One can hardly find adequate words to describe the intensity and the committment that the great Leonie Rysanek offered to her audiences. Here are some scenes from  Richard Strauss operas that show her to her very best:

Salome, Ariadne, Elektra, Aegyptische Helena, Die Frau Ohne Schatten

   I know these excerpts will thrill you as much as they thrilled countless audiences for so many years.

                    (71 min.)

A most exciting compilation that features some thrilling baritone top notes. Included are:

Piero Cappuccilli,Gino Bechi, Giangiacomo Guelfi, Cornell MacNeil (in photo), Sherrill Milnes, and Leonard Warren.

                                                      (75 min.)

   On November 16, 1959, the legendary Jussi Bjoerling made his return to the Met after a few years absence. The opera was Cavalleria Rusticana, and it starred Giulietta Simionato as a great Santuzza.
    Walter Cassell was Alfio, Thelma Votipka was Mamma Lucia, and Rosalind Elias was Lola. It was conducted by Nino Verchi.

                                            (50 min.)

To quote Dante (with one alteration):

    "Lasciate ogni speranza voi che ascoltate!"

       This is the party recording of all time, the second and third acts of Tosca, as recorded on Remington records in 1950. It was the dawn of the LP era, although this recording made things sem more like "Gotterdamerung."
          The Tosca is Vassilka Petrova, who paid for this recording, and the unsuspecting Eddy Ruhl and Piero Campolonghi complete the cast.
           If you are a purist and/or have any sensitive little animals in the room, I advise you not to listen;otherwise, please "enjoy" the great Petrova, whose high C's are almost as good as mine were.
                                   (69 stunning mintues)

Highlights from a glorious performance of Verdi's "Don Carlo" from Salzburg, 1960. The excellent cast features:

  Sena Jurinac, Regina Resnik, Eugenio Fernandi, Ettore Bastianini, and Boris Christoff, and is conducted by Nello Santi.

                                      (72 min.)

Volume Two of the Siegfried Finale Compilation.Included are:

   Gwyneth Jones and Manfred Jung  (Boulez)
   Florence Easton and Lauritz Melchior (Various)
   Astrid Varnay and Wolfgang Windgassen   (Keilberth)
   Rita Hunter and Alberto Remedios  (Goodall)
   Gertrude Grob-Prandl and Gunther Treptow  (Moralt) 
   Kirsten Flagstad and Set Svanholm  (Furtwangler)
                                 (74 min.)

Part One of two podcasts devoted to the great finale of Wagner's "Siegfried." Featured here are:

Anne Evans and Siegfried Jerusalem (in photo)  (Barenboim)
Hildegard Behrens and Reiner Goldberg   (Levine)
Martha Moedl and Ludwig Suthaus    (Furtwaengler)
Nadezda Kniplova and Gerald McKee   (Swarowsky)
Helen Traubel and Set Svanholm       (Stiedry)
Birgit Nilsson and Hans Hopf  (Kempe)
                                  (73 min.)

The third volume of selections as sung by the wonderful Marisa Galvany. I sincerely hope you will enjoy them as much as you have on previous podcasts. The selections are from:

Turandot, Medea in Corinto (photo with Charlie), Cavalleria Rusticana, Marin Faliero, Il Trovatore.
   The tenors are:   Harry Theyard (Turandot)
                            Jerry Lo Monaco (Trovatore)
                            Placido Domingo (Cavalleria)

                                      (70 min.)

By extremely popular request:
        More highlights from the career of dear Marisa Galvany, one of the most exciting and versatile sopranos. I hope you enjoy this podcast, and more to come soon. On this podcast we have scenes from:

           Nabucco, Salome, Ballo in Maschera, Medea

                                          (72 min.)

    Reminder: Volume One is in the archives on 12/28/07

A tribute podcast to the very first singers I heard in my youth. The great tenor,Aureliano Pertile, was featured on the 1929-1930 Aida and Trovatore sets (on 78 r.p.m. discs).
   In addition, one of the most exciting mezzos, Irene Minghini-Cattaneo, sang the Amneris and the Azucena. Sadly she died in a bombing of her villa in 1942.
    These recordings have special meaning to me, since they were the very first recordings of opera that I ever heard.

                                    ( 67 min.)