Another classic thread.
Here we can listen to Spanish soprano Pepita Embil, singing "Madama Butterfly". She mainly sung Zarzuela, but of course is better known as Plácido Domingo's mother:
American composer and pianist Amy Beach wrote her only opera, Cabildo, back in 1932, but it was not performed in her lifetime.
We can hear a fragment from Opera Vista:
The most popular piece ever written by Ms. Beach was this song, based on a poem by Browning:
Roberto Devereux, one of Donizetti's Tudor trilogy, was lost to the operatic stage for almost a century, with not even a single performance until Turkish diva Leyla Gencer revived the opera in Naples, back in 1964.
Since then, there has been four outstanding Elisabettas, namely:
Gencer herself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRBL5Z6aWXI
Beverly Sills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zaqe7dmmgo
Montserrat Caballé: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8jfGGEP81M
Edita Gruberova: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqxUHl_vH1U (complete opera, from Barcelona, 1990)
Recently, Mariella Devia premiered the role in Marseille, already in her sixties, in an incredible performance. I've bought tickets for unfortunately I was prevented to attend, due to personal reasons:
When I found it I thought "what? he sung it? great!" but then fell into disappointment:
BUT I FORGIVE YOU BELOVED ZANZARONE
Since we are by this aria, I think this is remarkable example of great stage presence - perhaps he looks a bit too mature for this role but still, what an awesome truely romantic geezer appearance:
Too bad this performance is avaiable only on VHS tapes (at least that's all I've found).
About this I have nothing to say but it's so splendid that I'll post it so nobody will say YOU WERE WRITING ABOUT THAT ARIA AND FORGOT THAT PERFORMANCE NO BALANCE YOU'RE IN TRANCE:
Originally Posted by Aramis
thank you aramis for finding these
And I have nothing (else) to say except I agree 100%About this I have nothing to say but it's so splendid that I'll post it ....
Annie
David Devričs sing "Viens, gentille dame" from Boieldieu's La Dame Blanche.
In Devričs singing style we can find traces of something lost, mythical. This is no modern singing, but it's wonderful to hear.
Giuseppe Anselmi was an Italian tenor, born in Sicily. In his last will, opened in 1929, he requested that his heart will be kept at the Teatro Real, in Madrid, because he was a long time favourite of the public there, and he planned to keep this love affair running for many years, despite the small obstacle of his death.
Helas!. The managers of the Teatro Real were not as enthusiastic about the idea as Anselmi, and within a few years, the heart was lost. But this was not the end of the story. It was found again, and then a decision was taken to move this memento to the Spanish National Theater Museum, in the beautiful village of Almagro.
We can hear Anselmi's voice here, singing Alfredo Germont:
This wins the prize for most awesomely choreographed moment in oper(ett)a ever conceived.
Placido Domingo in duet with Placido Domingo:
This must be live recording, no doubt about that.
I think this came from a TV special Domingo filmed in the '80s as a salute to Seville. It featured arias -- or, in this case, a duet! -- from operas with plot action set in or near that city.
Yes, there is even film which I've found later with him, Levine and Ponnelle discussing the idea:
One of the most beautiful set pieces in Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda is this "Angiol di Pace", a kind of farewell prayer for the unfortunate Orombello:
Right after, we can listen to Beatrice's own farewell, in an aria 'more beautiful than the dreams themselves', this "Ah! se un'urna e a me concessa" that we can listen below in the peerless interpretation of Joan Sutherland:
The cabaletta of this aria was added in some haste by Bellini, and he just borrowed an old one from Bianca e Fernando: "Odo il tuo pianto":
When Vittorio Gui was hired to conduct a performance of Beatrice di Tenda, with Sutherland singing the role of Beatrice, he was not happy about the cabaletta. He decided to amend Bellini and change the opera finale, by reintroducing a melody based on "Angiol di Pace", in the following way:
Sutherland was very angry at this manipulation and decided to step out of the performance, being replaced by the great Turkish soprano Leyla Gencer.
That's really awful video. Very annoying how the "OCH GOD OCH MAN OCH GOD OCH MAN SHE SINGS OPERA AND ISN'T FAT BUT PRETTY LAALALAL" became major point of the whole reportage, says a lot about authors or even more about audience which is target of that program.
The journalists were awful, they couldn't have looked any dumber and and any more uncultured. But the images, and Anna's girlish jokes and little faces were just wonderful! [from a very unbiased observer]
"J'ai dit qu'il ne suffisait pas d'entendre la musique, mais qu'il fallait encore la voir" (Stravinsky)
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