leech I found on YouTube. Learned something new: I never knew penguins made noises like that! Oh well, what do you expect from a scavenger hunt?  To hear the whole aria, let's listen to Pavarotti's version. You cannot go wrong with his interpretation!

TRACK 12B - "LA DONNE E MOBILE" FROM VERDI RIGOLETTO SUNG
BY LUCIANO PAVAROTTI

Our next selection is the serene "Song to the Moon" from Rusalka.

TRACK 13 - DVORAK'S "SONG TO THE MOON"
FROM RUSALKA SUNG BY EVA URBANOVA

 I recently bought a CD set of the opera. I have yet to sit down with the libretto and go through it. 

We are one-third of the way there! My internet connection in this apartment building is going on and off, so I am not so sure if I will be able to continue this scavenger hunt. Next on the list is Cristina Gallardo-Domás singing "Un bel di" from Puccini's Madame Butterfly. Wish me luck!

                                         

TRACK 14 - PUCCINI'S "UN BEL DI" FROM MADAMA BUTTERFLY
SUNG BY CHILEAN SOPRANO CRISTINA GALLARDO-DOMÁS

Wow! Wow! Wow! What a surprise!  I love it! She is almost scary. I've never seen Madame Butterfly like this. She looks and moves every inch like an actress (or actor) in the Kabuki Theater of Japan. Her grotesque facial expressions remind me of certain Japanese prints. Bravo! A unique performance ...totally different from my personal favorite, Mirella Freni. Refreshingly new. Cristina has set a new standard for Cio Cio San. This scavenger hunt is beginning to exceed my expectations!

Next on my list is José Cura singing "Donne non vidi mai" from Puccini's Manon Lescaut. 

What a stage presence this tenor has! Even in a concert, he still moves around like he is acting inside the opera. Would love to see more of him ....I think we will!

Let's now see if we can fetch Neil Shicoff and Edita Gruberova in the Brindisi scene from Verdi's La Traviata:

Success! Too early in the morning to comment on all this drinking, but I can say that this version sounds delicious and intoxicating!

Let's move on while we're on a roll. Next on the list is Kiri Te Kanawa singing Vissi d'Arte from Puccini's opera Tosca.

Splendid! Magnificent! For one who is used to hearing Maria Callas sing this - Kiri Te Kanawa really conveys the emotional drama of Flora Tosca in this piece. Goose bumps!

Here are the lyrics so you can sing along:

Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore,
non feci mai male ad anima viva!
Con man furtiva
quante miserie conobbi aiutai.
Sempre con fè sincera
la mia preghiera
ai santi tabernacoli salì.
Sempre con fè sincera
diedi fiori agl’altar.
Nell’ora del dolore
perchè, perchè, Signore,
perchè me ne rimuneri così?
Diedi gioielli della Madonna al manto,
e diedi il canto agli astri, al ciel,
che ne ridean più belli.
Nell’ora del dolor
perchè, perchè, Signor,
ah, perchè me ne rimuneri così? 

Moving on we go to that "third" tenor, José Carreras who is a "first" tenor when it comes to the role of Rodolfo:

Rodolfo is a poet and so is José Carreras in the interpretation of this song. Lovely!

More of La Bohème, which is perhaps the most melodious in the whole operatic repertoire. Let's see if we can find Barbara Hendricks as Mimi:

She definitely has that sweet voice that is necessary for some Puccini heroines. I would love to hear her sing Liu in Turandot. Next track is her singing with José Carreras in "O soave fanciulla" the climatic end to Act 1 in La Bohème:

x

Amor! Amor! Amor!

 We are now halfway there. Again to remind my viewers of the purpose of this project. I uncovered a photocopy of a program list of a two CD-set titled "40 Beautiful Arias From the World's Greatest Classical Singers. I decided to go on a scavenger hunt and see if I could find the track plus the singer on YouTube. So far, I have been pretty successful - nineteen tracks found out of twenty. Will I be successful in the next half of my operatic scavenger hunt?

Dear viewers, for the time being, Part Two will be under construction. Please forgive my messy chantier avec tous parterre.

PART TWO

First track is Cristina Gallardo Domás singing "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi .

Wonderful!
Second track is the very same Cristina Gallardo Domás singing "Me andró lontana" from Catalani's opera Le Wally .

Great!

Third track is Jennifer Larmore and Hei-Kyung Hong singing the Barcarolle from Offenbach's opera Les contes d'Hoffman .

Magnificent!

Fourth track is Plácido Domingo singing "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" from Bizet's opera Carmen .

Superb!

Fifth track is Kiri Te Kanawa singing "Signor Ascolta" from Puccini's opera Turandot.

Wow!

The sixth track was supposed to be Neil Shicoff and Edita Grubernova singing "Un di felice" from Verdi's opera La Traviata . Couldn't find it on YouTube. Zut alors! So instead I am posting the duet from the lavish 1983 Zefirelli film production of La Traviata with Plácido Domingo and Teresa Stratas ...a feast for your eyes and your ears!

What a feast!

Seventh track is Jennifer Larmore and Hei-Kyung Hong singing the Flower Duet, "Dôme épais le jasmin", from Delibes's opera Lakmè .

I wish I were in Venice!

Eighth track is Lella Cuberti singing "Porgi amor" from Mozart's opera Le nozze di Figaro .

Exquisite!

Ninth track is Hans-Peter Blochwitz singing "Dalla sua pace" from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni .

Cool!

Tenth track is no other than Maria Callas singing "Casta Diva" from Bellini's opera Norma. I have already posted this several times on my opera blog and will probably post it again. This is a true classic and one of the world's greatest operatic performances!

That performance always leaves me speechless!

Eleventh track is Marilyn Horne singing "Lascia ch'io pianga" from Handel's opera Rinaldo .

Lovely!

Twelfth track is Susan Graham singing "J'ai perdu mon Eurydice" from Gluck's opera Orphée et Eurydice .

Beautiful!

Thirteenth track was supposed to be Rosa Mannion and Anton Scharinger singing "Bei Männern, welche Lebe fühlen" from Mozart's opera Die Zauberflöte or the Magic Flute. Well, unfortunately this one failed. So I decided to dig up my favorite Magic Flute on YouTube. Here Dorothea Röschmann and Detlef Roth perform "Bei Männern" in the 2001 Paris production of "Die Zauberflöte." You won't be disappointed!

I will post this production a zillion times on this blog. I like it so much!

Fourteenth track is Plácido Domingo singing "Celeste Aïda" from Verdi's opera Aïda .

That particular production was at the Houston Opera.

Fifteenth track is Kiri Te Kanawa singing "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta" from Puccini's lesser known opera, La Rondine.

This is an opera that I bought a while ago. It is still sitting on my shelf waiting to be discovered. Why do some operas fall through the cracks of history?

Sixteenth track is Plácido Domingo singing "Amor ti viete" from Giordano's opera Fedora.

Eye candy!

Seventeenth track is Karita Mattila singing "Vilja-Lied" from Lézar's operetta Die lustige Witwe, known in English as The Merry Widow.

Endearing!

Eighteenth track is Plácido Domingo singing "E lucevan le stelle" from Puccini's opera Tosca .

I can watch this a million times!

Nineteenth track is Cristina Gallardo Domás singing the "Ave Maria" from Verdi's opera Otello .

I love Cristina! She is a new discovery for me!

Finally our twentieth and last track in this hit parade is Jennifer Larmore singing  "Non più mesta" from Rossini's opera La Cenerentola, known in English as Cinderella .

Lovely! The libretto of this opera is totally different from the Walt Disney version I grew up with as a child.

I decided to add a bonus track and end this concert with the wild and crazy Finale from Act 1 from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Seviglia sung by Cecilia Bartoli as Rosina, Gino Quilico as Figaro, David Kuebler as Count Almaviva, Carlos Feller as Don Bartolo, and Robert Lloyd as Don Basilio with the chorus of the Schwetzingen Festival. To my delight this has Russian subtitles, so I can practice reading the very little Russian that I know.

That was a great ending to this program. The whole opera may be available for viewing on YouTube... something to check out!

Voilà. C'est toute ma présentation. Merci!