Category Archives: Opera

Russian operatic soprano Anna Netrebko sings Quando men vo, a soprano aria in 3/4 time (a waltz) from act 2 of Puccini’s 1895 opera La bohème. Gala Concert of “300 years of St. Petersburg”, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (Yuri Temirkanov & Nikolai Alekseev).

The year 1964, in Moscow, 29-year-old Luciano Pavarotti sings the famous canzone from the beginning of act 3 of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Rigoletto, “La Donna è Mobile”. He was not “the king” yet.

Two opera giants of the 20th century, Franco Corelli and Luciano Pavarotti singing Vesti la giubba (English: put on the costume), a famous tenor aria from Ruggero Leoncavallo’s 1892 opera Pagliacci (Clowns).

Casta Diva is one of the most famous soprano arias of the nineteenth century. It is in act 1 of Norma, a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani. Here are the Renée Fleming and Maria Callas versions of Casta Diva.

The best versions of “Je crois entendre encore” (I still believe I hear), a beautiful aria from Georges Bizet‘s Les pêcheurs de perles. Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was first performed on …

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Italian tenor Enrico Caruso was the first gramophone star to sell more than a million copies with his 1904 recording of “Vesti la giubba” from the opera “Pagliacci” (Clowns) by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Here are his recordings from the 30th of November 1902, the 1st of February 1904, and the 17th of March 1907.

Three beautiful versions of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Di quella pira“. The first version is sung by Enrico Caruso, the second one is sung by Franco Corelli, and the third one is sung by Luciano Pavarotti. Three of the greatest tenors of the 20th history. Di quella pira is a popular tenor aria (or more specifically cabaletta) sung …

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The best versions of Ah! Mes Amis from Gaetano Donizetti‘s La Fille du Regiment. Juan Diego Flórez sings in Vienna (2007), and Luciano Pavarotti’s version is from 17 February 1972, at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. La fille du régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment) is an opéra comique in two acts by Donizetti. It was written …

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The “king” Luciano Pavarotti sings “La donna è mobile” as Il Duca di Mantova in the screen movie “Rigoletto” (1983) based on Giuseppe Verdi‘s 1851 opera with the same name.