Despite some rather distant sound (the tape recorder was not close up), we hear a New Orleans Les Huguenots from 1975 under Knud Andersson. The cast features Rita Shane (Marguerite), Marisa Galvany (Valentine), Enrico di Giuseppe (Raoul), Paul Plishka (Marcel), Susan Marsee (Urbain), and Dominic Cossa (Nevers).     (70 min.)

Here is a selection of various fine sopranos on the Classical Evolution label.I think you will find them interesting:

1.Sumi Jo    Queen of the Night aria

2-3. Cecilia Bartoli, Figaro and Donna del Lago arias.

4.Lucia Alberti    Fille du reggiment Romance

5.Anna Tomowa-Sintow   Ritorna Vincitor

6.Ghena Dimitrova   Vissi d'arte

7-8. Alexandra Pendatchanska   Romeo and Faust arias

9.      Raina Kabaiwanska   Manon Adieu au petit table (no recitative.)

10.    Gwyneth Jones (with James King) Scene from Schmidt's "Notre Dame"

11.     Sylvia Sass   Liebestod                                             

                                                              (about 65 min.)

The brilliantly talented Angela Meade at the Richard Tucker Gala last year in the Due Foscari aria.They do NOT make them like this most of the time....

 Here is the clip....Have fun..I think!!!!

  I was playing this the other day, and when Remola took a high J# above Z, three cats and seven dogs in the house all came to my door......not fair..I could not feed them!

With all the music available to us, we still cannot “hear it all,” even in 10 lifetimes.
My dear buddy Bob Fazio became close with the fabulous Giovanni Martinelli in the great tenor’s later years,but he still had the same “white’ quality..I never really appreciated..BUT when you see a series of clips like these..you realize the man was a vocal GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Forget the English)

To ADORE for her absolutely amazing ability to tug at your heartstrings! Born Jan.6, 1903. Favero is part of the line of divas who possessed the kind of love of the vocal line that is totally ABSENT today. Along with Muzio, Scuderi, Zeani, Olivero,Albanese, Soviero, and Scotto, she transported you to a new dimension of emotion. Listen to what she accomplishes with a mere phrase. We who claim to know what these artists contributed LONG for someone who can follow them.

The much-beloved Leyla Gencer sings Odabella in this 1972 Florence Attila, under Riccardo Muti. The cast includes Nicolai Ghiaurov,Veriano Luchetti, and Norman Mittlemann (73 min.)

GREAT voice...Grace Bumbry excelled in mezzo AND soprano roles..Born Jan.4, 1937, let us celebrate her wonderful career.