music is a journey
Luciano Pavarotti, Mario Lanza, and Franco Corelli versions of O Paradis! (O Paradise!): the most famous aria of the 1865 grand opera L’Africaine (The African Woman), the last work of the German opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jacob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864). Eugène Scribe wrote the French libretto. The opera …
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Spanish tenor José Carreras sings “Una Furtiva Lagrima” (A furtive tear), a romanza from act 2, scene 8 of the Italian opera L’elisir d’amore by Gaetano Donizetti. An excerpt from the 1986 Spanish movie titled “Romanza Final”, a biography of the Spanish tenor Julián Gayarre (9 January 1844 – 2 January 1890), one of the …
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A gala concert by the legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti at the Royal Albert Hall, London in 1982. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kurt Herbert Adler.
Maria Callas sings the Rondò finale (“Nacqui all’affanno” “Non più mesta…”) of Gioachino Rossini’s La Cenerentola, an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts. The North German Radio Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Georges Prêtre. Recorded at the Musikhalle Hamburg (currently The Laeiszhalle) on March 16, 1962.
A concert titled Voix Haute (aloud): French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and Spanish soprano Nuria Rial sing Baroque era arias from Händel, Strozzi, Ferrari, and Caccini, with Jaroussky’s own Early Music Ensemble, L’Ensemble Artaserse.
American tenor and Hollywood star of Italian origin, Mario Lanza sings Celeste Aida, a romanza from the first act of the opera Aida, by Giuseppe Verdi. From The Great Caruso, the 1951 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Mario Lanza as Enrico Caruso.
Conducted by Claudio Abbado, one of the most celebrated and respected conductors of the 20th century, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra performs the overture of Lohengrin, WWV 75, a Romantic opera in three acts composed and written by the German composer Richard Wagner. Recorded at the Lucerne Culture and Convention Center during the Lucerne Festival on …
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Perhaps the best-known triumphal march: from the second act of Giuseppe Verdi’s 1871 grand opera, Aïda (sometimes spelled Aida). This great opera was commissioned by and first performed at Cairo’s Khedivial Opera House (built on the orders of the Khedive Ismail to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal) on 24 December 1871; Giovanni Bottesini …
Spanish operatic lyric coloratura soprano Victoria de los Ángeles sings “Una voce poco fa” (English: A voice a little while ago) of Gioachino Rossini’s opera buffa in two acts, “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” (The Barber of Seville). From the BBC Telecast in 1962. Special thanks to Gladys Abulafia Alhanati who made me discover that great …
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Accompanied by the Sinfonieorchester des NDR conducted by Nicola Rescigno, Maria Callas sings “Tu che le vanita conoscesti del mondo” (You have known the vanities of this world) from Don Carlo, a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Recorded in Hamburg in 1959.
