One of the best versions of Georges Bizet’s famous opera Carmen, Vienna Opera, 1978. Carmen, the gypsy girl is played by Russian mezzo-soprano Elena Obraztsova and Don José, Corporal of Dragoons is played by Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo. Conductor: Carlos Kleiber. Directed by: Franco Zeffirelli.
Category Archives: Romantic Era
Perhaps the best coin ever spent
That’s beautiful… A little girl drops a coin in a musician’s hat, then the magic starts to happen: the orchestra starts playing an excerpt from the last movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 in D minor, Op 125 in the street!
Anna Netrebko sings Quando men vo
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).
Young Pavarotti sings La Donna è Mobile in Moscow, 1964
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.
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto [Julia Fischer]
Accompanied by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the German violinist Julia Fischer plays Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64. Conductor: Myung-Whun Chung. Recorded during the Saint-Denis Festival on June 19, 2014. Encore: Sarabande, one of the Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique” [Myung-whun Chung]
Conducted by Myung-whun Chung, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra plays Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, also known as the Pathétique Symphony. Recorded on May 16, 2011, at the Korean Art Centre Concert Hall, Seoul Korea. It is the final completed symphony of the Russian composer, written between February and the end …
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Lisitsa plays Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata
Valentina Lisitsa plays Ludwig van Beethoven’s The Piano Sonata No. 14 “Quasi Una Fantasia” Opus 27 No. 2, also known as the “Moonlight Sonata”. Completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, it is one of Beethoven’s most popular compositions for the piano. It is named “The Moonlight Sonata” by …
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Vesti la Giubba: Pavarotti and Corelli versions
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, Renée Fleming and Maria Callas versions
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.
Schubert: Unfinished Symphony [Wiener Philharmoniker, Riccardo Muti]
Conducted by Riccardo Muti, the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) performs Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D.759, commonly known as the “Unfinished Symphony”. A 1992 recording of the piece.
