Right Wing Nation

I’m posting a number of youtube clips here, so if you’re interested, click the more tag below.

First, Jessye Norman sings “Es gibt ein Reich” from Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos. This is musical perfection.

Brigitte Fassbaender and Lucia Popp sing the “Presentation of the Rose” from Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. A definitive performance.

In general, I just despise bel canto. However, Bellini’s Norma is a masterpiece. Many have forgotten that Montserrat Caballe began her career as a coloratura. Here she is singing “Casta Diva,” and although Maria Callas could top the performance, she couldn’t touch this voice:

And here is Caballe singing “Pace, pace, mio Dio” from La Forza del Destino (Verdi):

And this, like Norman’s “Es gibt ein Reich,” is musical perfection. Caballe singing “Com’è bello” from Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia Listen for that floating pianissimo on top–absolutely, amazingly beautiful. Take note: This is what is known as vocal control:

And from La Boheme (Puccini), La Diva Caballe with Jose Carreras in “Si, mi chiamano Mimi” and “O soave fanciulla” (yes, Carreras could sometimes be awful, but he’s not bad here):

Victoria de los Angeles and Jussi Björling singing “Bimba dagli occhi” (the first act love duet) from Madama Butterfly (Björling was found dead only a few days after this was recorded). It’s a long duet, so it’s in two parts:

Joan Sutherland as the Queen of the Night, singing “O zittre nicht, mein lieber sohn” from The Magic Flute, by Mozart. Now, this is a coloratura:

More Mozart? How about more Mozart and Sutherland? “Non mi dir” from Don Giovanni:

And the incomparable Leontyne Price, singing “O patria mia” from Verdi’s Aïda:

Singing “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca, who else but the one and only Tosca of all time, the great Maria Callas:

Here is Leona Mitchell singing Liu in Puccini’s Turandot, first “Signore ascolta,” then her suicide scene. Lovely. That’s Montserrat Caballe singing Turandot, by the way.

Enough sopranos. When Ben Heppner is on, he’s remarkable. Here he is singing “Morgenlich leucthend im rosigen Schein” from Die Meistersinger (Wagner).

Jussi Björling and Robert Merril in the duet from Pear Fishers:

The greatest tenor alive, Placido Domingo, singing “Vesti la giubba” from I Pagliacci. Such power! Such tone! Such expression!

Jerome Hines as Wotan, singing the Abschied and “Loge hor! Lausche hieher!” (the fire music) from Die Walküre.

The great Tito Gobbi, singing “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata” from Rigoletto, in 1946!

That’s enough for now.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 30th, 2007 at 5:57 pm and is filed under Odds 'n Ends.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.