Well, Jake, you've hit it on the nose with this one. I am an opera nut and have been all my life.
It's impossible to give you a favorite aria, just like it's impossible to name the favorite opera. I was fortunate enough to live in a city with a respectable opera performance schedule - it gave Pavarotti his first American engagement. I was also able to fly a lot and see performances all over the US.
For years I have been devoted to The Ring Cycle - it, not one particular opera, is my passion. Rhinegold - so magical. Valkyrie - such love. Siegfried - such brooding masculinity and then rapturous love. Gotterdammarung - brings it all together. WOW! I've seen the complete cycle 4 times - that's 4 weeks devoted to Wagner!
One aria is asking too much. I can't forgo Leb' wohl from Valkyrie, the spirituality of Parsifal, or so many others, the list goes on.
And don't get me started on great performances I've seen - the list is endless.
BlueStar Wrote:Thanks for the info Londoner. Both are greatly heartfelt, the Swedish one was more enjoyable though. I understood no word at all, but they're a masterpiece of music art especially for sensitive ears like mine. I know no opera house here, so I often rely on youtube to search for random music.
Glad that you enjoyed them Bluestar and that you're in agreement with me that the Björling version is the better of the two. It is so sad that he was an alcoholic and died far, far too early.
"You can be young without money but you can't be old without money"
Maggie the Cat from "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." by Tennessee Williams
palbert Wrote:^^ And to show I'm not wholly given over to Wagner, how could one not love Au fond du temple saint from The Pearl Fishers.
Oh Palbert, why did you have to choose the Bocelli version when there are others so much better? I know that he was mentored by Pavarotti but he really isn't that much of an opera singer.
"You can be young without money but you can't be old without money"
Maggie the Cat from "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." by Tennessee Williams
palbert Wrote:@LONDONER. I picked a name generally known. I thought that would at least get people to open their ears. As for better recordings, I agree.
I agree to some extent Palbert but if I am addressing those who are not opera aficionados like you and I, then I want to introduce the best. Jussi Björling wouldn't be known to them. If I had wanted to be "popular" I could have chosen the Habañera from "Carmen" sung by a well known "singer" in the UK, Charlotte Church. Her name would be known to many (heaven's knows why) on the basis of this truly lamentable version:
She has no voice, she can't sing, she had absolutely no idea of interpretation and yet she has earned millions. Sometimes I despair.
"You can be young without money but you can't be old without money"
Maggie the Cat from "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." by Tennessee Williams
@LONDONER. Many points conceded. I have always preferred the Björling/Merrill version. But this type of discussion is what turns many listeners off. I personally detested Pavarotti, and he was always singing in Miami (as well as at the MET). I thought he achieved his pinnacle as Nemorino - and should have stuck to it.
Then, every singer has their night. I have heard Scotto sound like a plucked chicken - and on another night bring the house down with her Norma (this was 2nd night, she was showing the critics who savaged her opening night).
Many thrilling nights in the opera house. Many bouquets thrown.
Palbert, we'll have to agree to disagree on some points. I likes Pavarotti and I especially I liked his version of "Turandot" even if you can't understand a word of what Joan Sutherland is singing.
PS: If anyone is turned off by this discussion, please say so and why.
"You can be young without money but you can't be old without money"
Maggie the Cat from "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." by Tennessee Williams
LONDONER Wrote:Palbert: Reaching in to your higher stratosphere, I presume that you know Melchior. He was perhaps the greatest, true heroic tenor of the Golden Age:
I wouldn't call it stratosphere as luck and endurance.
Ah, Flagstad and Melchior. Unfortunately known to me only by recordings.
And you probably live in or close enough to London for the opera! Lucky you!
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Sagittarius
