...and why not???It makes my life so full, and this one from Valencia is stunning!!!!!! Now you see why I am poor!!!

Well,now you are united with dear Franco, but PLEASE, be nice to him...

 A few lowlights from a 1965 Tosca with the famous cult figure Olive Middleton. She truly endeared herself to opera lovers and even in her 70's, she managed to exhibit some sense of emotion and even a few high C's, although most of her singing was closer to Berg than to Puccini. We all loved her and even some Met singers attended her performances. She is currently coaching with Maria Jeritza and Frances Alda. (31 min.)

 From La SCala 1967 under Herbert von Karajan, here are highlights from the Verdi Requiem featuring Leontyne Price, Luciano Pavarotti, Fiorenza Cossotto, and Nicolai Ghiaurov.  (67 min.)

   Although it was not "official," Sam Ramey did tell me that the Timur in Turandot last night would be his last Met appearance. Sam and I go back 42  years, we sang in Anna Bolena and other operas. We always knew Sam had the goods, and the great career he had is surely appreciated by countless opera lovers all over the globe. Now Sam has even more time to annoy people on Facebook!! Love to my old buddy , who did last night tell us that his days of taking off his shirt as he does in this Attila clip are a thing of the past!!!