Part one of a fabulous Aida from Naples 1955 under Vittorio Gui.

 

Featured are Antonietta Stella, Franco Corelli, Fedora Barbieri, Anselmo Colzani, and Mario Petri   (48 blazing minutes)

   This magnificent 1957 Andrea Chenier will thrill you as much as it did me when I saw it live. Zinka Milanov, Richard Tucker, and Leonard Warren are the leads, with Frank Valentino, Fernando Corena, and Rosalind Elias under Fausto Cleva.

     I await your comments on this great performance. (69 min.)

 

 

   A collection of material as composed by Hector Berlioz. Featured are:

Edmont Clement, Richard Mayr, Jean Planel, Berthe Auguez de Montalant, Pol Plancon, Emilio de Gogorza, Maurice Renaud, Giovanni Zenatello, Giuseppe Malipiero, Georges Thill, and Germaine Martinelli.                (60 min.)

Highlights from Aroldo/Stiffelio of Giuseppe Verdi. Here I compare Lina's act two aria in both versions.

  In Stiffelio I present  Rosalind Plowright, Angeles Gulin, and Dimitra Theodossiou.

  In Aroldo we hear Montserrat Caballe, Carol Vaness, Lucia Aliberti, and Maria Callas

                                                (72 min.)

Highlights from several performances of the Verdi Requiem. Featured are:

 

Zinka Milanov, Leontyne Price, Gundula Janowitz, Richard Tucker,Marcello Giordani, Nan Merriman, Dolora Zajick, Fiorenza Cossotto, Giorgio Tozzi,Rene Pape, and Nicolai Ghiaurov.   (74 min.),

  A compilation of material involving tenors. Lots of bizarre stuff amidst some truly exciting singing....but get ready...this podcast is defintely not for purists like me.   (71 glorious minutes)

A wonderful 1957 Carmen with my all-time favorite Carmen, Rise Stevens, and featuring Mario del Monaco, Lucine Amara, and Frank Guarrera. The conductor is Dimitri Mitropolous. (72 min.) Here is a link to a Youtube selection. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egEVbRy50JE

I thought it might be fun (and you can use it as a quiz, as long as you turn down the volume when I introduce the selections) to select various files from the zillions I have and make up a pot-pourri for you. If you like the idea, let me know, and in the future I can do others.

Featured are:  (in order)

Paul Schoeffler, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Dmitri Smirnov, Jussi Bjoerling, Franz Voelker, Virginia Zeani, Daniele Barioni, Shirley Verrett, Vassilka Petrova (oi vey!), Maria Callas, Leonard Warren, Anita Cerquetti, Mario del Monaco and Victoria de los Angeles, Jussi Bjoerling and Robert Merrill, and Zinka Milanov.   (71 min.)

  Let  me know if you like this idea.  as ever  Charlie

 

   Even in "the wrong language" this magnificent 1950 Macbeth from Berlin in 1950 under Joseph Keilberth will thrill you, especially owing to the power and intelligence of Martha Moedl, one of the great divas of opera.
   Also in the cast is the superb Josef Metternich as Macbeth, Theo Hermann as Banquo, and Alfred Hulgert as Macduff.  (67 min.)

The happiest of birthdays (Jan.22) to the superb tenor (and lovable guy) Joseph Calleja. Mr.Calleja, who hails from Malta, is fast becoming one of opera's most renowned artists and here are some examples of his great voice:

 The arias are from:  Mme.Butterfly, Adriana Lecouvreur, Don Sebastiano, La Belle Helene, Romeo et Juliette, I Lombardi, and La Traviata.

   I also must mention that yesterday we celebrated (well, I did, anyway) the birthdays of two other great stars, Placido Domingo and Carlo Handelmaniac(Or is it EGOmaniac?)

Now do not shoot me for the following:

    "Were I the impresario of an opera house years ago, and heard boy soprano Calleja, I would cast him in "Die Frau Ohne Schatten" so we could therefore call him the "Maltese Falcon."

                         With all my best to a great guy!     Charlie