Wherever you are...Love and Happy New Year!

Love Charlie

  They were a bit jealous when I texted Wunderlich and Gedda 

and sent them this video. However, since Piotr's two idols are these guys, they send him love and

Happy Birthday!!!"

s

Remember, it's Piotr birthday week,

so here is the "Bis" in the Liceo

Werther.

Reminds me of a soprano who thought

people were yelling, "BEAST!"

  Love that great guy!!!!!

  My two favorite tenors have lots

of fun in a rehearsal. How wonderful to have a  

 Piotr and a Michael in an opera era where many 

tenors abound. If only we had ONE Tebaldi!

My favorite singer and "buddy" 

Piotr Beczala celebrates his birthday

on 12/28/ (1966). He is the sweetest

and most beautiful person and is

successor to his favorites,Gedda and

Wunderlich.   Love this guy!!!!!

  Fine new guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Whatever holiday you celebrate,

all my love to you and thanks for

your support all these years.

  My best   Charlie

   We have come far from that manger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The great Gigli w.Elizabeth

Barbato in Forza. He was 61. I saw his 1955 farewell. Had he lived to 80, he would still have had it!!!!!

  Diana Soviero's Met debut

with Alfredo Kraus in Romeo

et Juliette.The "Poison aria"

is superb.(Also on YouTube).

I know her since 1977.Still feel

she is as great as any soprano in

my experience.

Carteri and Taddei in

act 3 are so moving!!

Ferruccio Tagliavini is Rodolfo.

12/15/1910..Almost made it to 100. One

of the greatest singers in opera

history. I hope she finally

made up with Barbieri!

In the event that anyone here 

 never heard the greatest single

note in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the most emotional singers,

Rosanna Carteri  Born 12/14/30.

Never came here and retired rather

early to be with family. I just

love her so much!!!

  Hi all,

 All these many years,I could never allow comments,since advertisers interfere. I would LOVE some people to tell me (Placido21@aol.com) if my posts are to their liking..as I want to please you.

If you want..let me know..although the stats do show people seem to like the stuff, from Angola to Zanzibar.

          Love  Charlie

Close to Ruffo!!  I thought Warren had a big voice.MacNeilwas awesome!!!!!!!

Sarah Scuderi, 12/11/06 in the documentary "Tosca's Kiss."  LOVABLE!!!!!!!

  At 85,Lauri-Volpi was still so calm and shy.

12/11/1892..VERY SHY TENOR!!!!!!

 One of the greats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Here is the moment where Piotr Beczala became my adored favorite singer of today. The beauty of the phrasing, the love of the vocal line, the purity...I love this guy.I see him often backstage and he once introduced me to the son of the famous Polish tenor, Jan Kiepura.

  A lovable man and great star!!!!!

Have I never played any Mari Lyn for you?

Now, be sure not to eat or drink while you watch this;send animals and small children out of the room.

Italian is the greatest...especially with the titles!!!!!!!

My buddy,Marisa Galvany (one of many fake names) as Medea.

Today,I got Lucine to sing the first line of the "In quelle trine morbide." At 92, I know she still has a lot of voice..a fun lady, over-used at the Met,but she saved so many shows.

  Great xxx-rated jokes!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mehta conducts interesting Valencia Ring. Finale of Gotterdamerung!!!!!  I love it!!!

FUN!! Jose Carreras,born 12/5/46  and friends..He beat Leukemia,thank God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not easy to take vibrato...but such a charmer..Poor thing died in childbirth.

   (Conchita Supervia)

FUNNNNNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leo Nucci at 75!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  God Bless You, Dmitri

So sad!! Wonderful Singer passed away today.

Bing gave her one!     Idiot!

Wonderful lady!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZwSAHyGoo8

Still weeping over his passing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dmitri returned to the Met in 2015.

The love expressed by the audience

will go on forever as we remember him.

  Totally Devastated.!!! My tears

are unending. He was so sweet and kind. I always

got those kisses on the cheek from this

beautiful man, who will live

forever in our hearts. God Bless Him!!!

Hard to find right words for the

glorious Victoria's voice!!!!! Here is "Dove sono?"

Joseph Calleja wants people to 

call him "Joe." That is the kind

of guy he is. When he met me, he

said I was more famous than he is.

  TRUE?????????????????

If you are not feeling well, do NOT

listen to Sirach von Bodengraven!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

  I am finding old audio stuff for you.

Are you thrilled??????

Great fun guy, Brian Hymel, in French arias.

He is such a wonderful person, and has

a beautiful family. BUY IT! I get

no commission on the full CD.

Callas, Corelli, Nicolai

from Trieste.Note Corelli attack before Callas D!!!!!!!!!    Nothing like this today!!!

Here are early recordings of my dear friend

Diana Soviero.Friends since 1977. I hope you like them.

   THIS is what Leonie was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She had her flaws, but at 5:09 you hear something stupendous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cry...cry.....for the lady who knew her fate and

who was a miracle for all of us to behold.

She had her flaws, but NO ONE gave what she

accomplished as a sensational artist!!!!!

  I had so many glitches in my audio files,I have been sending you Videos,which I hope you enjoy. Hope to get back to the audio podcasts soon..Meanwhile, you do have archives.

Thanks for your support   Charlie

  I play you my tape, with my yelling....at the greatest miracle. as the 65 year old Magda Olivero makes her Met debut in 1975.

The ovation is cut...It was one of the greatest things in my opera life...Note 3:16.."RiMUUUUneri" cosi.

The miracle lasted until age 104...but her caretaker said there was voice there almost till the end.

Bless her!!!!!!!!!!!!I miss those birthday phone calls,where she spoke in "Verismo"

  I just called Virginia to tell her I had put up clips of Nicola-Rossi Lemeni,born 11/6/28. They were such a loving couple and she misses him so much!!!!!!!

  Beloved forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I always wanted to do what Vickers did..Happy Birthday....10/29/26

  I keep finding these superb

new artists! I know she will

have a marvelous career!!!!

The great Tito Gobbi   10/23/13

was even more versatile than I thought

and that Fair Lady is not too bad

either.

Just the word "CARO" tells you what

Virginia was..the "cry" in the voice 

distinguished her from so many others.

  Here is more of my Virginia. She always called her

fabulous low notes "mask," rather than "chest."

  Well, whatever they are called, they are amazing.

She sang over 70 roles, including 635 Traviatas.

All that arthritis comes from falling on the floor,

plus rehearsals. I wish she had borrowed knee

pads from a football player, but she felt it

was not "reality."

  I have been blessed in my life to have become

acquainted with many singers, some of whom

were more than just stars I met backstage.

The first was Renata Tebaldi, and later on

Olivia Stapp, Diana Soviero, Marisa Galvany, 

Sam Ramey, and Regina Resnik.

  However, in the last years, I have 

become closely acquainted with Mme.

Virginia Zeani, whom I consider as "la mia sorella."

Virginia has been one of the greatest singers

in opera history, although, like Magda Olivero and 

others, not lucky enough to make commercial

recordings, but we "pirates" have spread the

word. 

  On this day, I wish my darling friend, not

in the best of health, by undying love! Happy 

birthday, my dear Virginia.

Look...anyone who ever worked 

with Diana Soviero SHOWS it in

so many ways...At least this Angel(a)

can be heard in the theatre.

New Met Mimi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have seen the greats.She is

superb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I adore BLACK basso voices.

 Rydl is so scary and I

love this role, but am too

nice to do it (and do not

have the voice). I collect 

all the RINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is such fun!!!! As a language

teacher I would have wanted to

perform this. He is a delight!

  Irina Lungu is a real sweetheart.

Saw her Gilda and Musetta and

we chat on Facebook. I wish

she would return to the Met!

Another one!!!!!!!!  Makes us all

gay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hiromi Omura.......What a gorgeous

voice!!! May she go far!!!!  You know

I have good taste!!!!

  You can talk about divas all you

want, but for me, Diana is one

of the all-time greatest.Since I

fell out of the balcony(Mimi) in

1977, we have been close friends.

Even the way she gets onto the bed

at the end is special! Sadly, many

great singers do not make 50 CD's!!!!!

Happy birthday to the greatest

and most fun-loving diva in

the world! She is one of the

few throwbacks to the Golden Age!!!!

What more is there to say

on this sad day (9/16/)?Yes, she had

her flaws, but the world of music

lost a veritable genius/.

Rest in Peace,Maria!

What is lacking today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The beautiful "morbidezza" in

the voice. What Zeani,Muzio,

Olivero,Callas,Scotto,Soviero,

Favero could accomplish! Today, it is a lost

art..except HERE!

Truly gorgeous voice!!!!

Hope she goes far!!!!!

Facebook poster presented this

recital.So rewarding!

Dear Magda, the miracle of opera,

passed away at 104 3 yrs.today.

I called her every birthday and

she was as sweet as could be. She is

83 here, a GREAT LADY, who is missed.

  She left Roberto for me...but when

I told her her voice did not carry in

the Met, she belted me in the mouth!!!!

He is so sweet. He told me last year, 

"I can see in your eyes how you

love music." That was so lovely.

Some day I will bring people from the Met to my supermarket and we will do a complete Walkure............

Beautiful voice...I just found her.

My friend sees her Violetta tonight

at La Fenice..Those Romanians

sure can sing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

29:39..To this MOMENT I shall never

 forget his "Legaaaami," which was a

tone of glory in my life!!!!!!!

I adored him.Middle voice was 

pure GOLD.  Gee, why don't

you hold the last note longer???

  Those of us members of Facebook

discover wonderful talent! Here is

marvelous young baritone Michael Chioldi.

We wish him all our best!!!!!!

Two great guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Facebook friends. 

Eduardo is so funny..and great tenor..Mark is wonderful!!!!!

Fine Russian Tenor, Khachatur Badalyan.

I am so glad to "spread the word"

as to the new talents.Superb!!!!

She did it ALL!!!! Not a long career, but

1949-1955 in my view was awesome!

Saffo aria sung by one of my

favorite singers, Eugenia Burzio.

OLD STYLE!!!!!!

  I was waiting once at the Met stage

  door after a Macbeth. Out comes this

big guy who looked at me and asked,

"Are you Charlie Handelman?" I said

"Yes." He gave me a big hug and 

said,"You are more famous than

me!"  What a fun guy!!!!!!!!!!

 Joe and I have discussed a kind of

"old-fashioned vibrato," which to 

me is  "affectionate."

Hiya,

   My stats for August show you are really enjoying things;however, the videos do not show up in the stats, so I must deduce that the stats are higher.

I still need to work on a glitch or two in order to do new audio podcasts.

                    Love  Charlie

  At the 1972 Rudolf Bing farewell,Regina

came out as Orlovsky and totally

cracked us up with her rendition of

:Chacun a Bing's gout." Knowing how

he treated her, I know she was not

kidding. Trust me!!

Funniest line is "..and ask Corelli twwwwwice." The way she held the "W" is a classic!!!

We were friends for 50 years. Regina

was one of the greats!!!!! Here is one

of her signature roles(even in English.)

8/29/1926. One of the very

great singers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Paul, my buddy,  8/28/1941. We

sang so much from 1961 at the

Paterson, New Jersey Company.

He became one of the greats, and a 

sweetheart, despite many family

tragedies.

So he didn't have a "C"...OH YEAH!!!!

His favorite role and Virginia is so

magnificent.

For me, greatest tenor I ever heard live.

The voice rang out as GOLD!!!!!!!!!

Being a language teacher, and not wanting to starve, I sang as a hobby. Aug.28 is the birthday of dear Paul Plishka. We sang a lot together, and I also sang w.Sam Ramey.

Well, two of them made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another clip of this fine singer...What are all those ladies doing there?????????????????

I keep finding them!!!!!!!  Here is a superb

young tenor from Nagaland,India.May

he go on to great success!!!!!

They are all out there..just go to YouTube!!!!!

Imagine rehearsing Rigoletto years ago and out comes this fabulous voice.   "Who are you?"

"I never sang an opera before..Is the Duke hard????"     I guess I can pick them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As a real tenor he was superb in Zarzuelas with the great Pilar Lorengar!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VERY few opera singers can sing popular music. Farrell did it pretty well and many male singers do it well, but the DIVAS have trouble. I guess the breaks in the voice make it more difficult...but Dorothy Kirsten mastered the crossover, compared to the ludicrous Fleming or L.Price.

Corelli had more vibrato young (DelMonaco called him a "goat) but these commercial discs still tel us of the man's greatness.

I saw him 40 times.Yes,he could be a pain...but generally speaking,he raised the roof!!!!!!!!!!

I have friends who knew him well,and they tell me how sweet he was and so concerned about his artistry.

  In the event any of you have

been living on another planet,

here is the great Mari Lynn,

(in)famous on YouTube. She is

currently coaching with Zinka Milanov.

  She did lots of films and was popular. 

HOWEVER, the end of the Bolero

makes me HYSTERICAL! She and

Erna Sack are "fun" in a certain way.

  Howyalike all my new posts???????????

It was so nice when Piotr Beczala

introduced me to the son of

another Polish tenor,Jan Kiepura.

His beloved mother, Martha Eggerth

was alive at the time, and he called

her and said, "Hi,ma!!

I felt as if I was in some way "part of history."

    Piotr is my favorite singer of today,

by the way.

When she showed up, Caballe

was one of the greatest singers

of the century!

 Her birthplace was Barcelona, as we 

at this tragic time send our

deepest feelings for their people.

HUGEST voice from a baritone. Great man...In

Ernani, the audience sometimes started to yell at the G 

before the A flat, so stupendous the sound!

  An Oddity!!!!!!  Beverly as Aida!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8/21/33. One of the most haunting

voices imaginable.I am so sorry I 

never got to hear her live. My loss!!

   Tribute to the dear people of Barcelona

after this terrible tragedy.

  Es imposible expresar en palabras

   lo que siento!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  If you asked me what my all-time favorite commercial recording by a diva is, I would tell you that the Lotte Lehmann Wunder der Heliane aria is to me SUPREME!!!!

The lady had this "veiled and haunting" tone that thrills me no end!!!!

  The great ones never lose it. He is 67.